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What's In Season Now

Northern Colorado's growing season runs roughly late April through October, bookended by hardy storage crops the rest of the year. Here's what to actually look for at the market or in your CSA box, month by month, based on typical Front Range harvest timing — exact timing shifts a few weeks either way with the weather.

A large harvest of tomatoes gathered in crates at a farm

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This month (September): peak tomato and pepper season, sweet corn winding down, first apples and winter squash coming in, and pumpkin patches starting to open for the fall. Great month for both fresh eating and your first canning batch of the year.

January – February

  • Storage potatoes & onions
  • Winter squash (butternut, acorn)
  • Stored apples
  • Garlic
  • Greenhouse microgreens & hoop-house greens (a few growers)

March

  • Overwintered root vegetables
  • Early hoop-house spinach & lettuce
  • Stored squash, onions, potatoes
  • Honey (year-round, but a good time to restock)

April

  • Asparagus begins (late April)
  • Spinach, arugula, radishes
  • Rhubarb starts
  • Early lettuce mixes

May

  • Asparagus (peak)
  • Rhubarb
  • Spring greens & salad mix
  • Radishes, spring turnips
  • First farmers markets of the year open

June

  • Strawberries begin
  • Peas & snap peas
  • Garlic scapes
  • Early summer squash & zucchini
  • Cherries begin (late June/early July at some orchards)

July

  • Raspberries & early blackberries
  • Cherries (peak)
  • First tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans
  • Sweet corn begins
  • Summer squash (peak)

In season nowSeptember

  • Tomatoes & peppers (peak)
  • Sweet corn (tail end)
  • First apples
  • Early winter squash & pumpkins
  • Grapes, late plums

August

  • Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (peak)
  • Sweet corn (peak)
  • Melons — cantaloupe & watermelon
  • Peaches, plums
  • Green beans

October

  • Apples (peak)
  • Pumpkins & winter squash (peak)
  • Root vegetables — carrots, beets, potatoes
  • Last tomatoes (before frost)
  • Most farmers markets wrap up mid-to-late month

November – December

  • Storage squash & root vegetables
  • Stored apples
  • Late-season CSA fall/winter shares
  • Honey, preserves, farm-made goods for the holidays
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A note on timing

Northern Colorado sits around USDA zone 5b–6a with a semi-arid climate and a real risk of late spring and early fall frosts, so exact harvest windows move a couple of weeks earlier or later depending on the year. Growers with hoop houses or high tunnels (several CSA farms in the directory run them) stretch both ends of the season further than open-field timing alone would suggest.

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Frequently asked questions

When does Northern Colorado's growing season start and end?

Roughly late April through October. Outside that window, storage crops like potatoes, onions, and winter squash carry the market, along with stored apples and garlic.

Why does harvest timing shift from year to year?

Northern Colorado sits around USDA zone 5b–6a with a semi-arid climate and a real risk of late spring and early fall frosts, so exact harvest windows can move a couple of weeks earlier or later depending on the year. Farms running hoop houses or high tunnels stretch both ends of the season further than open-field timing alone would suggest.

What's the peak month for tomatoes in Northern Colorado?

August, when tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant all peak together alongside sweet corn. Tomatoes and peppers stay strong into September before the first frost ends the run in October.