What's In Season: Fall

One of the easiest and oldest tricks for eating well on a budget is to eat in season.Whether you grow your own food, buy it at the farmer's market or shop at the grocery store, you'll often get the freshest food at the lowest price if you catch it in season.

Here in Illinois,our growing season is coming to a close, but boy do we go out with a bang! Local orchards offer all kinds of apples, grapes, and pumpkins for picking. Farmer's markets offer a dizzying array of melons, squashes, greens, corn, crucifers, root veggies and herbs. Many grain and pasture-fed animals are butchered in the fall (as well as spring). And there are so many things available to plant for next year- flowers, fruit trees and more.

If you have a root cellar or cool basement, many fall veggies and fruit keep especially well. You might also consider canning, drying or freezing the surplus to get you through the winter. Those who are lucky enough to have cold frames can keep growing through a good portion of the winter. One of my favorite gardening personlities, Eliot Coleman, does this in Maine of all places! It's a dream of mine to grow things like he does. Check out his book, The Four Season Harvest, to learn more about how he does it. (He has a couple of excellent ones on year-round, organic gardening.)

Here's a list of what's in season in my area (your mileage may vary):

Apples Beets Bell Pepper Berries Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Fennel

Garlic Grapes Herbs Horseradish Leeks Lettuce Melons Nectarines Okra Onions Parsnips Peaches Pears

Peas Plums Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Rhubarb Spinach Squash (winter and last of summer) Sweet Potatoes Swiss Chard Tomatoes Turnips (and other root veggies) Wild Mushrooms

Here are some resources to help you find out what's in season near you, where to get it and what to make:

Websites:
Eat the Seasons
Sustainable Table
Local Harvest
Local in Season
Simply in Season Fruit and Vegetable Guide
Government Fruits and Veggies site
CUESA- Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (Excellent site!)
CUESA Seasonal Fruit and Nut Chart
CUESA Seasonal Vegetable Chart
Eat Local Simple Steps
Eat Local Challenge
Primal Toad: Leveraging the Farmer's Market to Save Money

Books:
Simply in Season
The Victory Garden Cookbook
From Seed to Table
From Seed to Skillet
Serving up the Harvest
Eat Local Simple Steps