What Fruits & Vegetables Grow in Texas?

Texas is extremely diverse when it comes to agriculture. You can find an assortment of fruit and vegetables grown on Texas soil, from beets, carrots and cauliflower, to apples, honeydew and citrus fruits. Each type of fruit and vegetable has a specific harvest date and place of growth. Fruit and vegetables grown under the Texan sun are natural, healthy and filled with Texan passion, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Among the fruit grown in Texas you will find apples (available June through November), which become sweeter if they stay on trees longer, that is why Texas tree-ripened apples differ in taste from other apples. In Texas, you'll also find a variety of berries: blackberries (April through June), blueberries (May through July) and strawberries (March through April). The sunny days of Texas and warm nights are an ideal climate for citrus, which is why grapefruit and oranges are able to grow there as well. You'll find grapefruit October through May, and oranges October through April, including navel oranges (October through January) and valencia oranges (February through May).

Texas is also home to sweet nectarines (May through July), sweet yellow-red ripe peaches (April through August), large juicy yellow pears (May through August), small sweet yellow and red plums (June and July) and sweet oriental persimmons (early Fall). As for the bigger melon fruit, you'll find cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon growing in Texas May through November.

There are many varieties of vegetables growing in Texas at different times of the year. Carrots, green cabbage and greenhouse tomatoes are the only vegetables available year-round. Texas is home to other varieties of cabbage, which are only available during the winter months, such as: Chinese cabbage (January through April), red cabbage (January through May) and Savoy cabbage (January through March). Many leafy greens are available in the winter months between October and April, including mustard and turnip greens.

During the months of Spring, lettuce (May and June) and mild sweet spring onions (March through August) grow. The springtime and summertime are also when potatoes grow in Texas including Russet, white and red potatoes (available April through September) and sweet potatoes, which grow early in the fall through May. In the late fall and wintertime, vegetables such as deep red color beets (November through January), broccoli (November through March), cauliflower (November through April), celery (December through April) and spinach (November through April), also known as cool-weather crops, grow.

Other vegetables growing in Texas during the second half of the calendar year are cucumbers (April through December), sweet bell peppers and hot peppers (May through December), squash (April through May, July through January), field tomatoes (May through November) and turnips (April through February).

Most of these fruits and vegetables are widely available in Texas and are sold at local Farmer's Markets, by the road or at stores. Many winter crops grow year-round through irrigation in the Texas Winter Garden region situated in southern Texas southwest of San Antonio. Citrus fruit (grapefruit and oranges) only harvest in the Rio Grande Valley on the Texas-Mexico border. Generally, fruits are available in specific regions of Texas.

However, vegetables, unlike fruit, are present throughout Texas, not just in specific areas, except for potatoes. Sweet potatoes are grown in North East Texas and other potatoes (Russet, red and white) are grown in the High Plains, Winter Garden area and Rio Grande Valley. A large percentage of potatoes are sold fresh while the rest is processed into potato chips. Vegetables such as broccoli are harvested in the Winter Garden area which is home to many winter crops including peppers.