Produce Availability by Season

Eating local sounds great, but what’s available outside the summer months? There’s a lot more than you might think! Check out our seasonal availability guide for a list of products available in the spring, summer, fall, and winter, as well as year-round products we offer.

Year-round products:

  • Grains: flour, cornmeal, popcorn, grits, oats, pasta, cereal, tortilla chips, potato chips, dough

  • Plant protein: dry beans, tofu

  • Animal products: meat, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter

  • Sweeteners: maple syrup, honey

  • Condiments: pickles, kimchi, hot sauce, mustard

  • Produce: hydroponic and aquaponic produce (including lettuce and basil), microgreens, mushrooms

 

In Ohio, there must be a time when nothing is growing! When can’t I get produce?

Short answer: for the most part, you’ll always be able to get something fresh and local!

Long answer: The Oberlin Food Hub operates 12 months out of the year, but there are busy seasons and low seasons. There’s a common misconception that all winter months are created equal, but in reality, late fall and early winter are often just as bountiful as the summer! Through hundreds of years of crop selection for storage quality, many crops (root vegetables like cabbage, potatoes, beets, and carrots, as well as winter squash and apples) are just as good in January as they are in September. When those storage crops run out, it becomes more difficult to source local produce — but it can be done!

In addition to local hydroponic and aquaponic farms, which produce fresh vegetables year-round, rain or shine, in temperature-controlled facilities, more farmers are adopting season extension practices (such as row cover and high tunnels). These growing techniques allow extremely hardy winter greens to be harvested even in the coldest winter months. During milder winters, fresh greens grown in soil may be available all year round using these methods, making fresh, nutritious local food available deep into the winter months and increasing the resiliency of the food system at large.

  • Vegetables: arugula, asparagus, cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, sugar snap peas, radishes, rhubarb, salad mix, spinach, swiss chard, turnip greens

    Fruit: strawberries

    Herbs: basil (hydroponic)

  • Vegetables: beans (green, dragon tongue, purple, yellow), beets (red, yellow, Chioggia), corn, cucumbers (slicing and pickling), eggplant (common, Sicilian, Asian), green onions, lettuce, leeks, okra (green and red), hot peppers (jalapeno, Thai chili), sweet peppers, (bell, banana, lunch box), summer squash (zucchini, patty pan, yellow), swiss chard, tomatoes (cherry, green, heirloom, Roma, slicer), new potatoes

    Fruit: blackberries, blueberries, cherries, melon (cantaloupe and watermelon - red and yellow), raspberries, peaches

    Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme

  • Vegetables: arugula, snap beans, beets (red, yellow, Chioggia), broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, sweet corn, kale, lettuce, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, swiss chard, pumpkins, radishes, salad mix, spinach, turnips, winter squash (acorn, butternut, delicata, etc)

    Fruit: apples, watermelon, raspberries, peaches, pears

    Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, oregano, sage, parsley, rosemary, thymeDescription text goes here

  • Vegetables - storage: beets, cabbage, carrots, onions, parsnips,  potatoes, sweet potatoes, storage radishes, turnips, winter squash (acorn, butternut, delicata, etc)

    Vegetables - fresh: arugula (high tunnel), baby kale (high tunnel), kale (row cover), lettuce (hydroponic and high tunnel), salad mix (hydroponic and high tunnel), swiss chard (row cover), microgreens

    Fruit: storage apples

    Herbs: basil (hydroponic)