There are places in this world, where fruits and vegetables ripen year around, and folks can gather what they need each day.  But most of the world deals with long seasons when vine ripened fruit and fresh picked vegetables are not available.  

Even fruits and vegetables in the groceries stores are not fresh or local.  They have most likely traveled thousands of miles, and have spent time in various warehouses, trucks, ship yards, etc.  They were likely picked weeks before they were ripe, and they are likely modified in some way to last this long in transport without spoiling.  For example, apples are picked and then stored in gas warehouses for months before they are sent to market. Of course the government says these modified foods are safe to eat, but do you really want to eat apples that have been stored for months in a building full of gas to keep them from spoiling?

Here is a basic list of approximate harvest dates for fruits in Indiana, but depending on variety (wild, domesticated, special variety), and the weather, the harvest season could vary by two weeks early or two weeks later than posted below.

Apples                                September 1 – October 25

Blackberries                        July 15 – July 30 

Blueberries                         July 5 – August 10            

Cherries                             June 10 – June 25  
Elderberries            August 10 – September 20

Grapes                               September 10 – September 20
Paw Paws August 10 – October 15

Peaches, Nectarines            July 20 – September 1

Pears                                 August 10 – August 31
Persimmons Late September-early October

Plums Late July – August
Red Raspberries                  July 15 – August 15 
Black Rasperries          June

Strawberries                       June 1 – June 15               

The benefit of freezing fruit, instead of canning it, is that it preserves most of the nutrients in the fruit.  When fruit is subjected to the high heat of canning, the enzymes are killed, proteins are changed, and a lot of the nutrition is lost.  But if frozen, they can be served later by thawing and eating, gently heating, or by blending frozen into smoothy or ice cream treats.  When fresh or frozen fruit is heated gently, many of the living nutrients like enzymes and vitamins are still available to your body.  But these nutrients are heat sensitive and will be destroyed or altered if heated under high temperatures.

This was my first year to harvest and freeze persimmons on our homestead.  I had seen them in the stores before, but never on the tree and I was really excited this fall when friends on facebook answered my inquiry about what kind of tree and fruit was on my driveway, that it was indeed persimmons.  Yeah!