What is Best to Plant in May for a Bountiful Summer Harvest: Fruits (Part 2 of 3)

Continuing from Part 1, where we discussed the best Vegetables to plant during the month of May.  Below is Part 2 of 3: Fruit.

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Best Fruits to Plant in May

Some fruits take longer to establish, but May is still a great time to get them started.

🍓Strawberries (everbearing or day-neutral)

• Why plant in May: They settle in quickly and can produce the same year.

• Harvest window: Mid-summer through fall for everbearing types.

• Mentioned in the Bible?: Strawberries aren’t mentioned in the Bible, but within Catholic and Anglican traditions during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, they came to represent righteousness and spiritual purity due to their heart shape and sweetness.

• Myth: In Native American legend, strawberries grew from the ground where the tears of a woman fell after a quarrel with her husband — the berries helped reunite them.

• Legend: In medieval Europe, strawberries symbolized perfection and righteousness; they were carved into church altars and pillars.

🍉Melons (cantaloupe, watermelon)

• Why plant in May: They require warm soil and long growing seasons.

• Harvest window: August through early September.

• Mentioned in the Bible?: Melons appear in Numbers 11:5 alongside cucumbers. The Israelites remembered melons from Egypt, associating them with refreshment and abundance.

• Myth: In ancient Egypt, melons were believed to have sprung from the tears of the god Ra.

• Legend: Some Middle Eastern folklore claims melons were the first fruits cultivated after the Great Flood.

Raspberries & Blackberries

• Why plant in May: Canes establish well in warm soil.

• Harvest window: Next year, though some varieties give a small fall crop.

• Mentioned in the Bible?: While not named directly, brambles and thorny berry bushes appear symbolically. In Judges 9:14–15, the bramble is used in a parable about leadership, representing humility and caution.

• Myth: In Greek mythology, raspberries were originally white. They turned red when the nymph Ida pricked her finger while picking berries for baby Zeus.

• Legend: In Celtic lore, blackberries were avoided after Samhain (late autumn) because they were believed to be claimed by mischievous spirits.

Please continue to Part 3. We will be discussing the best herbs to plant in May.

To refer back to Part 1, click here.

Exotic Fruit: Do You Heart Persimmons?

Fuyu Persimmon Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu'
~ Other Common Name(s): Fuyu Kaki

Fuyu persimmon is a fruit that ripens in the fall season and should be included in the American cornucopia or “horn of plenty”. It is sweet and has a beautiful color! It makes for a beautiful ornamental plant. It attracts birds, so you might want to put a cage around it.

There are two other varieties of the persimmon that I know of: Cinnamon Persimmons (also called Percinnamons); and Hachiya Persimmons. This fruits is native to China and Japan.  But there is also an American persimmon.

• "Putchamin is the Algonquin Indian word from which we get persimmon, and it appears from a report by Hernando de Soto in 1541 that Indians in the Mississippi region made it into “bread”. The variety of persimmon enjoyed by these intrepid explorers and early settlers is what we now call Diospyros virginiana." (Source: Pioneers and Persimmons | The Old Foodie)

• According to folklore, if you crack open a persimmon seed from a ripe fruit and the shape inside (called a cotyledon) looks like a fork, winter will be mild; if you see a spoon, there will be a lot of snow, and if there is a knife, winter will be bitingly cold and “cut like a knife.” (Source: Farmer's Almanac)

• In the Buddhist religion, persimmons are a symbol of transformation. In China, they are an auspicious gift to newlyweds to celebrate eternal love. (Source: Real Food Encyclopedia | Persimmons | FoodPrint)

You can make cookies, pies, breads, and jam with it. Slice or dice tme like apples and you can put them in salads, if you like fruit in your salad. Instead of apples with your roasted pork, substitute persimmons. You can dehydrate them and eat them like chips!

• FUN FOOD FACT: You can freeze persimmons whole. Then when ready to eat, take them out of the freezer, let stand for 20 minutes to soften up, cut off the the top, take a spoon and DIVE IN!

Here are some wonderful recipes collected by Yummy Mummy Kitchen and Martha Stewart.

20 Persimmon Recipes  

12 Persimmon Recipes Everyone Should Make This Fall ~ 

Original source