When Are Medjool Dates in Season? A Date Farm’s Calendar

Short answer: Medjool dates are harvested once a year, from late summer into late fall, with most of the California crop coming off the palms in autumn. Because dates cure on the tree and keep beautifully in cold storage, good Medjools are available all year — but the fruit you buy in May was picked last fall. Here is the full calendar from a farm that works it.

The date year on a Coachella Valley farm

Months	What is happening on the palm
February–April	Pollination. Date palms are male or female, and commercial groves are pollinated by hand, strand by strand, as the flowers open.
April–June	Fruit set and thinning. Small green fruit forms; growers thin the bunches so the remaining dates grow large. This is where jumbo Medjools are made.
July–August	Growing and coloring. Fruit sizes up and turns yellow or red (the khalal stage). Bunches are bagged to protect them.
Late August–November	Harvest. Fruit softens to rutab, then cures to tamar — the wrinkled, caramel-sweet date you know. Pickers go through each palm several times as bunches ripen unevenly.
December–January	Packing and storage. The crop is sorted, graded and cold-stored so it can be sold through the year.

So when should you buy?

October through December is the freshest window. Fruit is weeks off the palm, at its softest, and there is plenty of it. It is also when holiday baking and gifting need dates most.

We grow these. Golden Zahidi Baking Dates — Shipping Included | California Farm-Direct from our family farm in Sky Valley, California — from $19/lb, shipping included. See them →

The rest of the year is fine too — if the seller stores it right. Medjools hold their quality for many months when kept cold, which is how every farm and packer sells year-round. What you want to avoid is fruit that has sat warm, or last season’s crop still being sold after the new harvest comes in. The simple question to ask any seller: which harvest is this from?

We cold-store our own crop and pack every order to order, so a box from us is always this season’s fruit until the next harvest comes in. Ask us any time, and we will tell you exactly when it was picked.

What about Barhi and other varieties?

Varieties ripen on different schedules. Barhi is the exception worth knowing: it is prized eaten fresh and crunchy in the yellow khalal stage, which lasts only a few weeks around late summer and cannot be stored. That is why Barhi sells on a waitlist. Zahidi, a firmer, drier date, keeps even longer than Medjool and is a good choice deep into the year.

How to tell fresh-season fruit

• Soft and plump, giving under a gentle squeeze
• Glossy skin with loose wrinkles, not a dull, tight or sugary crust
• Caramel and honey flavor, not just flat sweetness

More on this in fresh dates vs dried dates.

Shop This Season’s Medjool — from $19 →See What’s in Stock Now →

Quick answers

What month are Medjool dates harvested?
In California, harvest runs from late August into November, with most of the crop picked in the fall.

Are Medjool dates available year-round?
Yes. Dates cure on the palm and store well cold, so farms sell the crop through the year until the next harvest.

Where are Medjool dates grown in the U.S.?
Mostly in California’s Coachella Valley and in southwestern Arizona, where hot, dry summers and irrigation water let the palms thrive.

Are frozen or cold-stored dates as good as fresh?
Stored cold, Medjools keep their texture and flavor for many months. Let them come to room temperature before eating for the best texture.

Keep reading: the Coachella Valley, America’s date capital · how to store dates