Do you need to move the fruit "by hand" from the plants and then use them in a cooking station, if those are the right words.. Can it be harvested automatically?

If you only have just enough planted to meet your settlers' food requirements, you'll need to harvest it by hand. But if you have more food plants than your settlers need, they'll harvest the excess over time and store it in your workbench inventory.

Thanks.

If you have settlers assigned to farm your plants, most of them will end up automatically in your workbench. But yes, to cook with them, you have to either transfer them from the workbench into your inventory or harvest them. The cooking station is not connected with your workbench, like your other crafting stations.

I have found the cooking station is connected to the workbench. But there are a few different types, maybe one of them has a bug or something.

Yes, my cooking station is linked to the workbench, as I've never dropped food into the CS, only WB. But have cooked quite a lot. As for it maybe the type of CS. I'm using the original campfire with pot in sanctuary.

oh yea, duh, it does take stuff in the workbench into consideration. I should know that, I made enough starch, since I seem to be always running short of adhesive!