When exactly will Colorado’s seasonal fruits like cherries and peaches be available? Is anyone else wondering if the farmers market will have any chard this week? This guide is your one-stop resource, as it details the harvest season in Colorado month by month.

Please be aware that the timing of the harvest varies from year to year as a result of factors like frost, pests, temperatures, and rainfall. Harvest periods begin later and terminate sooner in colder years, while in warmer years the seasons begin earlier and stay longer. Hothouses, or heated greenhouses, allow certain Colorado farmers to grow vegetables year-round or to cultivate crops that normally cannot survive the cold. 

If you really want to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables, this guide will not let you down. But if you are still wondering if you should opt for a seasonal plate or not, let us answer your doubts.

 

Is there any use in trying to eat in accordance with the seasons?

Fresh, in-season produce has a higher nutritional value and better flavor than its out-of-season counterpart. Eating with the seasons increases culinary creativity and color. A diet rich in variety helps you feel your best by providing your body with the resources it needs to thrive.

What are its benefits?

Eating food grown in your own area has benefits for both you and the planet. Non-Colorado grown foods have a longer journey to your local grocery shop, making them less fresh and nutrient dense.

 

I want to eat seasonally and locally in Colorado; how can I do that?

Due to its severe winters, Colorado has a very brief growth season. Produce typically has its best growing season between the months of May and November. Cucumbers, potatoes, and tomatoes, for example, can be grown at any time of the year. Use the schedules below as guides for what to eat and when.

 

Beginning of the season: April

The annual harvest in Colorado usually gets underway in April. The season could start at the beginning of the month or towards the end of the month, depending on the weather and other circumstances. The following items become harvestable when the temperature rises:

Morels are in season from April until June and so are. 

You can have sprouts in April (or all year round if you live near a greenhouse).

 

May

May is a good month for harvesting beans and greens in Colorado. The following veggies should be available this month:

The first crop of rocket is harvested in May, and it may be found in hothouses all year round.

• May Asparagus
• Fava Beans, May
• Spring and summer’s green garlic
• Coins, from May to October
• May-June is the season for pea greens.
• Produced from May to June, peas and pea pods
• Grown from May to November, radishes
• Rhubarb, from May through September
• From May till September, spinach.

 

June

Cherry and blueberry harvests coincide with the longer days and higher temperatures of June in Colorado. These can be found at grocery stores, convenience stores, and farm stands:

• Season for Basil: June – September
• June and July are prime time for blueberries.
• June : Cherries
• June–September is fennel harvesting time.
• Scallions/green onions, June–October
• Summer and autumn lettuce.
• Potatoes harvested in June and July
• June–October is parsley season.
• Strawberry harvest season runs from June through October. 

 

July

Vegetables such as sweet corn and ripe tomatoes are in abundance in Colorado throughout the month of July. It’s possible to get your hands on the following groceries:

• Radishes, August to November
• July through October is broccoli season.
• The best time to buy chard is between July and October.
• Maize, from July until October
• Cucumbers from July to October
• July–September is the time for garlic.
• Beans, green, harvestable from July to September
• Potatoes grown from July to November
• Garlic chives, August through December
• July–October is prime time for tomatoes.

 

August

August is the heart of summer, so it’s no surprise that ripe cantaloupes and sugary stone fruits are harvested then. This month is ideal for making a fruit salad out of seasonal fruits and vegetables from your area. 

• • Apples, August through October
  • Apricots, August through September
  • Blackberries, August through September
  • Cabbage, August into November
  • Cantaloupes, August through October
  • Carrots, August through November
  • Cauliflower, August through October
  • Chiles, August through October
  • Collard greens, August through October
  • Eggplant, August through October
  • Kale, August through November
  • Leeks, August through December
  • Melons, August through October
  • Nectarines, August and September
  • Onions, August through December 

• • Oregano, August and September

• • Peaches, August and September
  • Peppers (sweet), August into October
  • Plums and pluots, August

• Radicchio, August through November
• Raspberries, August into October
• Squash (summer), August into October
• Squash (winter), August into December
• Sweet Onions, August through October
• Zucchini Blossoms, August
• Zucchini, August into October

 

September

Colorado farms maintain production of the following crops until the early autumn:

• Broccoli raab, September and October
• Celeriac/celery root, September, and October
• Chicories, September through November
• Escarole, September into November
• Grapes, September into October
• Parsnips, September and October
• 
• Pears, September, and October
• Pumpkins, September and October
• Shelling beans, September
• Watermelons, September into October
• Winter Squash, September into November

 

October

October, the final harvest month, produces the following:

Fall Rutabagas: Harvest Time!

From October to December, turnips

 

Conclusion

Just because we live in a world where strawberries are available all through the year doesn’t make it a natural occurrence. At their full ripeness, crops are harvested at specific times throughout the year. However, in order to export and distribute to your local grocery shop, out-of-season produce is harvested early. Fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables have a more robust flavor. 

We’re willing to bet that an August tomato is much juicier than a January tomato. Studies have demonstrated that the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables increases when they are allowed to ripen on the parent plant.