Pomegranate Season Is Here! Check Out This Year’s Harvest

At first, I’m not quite sure what I’m looking at.

It’s 2010, and I’m in Lodi, California, standing on a dirt path. A wire trellis runs along the path with a plant climbing about halfway up. The plant has green, almond-shaped leaves, and small, bulbous red orbs hang off its thin branches. I walk closer, and it hits me: These are young pomegranates!

How Pomegranates Grow

That was my first time seeing a pomegranate tree growing in real life. I’ll admit, I imagined it would look more like an apple or pear tree, with a thick trunk and large canopy. But pomegranate “trees” are actually shrubs, although they can be trained into more traditional tree shapes.

I got another surprise when I inspected the bushes more closely. The “crown” at the top of the pomegranate fruit isn’t where it attaches to the tree, like you might think. Instead, the crowns dangle toward the ground. That’s because they’re remnants of the flower that became the fruit.

When Are Pomegranates in Season?

Pomegranates are in season from September through December here in California, and they’re such a fun fall treat. Inside, they’re full of juicy, gem-like arils with a blood-red color and a sweet but slightly bitter taste that just screams fall. They’re not the easiest things to peel (here’s a handy video on how to eat a pomegranate) but I find the effort worth it. When I get my hands on a pomegranate, I like snacking on the arils by themselves or adding them to salads.

The 2024 Pomegranate Crop

Pomegranates will pop up in some of our seasonal fruit boxes nationwide throughout the fall months. This should be a great year for them. We had a cool winter and hot summer in California, and that’s perfect pomegranate-growing weather. One of our farm partners even reported crops about 10 percent larger than usual.

The quality is looking great, too, and I’m looking forward to months of beautiful fruit with excellent flavor. Considering all of this good news, I can’t resist celebrating with a froem (fruit poem):

Pomegranate treat

A fall spectacular fruit

Red juice stains fingers

Happy pomegranate season! If you want to celebrate with a pom party in your office, keep an eye on our by the case page for bulk pomegranates. They should be available starting in November.