What's in Season in December in Australia

December is the month the Australian fruit bowl is at its fullest. Cherries are at their peak in three states, mangoes are at theirs in Queensland, and the summer berries start in the south. Victoria has 28 crops being picked, up from 21 in November.

It is also the last chance for a few spring things. If the Christmas table is the reason you are reading this, the short version is: cherries from the south, mangoes from the north, and buy the asparagus now because it will not be there in January.

As always, these are harvest months, when growers are picking. A supermarket can have stock at any time.

Cherries at their peak

December is the month for cherries. Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia are all at their peak, and Western Australia picks its first. A cherry season runs six to eight weeks in any one district, so the fruit you buy the week before Christmas is from the middle of it, which is when it is best.

Tasmania is the exception. Its season does not start until January, which is why Tasmanian cherries turn up after everyone else's have finished.

Apricots are at their peak in Victoria and South Australia, and start in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Peaches and nectarines are being picked across the southern states but do not reach their best in Victoria or New South Wales until January. Plums have started in Queensland and are still a month away in Victoria, which grows about two thirds of the country's crop.

Mangoes, lychees and the tropical north

Queensland's mangoes reach their peak in December and hold it through January. Western Australia is still picking, and the Northern Territory, which started back in August, is in its final month.

Lychees start in Queensland now. Queensland grows almost every Australian lychee and the season is short, sitting right around Christmas, so this is a fruit you buy when you see it. Passionfruit begins and goes straight to its peak. Watermelon and papaya are at their peak too.

One caution for the Christmas fruit platter. Queensland's rockmelon and honeydew seasons both end in December, and New South Wales does not start picking rockmelon until January. Wet weather in the growing districts has caused Christmas shortages in recent years, so do not plan a menu around one.

The southern berries arrive

Strawberries are at their peak in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. They are joined this month by the soft berries: blackberries and blueberries start in both Victoria and Tasmania, and raspberries start in Tasmania.

Blackberries are the one to look for at a market. They are grown mainly in Tasmania and Victoria and do not travel well, so a grower's table is the best place to find a good one. Blueberries are a handover: New South Wales, which grows most of the country's crop, is still at its peak, while Queensland and Western Australia finish.

Summer vegetables, finally

In November the south was still waiting. In December it all turns up at once.

Victoria starts picking tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum, cucumber and green beans this month. New South Wales starts tomatoes and eggplant. Tasmania, which had six crops in November, has twelve in December.

You might be thinking a December tomato is the real thing at last. Fair, but not quite: field tomatoes in Victoria and New South Wales do not peak until January. They are good now and better in six weeks.

Sweet corn is at its peak in New South Wales and Queensland. Buy it as close to picking as you can, because the sugar starts turning to starch within days. That is the whole argument for buying corn at a market.

New season garlic reaches its peak in Victoria and starts in Tasmania.

Last call

Asparagus and peas both finish in Victoria this month, and Victoria grows nearly all of the country's asparagus. Asian greens and leeks finish there too. In New South Wales, broccoli ends. Western Australia loses cauliflower and its blueberries.

None of these vanish from shops. They just stop being local.

What January brings

Table grapes start in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Watermelon starts in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. Tasmania gets its cherries, and figs begin in South Australia and Western Australia.

Look up your own state

Every state has its own page, which updates with the month: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. For any other month, the season lookup takes a state and a month and shows what is being picked.

Markets change their dates in December, so check before you drive. Christmas markets in Australia covers which ones move, and what was in season in November has the month before. Buy the cherries twice: once for the table and once for the car.