06 · Harvest Calendar
The Season
California's citrus harvest isn't one season. It's a chain of overlapping windows that, taken together, cover nearly the entire year. Each varietal has a peak period when the fruit hits its best Brix, its best color, and its best flavor. Here's when everything happens and why the calendar matters.
The first thing to notice: there's never a month without something in season. That's not an accident. California growers deliberately stagger varietals to maintain year-round supply. Navels and their relatives (Cara Cara, Blood Orange) carry the winter and early spring. Valencias take over from late spring through fall. The handoff between the two is what makes California's citrus industry work.
Winter: The Navel Window
From November through April, Navels and their relatives dominate the citrus landscape. Washington Navels arrive first, followed by Cara Caras (the pink-fleshed navel with a berry-like sweetness) and Blood Oranges. These are eating oranges. Their juice turns bitter due to limonin, so the juicing industry is relatively quiet during these months.
But winter citrus has its own appeal. Blood oranges reach their dramatic crimson peak in January and February, when cold nights trigger the anthocyanin production that gives them their color. That's why blood orange season has become a minor cultural event in restaurant circles. The window is short and the fruit is striking.
The Spring Handoff
March is the pivot month. Navels are winding down. Valencias are just starting. The first Valencia fruit of the season tends to be lower in sugar. It's good, but it hasn't reached the concentrations that earn the Valencia Gold label yet. Growers and buyers track Brix readings daily, waiting for the numbers to climb.
By May, the Valencias hit their stride. The fruit has had months of warm, dry California days to concentrate its sugars. This is when the juicing season truly begins, and when the best juice of the year starts flowing.
Midsummer: The Gold Standard
May through August is the Valencia Gold window. This is when sugar content peaks, acidity balances perfectly, and the fruit's aromatic compounds are at their most complex. If you want to taste the best orange juice California can produce, this is when to seek it out.
The convergence doesn't last long. By September, Valencias are still being harvested, but the fruit is slightly past its aromatic peak. Early-season Navels begin appearing in October. The cycle resets. But those four midsummer months produce the juice that buyers, growers, and commodity traders spend the rest of the year talking about.