California · Orchard fruit
Typically early November to mid-May, and again mid-May to mid-October, with peak mid-December through mid-March.
Hatched chalk = early and late shoulders; solid = peak.
Navels run winter into spring and Valencias take over for summer; desert groves start earliest.
From early November, and again mid-May — first pickings, lighter supply, best prices come later.
mid-December through mid-March; again mid-June through late August — full stalls, full flavor. This is the stretch to plan around.
Through mid-October — quantity for preserving, and the stalls start dealing.
about 49 weeks end to end, shoulders included.
Winter grove picking — clip fruit with a short stem stub so the peel does not tear. The picking window tracks the band above: early trips get clean fields, peak (mid-December through mid-March) is the sure bet, late season is for quantity.
Farm-to-farm variation is real — up to two weeks either side of the typical window. Plan the trip, then call the farm before you drive.
Orange peak moves across the map. After this window, it lands next in:
The whole national sweep · everything in season in California
In California, the orange season typically runs early November to mid-May, and again mid-May to mid-October, with peak availability mid-December through mid-March. Exact weeks shift a little with each year's weather.
Aim for peak: mid-December through mid-March. An early trip around early November gets first choice of clean fields; a late one is for jam-and-freezer quantity. Any single farm can run up to two weeks either side of the chart — call before you drive.
about 49 weeks end to end — early November to mid-May, and again mid-May to mid-October. The early and late shoulders are real but lighter; the solid stretch of chalk on the band is the sure bet.