What’s in Season- October

October is my favorite food month. You have the end of the Summer season coinciding with the new Fall produce. It’s also the month with the most produce in season. Stock up now, because the blah, never-ending root vegetable-only diet of January and February is coming.

Produce is always cheapest when you buy it in season for your location. While I can not list every single area of the country and what is in season, this is a general over-view of what is currently in season for most of the United States. If you only buy local produce, not all of this will be available to you, but if you do purchase from stores, this is what should be the least expensive and the most fresh right now, even if it’s being trucked in from another state. Use this as a guide for purchasing large amounts from non-local farmer’s markets for canning, freezing, lacto-fementing, dehydrating and preserving. If you can purchase locally and it is within your budget, please do. However, if you are new to eating seasonally or don’t have a local farmer, this list will help you make the best purchasing decisions.

Apple
Almond
Artichoke
Arugula
Avocado
Basil
Beans- shell
Beans- snap/green
Beet (south)
Bell pepper
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cardoon
Celery Root
Chard
Chestnut
Collard greens
Cranberry
Cucumber
Daikon radish
Dill
Eggplant
Garlic
Grape
Green onion
Greens, cooking
Hot peppers
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leek
Lemon
Mustard
Orange, Valencia
Parsley
Parsnips
Peach
Pear, Asian
Persimmon
Pistachio
Pomegranate
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Radish
Raspberries
Rutabaga (south)
Salad Greens
Shallot
Spinach
Sweet potato
Tomato (south)
Turnip
Walnut
Winter squash

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KerryAnn Foster runs Cooking Traditional Foods, the longest running Traditional Foods Menu Mailer on the internet. KerryAnn has over nine years of traditional foods experience and is a former Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader. Founded in 2005, CTF helps you feed your family nourishing foods they will love. Each mailer contains one soup, five dinners, one breakfast, on dessert and extras. You can learn more about our Menu Mailers at the CTF website. For a free sample Menu Mailer, join our mailing list. You can also join our forum to chat with other traditional foodists and learn more.