What's in Season in March in Australia

March is crowded. Victoria and Queensland both have 32 crops being picked, because summer has not finished and autumn has already started. For a few weeks you can buy a peach and a pumpkin from the same stall.

It does not last. Eleven crops finish in Victoria this month alone.

Harvest months, when growers are picking.

Apples, properly

Apples reach their peak in Victoria and New South Wales, and Tasmania picks its first. This is the new season crop, a different thing from an apple that has spent months in cold storage. If you have decided you do not much like apples, a March one from a grower is the test.

Nashi pears are at their peak in Victoria. Pears are being picked in Victoria and are in their last month in Western Australia.

Figs everywhere

Figs are at their peak in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia at the same time. It is the one month the whole south agrees on them.

Pomegranates start in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia and reach their peak in South Australia, the main growing district.

Last of the summer fruit

Peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots all finish in Victoria in March. Peaches and nectarines end in New South Wales too. That is the stone fruit season over until November.

Watermelon finishes in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. Table grapes end in Western Australia and have a month left elsewhere.

In Queensland, mangoes finish. The season that began in the Northern Territory last August is done.

Tomatoes hold on

Field tomatoes are still at their peak in Victoria and New South Wales, in the third and last month of it. Eggplant is at its peak in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

The rest of the summer vegetables are leaving Victoria: zucchini, capsicum, cucumber, green beans and chilli all end this month. It is the end of the run, so buy the last of them now if you want them local.

Autumn arrives

Pumpkin starts in five states. In Victoria it is joined by cabbage, leeks and parsnips, the first of the cool season crops coming back. Potatoes are at their peak in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

Queensland changes over as well. Avocados start, beginning a run that lasts until September, and custard apples, kiwifruit and persimmons begin. Bananas, pineapples, dragon fruit and limes are all at their peak, and so is sweet potato.

Tasmania winds down

Tasmania has eleven crops in March, with blueberries and potatoes at their peak. Peas, green beans, capsicum and onions all finish, and nothing new starts in April. The island's season is short and it is closing.

Storing the autumn haul

This is the month to buy things that last. A whole pumpkin keeps for about a month uncovered in a cool, dry, dark place and does not need the fridge until it is cut. After that it has two to four days in an airtight bag or container.

Potatoes want a paper bag somewhere cool and dark, not the fridge, and not next to the onions. Kept that way they last one to two weeks. Apples keep for up to four weeks in the fridge.

The last of the summer crops are less forgiving. Eggplant has about five days in the fridge. Tomatoes keep for a week out of it, and only go in once fully ripe. Pears ripen on the bench and then need eating within two or three days.

Storage times here are from the City of Darebin's food storage chart, a Victorian council guide.

What April brings

Persimmons and kiwifruit in Victoria, grapefruit in Victoria and South Australia, and broccoli and Brussels sprouts returning. Citrus is next.

Find your state on its own page: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia or Tasmania. The season lookup shows any state in any month, and February is the guide before this one. Eating with the seasons explains why the calendar splits the way it does.