Fruity delights ready for picking

Summer heralds the start of the fruit season in Jiading District, where orchards burst with ripened produce, inviting residents to savor and pick fresh harvests.

Watermelons

In early summer, the highly anticipated local specialty watermelons in Jiading, the Jiading Sh-uangxian watermelons, are now on the market!

Jiading Shuangxian comes in two types — the red-fleshed small watermelon Hong Xiaoxian and the yellow-fleshed small watermelon Huang Xiaoxian.

They are disease-resis-tant and of high quality, and have been cultivated for nearly eight years.

This year, the Jiading Sh-uangxian regional brand is being established. It is being demonstrated and promoted at 28 Jiading Shuangxian planting coop-eratives across Jiading.

The price is basically the same as last year at around 24 yuan (US$3.34) per kilo.

• Huating Town

Venue: Shanghai Huating Hami Melon Theme Park

Tel: 1512-1138-943

• Xuhang Town

Venue: Shanghai Qinyou Vegetables and Fruits Cooperative

Tel: 1336-1977-602

• Waigang Town

Venue: Shanghai Yunong Ecological Agriculture Cooperative

Tel: 1339-1068-555

Grapes

Jiading Malu Grape Park has launched its grape picking season, drawing many parent-child families to experience the activity.

According to Wang Suq-ing, a park staffer, due to the high temperature early this year, the quality of grapes has improved compared with last year, while the maturity period was basically the same as in previous years.

Grape picking will last through the National Day holi-day in October.

• Jiading Malu Grape Park

Ticket: 30 yuan (Free for children under 1.3 meters and the elderly over 70 years old)

Tel: 5951-1816

Address: 29 Dazhi Rd, Malu Town

Bayberries

Red bayberries at the Lijiang Ecological Garden has entered the best picking season.

The bayberries here are the high-quality Biqi bayberry from Cixi, Zhejiang Prov-ince, sowed 10 years ago.

This variety is one of the four famous bayberry breeds in China.

The juice is as rich as honey, bursting in the mouth with a gentle sip.

From the re-freshing sour aroma to the sweet burst of juice, every stage is worth experiencing.

The orchard has planted 10 mu (0.67 hectares) of bayber-ries, which have now entered the mature period.

• Lijiang Ecological Garden

Tel: 5996-8688

Address: 5088 Shuangzhu Rd, Jiading Industrial Zone

Yangjiaomimuskmelons

Yangjiaomi, a goat-horn-shaped muskmelon, is at peak flavor. Wan-gli cooperative’s melons feature light rinds, crispy flesh and high sugar content, while Panpan Gar-den’s sport darker rinds with equal sweetness.

• Wangli Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative

Tel: 1530-1888-067

Address: 50 meters south of the intersection of Loulu Highway and Xingqing Rd, Jiading Industrial Zone

• Panpan Strawberry Garden

Tel: 1850-1771-095

Address: North of the intersection of Hengxie Rd and Qianyang Rd, Waigang Town

Photos by Peng Xiaoyan and Dai Yixin

Pumpkins

At the Xingyun Strawberry Garden, round and plump mini pumpkins hang from the vines like snowballs, looking fresh and lovely against the green leaves.

These Bai Beibei pumpkins are pure white with smooth, glazed-like skins. “Besides their good looks, the flesh of Bai Beibei is delicate and powdery. When steamed, it has a dense texture and a light sweet aroma, making it perfect for the elderly and children,” said grower Liu Dongmei.

In the greenhouse, adjacent to the Bai Beibei are two other pumpkin va-rieties, Jugua and Huihe. The three types of pumpkins form a unique pastoral landscape with their stag-gered heights.

This batch of pumpkins has en-tered the mature picking period, and sales will continue until September and October.

• Xingyun Strawberry Garden

Tel: 1801-7186-812

Address: 1900 Moyu Rd N. Waigang Town

Nectarines

Local nectarines in Jiading have gradually ripened and hit the market, with the orchard filled with refreshing aroma.

At Lijiang Ecological Park, nectar-ine trees have grown lush and are thriving. Among the branches, nectarine fruits turn from green to red with bright colors. In the gentle breeze, bursts of fruit fragrance waft, making people stop and take a deep breath.

The currently mature variety is “Zhongyou No. 12,” an extra-early maturing nectarine introduced two years ago.

Geese are free-ranged in the orchard to clean up fallen fruits and control weeds.

The entire peach picking sea-son can last until mid-August.

• Lijiang Ecological Garden

Tel: 5996-8688

Address: 5088 Shuangzhu Rd, Jiading Industrial Zone

(Compiled by Hu Min, Qian Yidi,Peng Xiaoyan and Dai Yixin)