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You’re not alone. I was like that, too.
The good news is that most vegetables are available year-round. However, if you live in a warmer climate like myself, you will see more road markets or farmers’ markets bursting with assorted vegetables in the summer and fall months.
To even shop at farmers’ markets, you must first decide what vegetables you’re even going to buy!
What Vegetables Do You Cook With?
Does your family go through lots of corn, or is it green beans that you find yourself buying more of than other vegetables?
Observe and keep inventory of what it is you often turn to as far as vegetables. Are you finding yourself eating steamed broccoli or roasted asparagus? Write these vegetables down and keep an eye out for sales (usually when they are in season, they’re cheaper at grocery stores) or find farmers’ markets near you.
Fresh vegetables are usually available in abundance in the summer months. It would only be wise to stock up on vegetables that your family loves and eats.
- For me, that’s apples in bushels to make applesauce.
- Bushels of peaches in the summer are used to make canned peaches.
- Freeze jumbo bags of garden tomatoes to make ketchup, homemade pizza sauce, and salsa.
- Making freezer jams from an abundance of locally picked strawberries.
- Unlimited fruit smoothies by freezing overripe bananas and seasonal blueberries. The list can go on…
Buy Vegetables in Bulk
After you make an inventory of what vegetables you tend to cook with, buy them in season and buy them in bulk to freeze or make canned goods. Buying vegetables in big quantities at local produce farms can cost less than the grocery store and is usually fresher and higher in nutrition because it’s picked fresh.
Seasonal eating ensures you get the most out of the seasonal produce. Don’t be afraid to embrace the different seasons and preserve or cook with the vegetables available near you. Search out nearby farms and start planning when to use the harvest.
Buying in season in large amounts is a wise thing to do. Usually bushels of fruit can be significantly cheaper as well as vegetables. A farm a couple hours away from us sells boxes of pick-your-own bell peppers or tomatoes for $8 or $5 if you wait to glean the fields. Gleaning the fields can come with a very low cost and save lots of waste. This is when canning and learning to preserve foods can really save you lots of money.
Grow a Garden
If you want to save several hundred dollars per year then grow a modest garden. A little plot can be managed by spending just 30 minutes each morning. Yes, it takes time to cultivate and weed, to produce quantities of vegetables but the time invested will be so worth it.
Some vegetables that are grown can produce a bountiful amount like tomatoes and cucumbers. You only need a few plants to produce quantities.
So learn a few preservation methods (even its freezing) and experience the satisfaction of harvesting and preserving the food you labored for. Money does not compare to this feeling of reward and productivity.
Seasonal Harvest Guide
For a complete seasonal eating guide on when to harvest fruits and vegetables and how to use them, download my FREE printable chart below.
Keep this chart in your planner for inspiration, or as a guide for in season vegetables. These are the vegetables that I cook from or look for in my area to buy in quantities.
Furthermore, I have included the 4 different seasons below and what I buy in those seasons, including what I make from the fruits and vegetables I bring home (whether its from my garden, farm, or produce stand).
Picking strawberries and blueberries in the summertime with my children has become a yearly tradition. They help pick, and I preserve and make colorful jars of strawberry freezer jam. The rest get frozen for kefir smoothies.
Summer
Cherry picking was something my children did with their grandma every late June or July when we lived back in Massachusetts. With sour cherries, I usually canned them in a light syrup for a quick pie filling, snack, or tart filling for cakes. This chocolate cherry cake is scrumptious!
In the summer months of June or July we also like to order boxes of peaches for making canned peaches. Here in the Carolina’s the peak season is in mid-June to mid-July. And of course you can make cobblers and beautiful cheesecakes arranged with sliced peaches in a glaze.
With summer squash, like zucchini, I like to grate and freeze shredded zucchini in 2-cup portions for chocolate zucchini brownies or my Carrot and Zucchini Bars. Ukrainian’s also make delicious zucchini crepes that they layer between garlic aioli to make a savory crepe cake (it is so good).
To use up a zucchini with a blend of different veggies, you should try my roasted vegetables as a pizza topping. This Vegetable Zucchini spread recipe is also great for using up a variety of veggies. Zucchini lasagna is a light and delicious meal for the summer months too.
Obviously, cucumbers and tomatoes are abundant in the summer months. I usually make pickles or relish from the abundance.
My go-to recipes for using up fresh tomatoes are Canned Ketchup, pizza sauce, and Salsa. Tomatoes can be canned whole, diced, or even made into a puree.
A dehydrator is handy to have if you do a lot of preserving, as you can dry the skins of tomatoes to make tomato paste or powder. You can also dehydrate various fruits in the summer months.
Fall
Fall is for picking apples to make canned apple pie filling, applesauce, or apple butter (a jam-type sweet spread). If you live near an orchard farm or want to go on a fun field trip then late August through November is a good time. The later in the season you go pick the cheaper the apples can be. Some farmers will let you glean the fields for a fraction of the price.
In September, we buy concord grapes for making large quantities of grape juice. Canned grape juice is one of the easiest fruit juices you can make.
Another fall speciality we look for are pomegranates. October is the month you’re likely to see pomegranates in most grocery stores including Aldi. We love pomegranates in this salad with a garlicky ranch dressing (AMAZING)!
Canned pumpkin is great for these squash dinner rolls that I inherited from my Mennonite friends.
Pumpkin pies and Pecan pie are very popular during the fall months. We have a few pecan trees on our property and harvest pecans sometime in November. After we pick them we take all the pecans to a local mill to peel off the shells. Then we freeze the pecans in freezer bags for pies and our fall baking adventures.
Fall is the perfect time to dehydrate venison for meat jerky too, as that is the season for most areas to hunt.
Most potato varieties are harvested in the fall so making potato dishes and comfort food is a good time. I make freezer mashed potatoes or hash browns with potatoes that are past their prime time. Boiled and shredded potatoes make great casserole dishes like breakfast casseroles or cheesy potatoes that can freeze well.
Winter
Butternut squash is a type of winter squash. It’s one of my favorites from the hard skinned winter squashes. It’s harvested in the fall for storing throughout the winter. Green cabbage is another winter food that can be preserved for extended periods of time especially when made into sauerkraut.
Butternut squash puree is similair to canning pumpkin. It’s great for these big batch Butternut Squash Dinner Rolls. Canned pumpkin or squash can be used for the rolls.
Green cabbage can be stored in a cool garage or fridge doubled wrapped in brown paper bags. I like to make salads, fried cabbage, and sauerkraut.
Obviously, if you preserve the harvest in, the warmer months, you can enjoy it throughout the winter months, too. That is why it’s worth all the hard work.
Spring
Some cool-season crops thrive in milder temperatures like Spring. Leafy greens and radishes grow so well in the Spring here in the South. Kale also thrives in cooler weather here in the spring. In South Carolina you can plant green beans as a Spring crop after the last frost. This is usually March or sometimes even the end of February.
I love to make rhubarb strawberry jam that I learned to make from my mennonite friends. Rhubarb jam is typically made with strawberry jello to impart that red color and set it. Warmer climates have Farmer’s Market open sooner.
Fresh Herbs like dill, parsley, or cilantro thrive in milder Spring temperatures. In fact, you can grow them indoors all year long if you take extra care of them and keep them by a window. One way I have been preserving fresh herbs from the grocery store is placing them in a heavy-duty glass cup filled with cold water. I cover the tops with a clear plastic bag (bread bag) and put it in the fridge. This will keep herbs for a very long time. Freezing fresh herbs is also handy if you have an abundance and want to use it throughout the seasons.
Summary
Well, I think that wraps up most of my seasonal eating. I hope this Produce guide helped you out and sparked some new ideas for you in the kitchen. If I missed anything, feel free to comment below and share what seasonal foods you like to preserve and why. I’d love to chat!