It’s harvesting time in the Southwest. Recent rains and favorable temperatures in much of Texas have brought an abundance of veggies and tree fruits. This summer, gardeners are picking the best peaches we’ve had in several years, and we’re seeing pears and apples loading down the branches. And corn? Well, if you don’t grow it, you can still find it fresh and in abundance at local markets. It’s a veritable corn-utopia!

Attractive in a container and sporting fruit with a “kick,” the chili pequin pepper plant is a hot one, no matter how you choose to enjoy it.

Photo Credit: David L. Morgan

This year’s favorable weather has brought an abundance of pears in the Southwest.

Photo Credit: David L. Morgan

Despite some hail damage, there’s still been a healthy apple crop in home landscapes this year.

Photo Credit: David L. Morgan

I love this time of year – when the food comes fresh and right out of the garden! Melons are ripe now, as are those luscious Pecos cantaloupes that I just can’t get enough of. And what’s a summer without cutting open a ripe watermelon? My old vegetable crops professor at Texas A&M, Dr. Homer Blackhurst, used to say that watermelons aren’t worth eating until after the Fourth of July. Even though we can find them in the grocery stores much earlier in the season now (thanks to Mexican produce), I still prefer the Texas-grown varieties from the back yard or farmers’ market. (And now’s the time to give ’em a good thump.)

In some parts of the Southwest, apricots are filling the trees, and if you think you’ve enjoyed apricots from cans or even “fresh” at the grocery, try picking them from a tree. Yum! Apricots make attractive landscape trees, too, so if you live in a warm, dry location, consider planting one in your garden. (They self-pollinate, so you can produce fruit from a single tree.)

And let’s not forget the fig – that old-timey fruit of the gods that can even make dry cereal taste good. I love figs, but they’re not terribly popular now, as far as “favorite fruit” goes. In fact, in a recent horticulture class, I had asked my students how many of them had eaten fresh figs. The answer: none. I’m hoping this’ll change – it’s a wonderful fruit. And even if you don’t care for the taste of figs, the tree itself is a great addition to the garden: With its oversized leaves, a fig tree makes an attractive canopy tree of rather small stature (about 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide if cut back), and it fits nicely in a garden nook or works well as a specimen plant.

And hello, veggies! Now’s the time when we happily welcome okra, radishes, squash and beans of all varieties to our tables. And we can’t forget, of course, those wonderful Southwestern peppers! Jalapeños are a favorite around here, but if you don’t want to scorch your mouth, you might try one of the new mild varieties. (I highly recommend pickling fresh jalapeños before they’re consumed, otherwise green ones – even the mild varieties – will almost take the skin off your tongue.) Some people like habanera peppers, but they’re really picante. My favorite’s the perennial chili pequin pepper plant, whose small, BB-sized fruit turns from green to orange-red. It grows well in the garden, makes a great container plant and produces fruit throughout the growing season. (But beware: It’s plenty hot, too!)

Buen provecho, veggie and fruit lovers! (And enjoy the harvest!)