Do you remember biting into the first ripe peach of summer? The perfume of the fruit and the feeling of the fuzz in your hand? Summer for many of us is tied to the memory of a perfect piece of fruit. Our 2023 summer fruit guide gives you a preview of the fruit that you’ll be seeing in our Harvest mixed fruit boxes over the next few months.

Eating seasonally is a great way to support your health, as well as the planet. Seasonality is central to The FruitGuys goal of supporting local farms, regional food economies, and sustainable agriculture. And summer is the peak season for so many of America’s favorite fruits.

Our Harvest fruit mix has our broadest mix of seasonal fruits, and can feature heirloom and unique varieties. The large box (50 servings) has the greatest assortment of fruit. The exact mix of fruits in your box will vary from region to region and week to week as our buyers choose the best of what’s available. Just enter your zip code to see what’s in your region’s mix this week.

The FruitGuys Summer Fruit Guide

Summer brings berries and a parade of stone fruits, from early summer cherries and apricots to late summer peaches and plums, and finishes with grapes and the beginning of the apple and pear harvest. The exceptionally rainy winter of 2022/23 has delayed the debut of many of California’s staple summer crops, including berries, stone fruit, and grapes by a few weeks. Read on to see what’s coming.

Berries

After heavy rain drowned some berry crops in central California and delayed harvests, strawberries and blueberries are here! California boxes will feature strawberries from JSM Organics (a 2019 FruitGuys Community Fund grantee) and blueberries from Family Tree Farms. Midwest boxes will have Michigan blueberries from Mick Klug Farm starting in July. These antioxidant-rich little beauties are a staple of summer eating, and never more delicious than in summertime.

Stone Fruit

California sweet cherries and apricots from Fruit World will continue through June. California stone fruit season produces delicious peaches and nectarines from growers like our longtime farm partner Blake Carlson, who will supply us with peaches, nectarines, plums, and grapes all summer long.

Lucky California boxes might get a taste of Angelcot apricots we get through Frieda’s or Masumoto Family Farm‘s heirloom Suncrest peach. Another favorite of ours are the Very Cherry Plums we get from Flavor Tree Farms. Just imagine eating a very tasty cherry and juicy plum at the same time and that’s what you get with these. Midwest customers will see apricots and a parade of stone fruit including donut peaches, nectarines, white peaches, and plums from Mick Klug Farm in St. Joseph, MI.

TOO MUCH STONE FRUIT? Here’s how to make an easy stone fruit jam.

In the coming months, customers from coast to coast will enjoy the arrival of apriums, plumcots, vibrant tart-sweet pluots, and delectable plums, peaches, and nectarines—all high in vitamins C and A, and great sources of dietary fiber. These summer favorites come in so many varieties, we couldn’t possibly list them all. Some of our favorites include: Velvet apricots, peacotums, and Necta Pies.  Mid-Atlantic customers will enjoy Yellow Flat Peach Pies from longtime partner Frecon Farms in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Early Pears & Apples

July will bring California’s fresh crop of pears and our friends at Scully Packing are pear leaders. In August, look for the start of fresh crop apples, starting with Northern California’s heritage Gravenstein Apple.

Citrus

While we will say goodbye to the navel oranges of winter and spring, we welcome summer’s Valencia oranges, named for the Spanish city. Valencias are thin-skinned, have few seeds, and are considered one of the best oranges for juicing. If you’re not sure about the difference between a navel and a Valencia, an easy tip is to remember that the navel orange has a belly button on its underside, which is where it gets the name.

Grapes

August means grapes from California! Cotton Candy Grapes! Bronx Grapes! Muscats and Thomchords! Lagier Ranches, growers of the Ark of Taste-listed heirloom Bronx grape, in Escalon, CA, were a 2014 recipient of a $2,500 grant from The FruitGuys Community Fund for their pollinator-supporting hedgerow project.

So that’s the scoop on what could be in your mouth this summer if you receive our Harvest fruit mixes. Want to try us for the summer? No problem! Order now and choose a frequency (weekly, every other week, or monthly) you like and eat the best of summer all season. Already a customer and want to change your box to a Harvest? Contact customer service at info@fruitguys.com or 1-877-884-5338 and we will make it happen.