North Texas has two productive growing windows, not one. Cool weather crops carry the tables from October through April (greens, roots, brassicas and citrus), and heat crops take over from May through September (tomatoes, squash, peppers, okra, melons and stone fruit). Our seasonal guide lays this out as a calendar. This is the same information written out, with the reasoning attached.
One caveat first, and it is the honest one: availability varies by farm and by weather. A cold snap in March or a long dry stretch in July moves everything. Treat any month-by-month guide as a general expectation for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, then ask the grower what actually came in that week.
## Winter: January and February
January tables lean on citrus and greens. Oranges, grapefruit and lemons, collard greens, kale and spinach, plus carrots, beets and radishes, and broccoli, cabbage and lettuce.
February is close to the same list, with Swiss chard and turnips appearing and lemons dropping off. This is the quiet part of the year, and it is also when the fewest markets are open. Year-round options include the Dallas Farmers Market (The Shed), Frisco Fresh Market, The Clearfork Farmers Market, Cowtown Farmers Market, the McKinney Farmers Market at Chestnut Sq. and the Carrollton Artisans Market.
## Early spring: March and April
March is the first real turn. Asparagus and strawberries arrive alongside the winter holdovers: lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, beets, broccoli and cabbage, plus peas, onions and fresh herbs. It is also when a large number of markets open their season.
April keeps asparagus and strawberries and adds the first berries, blackberries and blueberries, along with the leading edge of the summer crops: squash, zucchini, cucumbers and peppers, plus greens, peas, onions and potatoes.
## Late spring: May and June
May is when the season becomes obviously abundant. Tomatoes start. Squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers and corn are on the tables, peaches begin, blackberries and blueberries continue, figs appear, and green beans and onions round it out.
June holds all of that and adds eggplant, cantaloupe, okra and potatoes, with sweet corn at its peak. If you only shop a farmers market twice a year, June is one of the two trips worth making.
## High summer: July and August
July is tomatoes, corn, squash, peppers, eggplant and okra, with peaches still going, and melons taking over the fruit table: watermelon and cantaloupe. Figs and blackberries continue, and two crops show up that you will rarely see in a grocery aisle, southern peas and sweet potato greens.
August looks similar with a shift toward fall. Tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplant, squash and corn, sweet potatoes starting, watermelon and cantaloupe still strong, figs and peaches finishing, southern peas continuing, and the first pears.
This is also when the heat changes how markets operate. Several DFW markets move to evening hours in July and August rather than running through midday. If you shop in high summer, check whether your market has switched to a night format.
## Early fall: September and October
September is a genuine overlap month. Tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplant, squash and sweet potatoes are still going, watermelon and cantaloupe hang on, figs and pears continue, and the fall crops arrive: apples, pumpkins, winter squash and greens.
October flips fully. Pumpkins, winter squash and sweet potatoes lead, the cool weather greens return in force (collards, kale, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach), roots come back with radishes, carrots and beets, broccoli returns, and apples and pears fill the fruit table.
## Late fall and winter: November and December
November is the greens and roots month: collards, kale, lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Citrus starts, sweet potatoes continue, apples are still around, and pecans arrive. Pecans in November are the most North Texas item on this entire calendar.
December returns to the January list with two additions worth planning around: Brussels sprouts and pecans. Oranges, grapefruit and lemons, collards, kale and spinach, carrots, beets and radishes, broccoli, cabbage and lettuce.
## How to use this
Shop the month, not the recipe. If you arrive with a fixed list in July, you will buy expensive out-of-season produce or leave disappointed. If you arrive planning to cook whatever is stacked highest, you will eat better and spend less.
The second habit is to ask. A grower will tell you what came in best that week, and that answer beats any calendar, including this one. Availability shifts by farm, and the person who picked it knows more than the guide does.
You can see the same information as a month grid on our seasonal guide, and find a market near you in the directory.