Best Spring Juices: What to Make in April, May & June

Why Seasonal Produce Makes Better Juice

The juicing industry operates largely on the fiction that produce quality is consistent year-round. It isn't. Flavor compounds, sugar content, phytonutrient concentrations, and aromatic volatiles all fluctuate with season, growing conditions, and time since harvest. In-season, locally sourced produce — particularly in spring — can be meaningfully different from the same produce bought out-of-season or shipped long distances.

The underlying biology: plants accumulate sugars, anthocyanins, and other secondary metabolites in response to environmental cues (temperature, day length, UV exposure, water availability). Spring produce that emerges after cold winters has built up starch reserves that convert to simple sugars quickly as temperatures warm. The result is fruit and vegetables that are at their sweetest and most complex in flavor during a relatively narrow seasonal window.

A 2012 study in Food Chemistry measured phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity in strawberries across growing seasons and found that peak-season field-grown strawberries had 2–3x higher total phenolic content than off-season commercial berries — reflecting both genetic variety differences and environmental growing conditions.

Spring Produce Calendar: What Peaks When

April: Late Citrus + First Spring Greens

Blood oranges reach their final and often most developed flavor in early-to-mid April before the season ends. This is the last chance until next December to get Moro blood oranges with full anthocyanin development. Also: early asparagus (thin spears, most tender), young spinach, and the first spring strawberries in California and southern growing regions.

Priority buys in April: Blood oranges (final weeks), asparagus (first flush), young spring spinach, fresh mint (increasingly available), fennel.

May: Peak Spring Window

May is the most important spring juicing month for most of North America. Strawberries reach peak at farmers markets in mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions; asparagus is fully in season; fresh peas (English shelling peas) become available at farm stands; rhubarb is at peak tartness; snap peas appear. Spring herbs — basil, mint, tarragon, chervil — are at their most tender and concentrated.

Priority buys in May: Field-grown strawberries (farmers market), asparagus (still in peak), fresh peas in the pod, rhubarb, young basil, fresh mint.

June: Transition to Early Summer

Spring produce winds down in June as temperatures climb. Strawberry season ends in most mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions by late June; asparagus becomes tough and woody. But early summer arrivals begin: blueberries (late June in most regions), cherries (early summer), peaches (early in southern regions). Peas shift from sweet to starchy.

Priority buys in June: Cherries (exceptional for recovery juice — see the athlete recipe), first blueberries, remaining strawberries in northern regions, snap peas early in the month.

Four Spring Juice Recipes to Make Now

Spring Nutrition Angle: What to Prioritize

Folate: Spring produce is disproportionately rich in folate — asparagus, spinach, and strawberries are all among the best folate sources and all peak in spring. If you're looking to increase dietary folate (particularly relevant for women of reproductive age), spring is the easiest time of year to do it through food rather than supplements.

Anthocyanins: Spring marks the end of blood orange season and the beginning of strawberry and cherry season — all of which are among the highest-anthocyanin fruits available. If you're tracking anti-inflammatory dietary compounds, spring is an ideal window to build those habits.

Vitamin C: Spring citrus (late-season blood oranges, early strawberries) and asparagus all provide meaningful vitamin C. As the season transitions to summer, early peppers and berries continue the supply.

Practical Spring Shopping Tips

Farmers markets beat grocery stores for spring produce. The quality difference is especially pronounced in spring because spring produce is fragile — strawberries, peas, and asparagus all degrade rapidly post-harvest. Produce at farmers markets is typically 24–72 hours from harvest; produce at supermarkets has often been in distribution for 4–7 days.

Buy in volume and juice immediately when you find exceptional spring produce. Peak-season strawberries are worth buying 2–3 pints if you can juice them the same day. Don't let them sit — the flavor that makes them worth the price is gone in 36–48 hours.

Watch blood orange sell-through. Grocery stores mark down blood oranges aggressively in April as they clear inventory before the season ends. This is the time to buy them cheap, not earlier in the season.