Ontario Tender Fruit and Fresh Grape Growers are pleased to share that the 2025 growing season is shaping up to deliver a high-quality crop full of flavourful fruit. A cooler-than-usual spring slowed early development, bringing the season back to a more traditional timeline after last year’s early harvest. Now, with the arrival of warm summer temperatures and well-timed rainfall, growers across the province are optimistic about the quality, sweetness, and juiciness of this year’s tender fruit crop.
“We had a slow start, but Mother Nature is right on track,” said Sarah Marshall, manager of Ontario Tender Fruit Growers. “Consumers can look forward to their summer favourites in grocery stores as early as next week.”
Ontario apricots, yellow plums, peaches, and nectarines will begin to arrive in mid-July, followed by blue plums, pears, and table grapes throughout August and into early fall. With a full range of locally grown tender fruits coming to grocery stores and farm markets soon, now is the perfect time to start enjoying the season’s best and find inspiration through a multitude of recipes available on the association’s website: www.ontariotenderfruit.ca.
Phil Tregunno, chair of the Ontario Tender Fruit Growers and a long-time grower himself, added: “We’re really pleased with how the crop is looking so far. After a cooler spring, the trees are healthy, and the fruit is sizing up nicely. The heat we’re getting now is helping to bring out that signature Ontario sweetness. It’s shaping up to be a great year for flavour and quality.”
Ontario’s tender fruit and table grape industry is rooted in generations of family farms, and supporting local growers remains more important than ever. The continued strength of the Buy Canadian movement reflects growing consumer awareness about the value of choosing homegrown produce—both for freshness and for the economic benefits it brings to local communities.
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