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Oregon Farmers Market Guide

Eat what Oregon is picking this week.

97 Market is an Oregon market project for the people who grow food, the people who make things from it, and everyone who shops their tables. Start with the harvest calendar, then learn to shop, store and put up the season properly.

See the harvest calendar Thinking of selling?

The guides

Five things worth knowing before market day

Each guide is written for a real decision: what to buy, how to keep it, and what to do with the surplus.

  1. What's in season Month-by-month harvest windows for Oregon fruit, vegetables and nuts. Read the guide
  2. Shopping a farmers market Timing, payment, questions to ask growers and how to judge ripeness. Read the guide
  3. Storing fresh produce Counter, crisper or cellar: keep market produce at its best for longer. Read the guide
  4. Preserving the harvest Canning, freezing and drying, with the altitude rules Oregon cooks miss. Read the guide
  5. Becoming a market vendor Licensing questions, booth setup and the first-season mistakes to avoid. Read the guide

A year at Oregon markets

From the first spears to the last leeks

Typical Willamette Valley timing. Weather moves every date by a week or two, and the high desert runs later and shorter.

  1. AprilAsparagus and rhubarbThe first spring crops, with radishes and early greens beside them.
  2. JuneStrawberry peakJune-bearing berries have a short, intense run. Buy them last and eat them first.
  3. JulyMarionberriesOregon's own blackberry, here for a few weeks alongside cherries and raspberries.
  4. AugustTomatoes and cornPeaches, sweet corn and the tomato flood. Canning boxes appear at many stalls.
  5. OctoberPears, apples, hazelnutsOrchard fruit and the nut harvest, with winter squash curing on the tables.
  6. NovemberSprouts, leeks, kaleA frost or two sweetens the brassicas. Storage crops carry the winter markets.

Explore all 25 crops by month

Why the short trip matters

Buying from the person who grew it changes what you can get

Supermarket produce is bred and picked to survive trucks and cold storage. A grower selling ten miles from the field can pick for flavor instead. Hover or tap a principle below.

Principle 01

Riper fruit

Berries and stone fruit can stay on the plant until they are actually ready, because they only need to last until Sunday dinner.

Principle 02

Varieties that do not ship

Marionberries, soft heirloom tomatoes and fragile lettuces rarely survive long-haul distribution. Markets are where you find them.

Principle 03

Answers

Ask how something was grown, when it was picked and how to cook it. The person behind the table usually knows.

Principle 04

Money that stays put

What you spend at a farm stand goes to a household business, not a distribution chain.

Ripeness / Variety / Answers / Local money97 Market, shopper notes

Our shopping guide lists the questions that get useful replies from growers.

A year at a glance

Ten Oregon crops and when they come in

Pale bands show the usual harvest window in the Willamette Valley; solid bands mark the peak. The outlined column is this month.

JFMAMJJASOND Window
Asparagus Apr–Jun
Strawberries May–Sep
Marionberries Jul
Blueberries Jul–Sep
Sweet corn Jul–Sep
Tomatoes Jul–Oct
Pears Aug–Nov
Hazelnuts Sep–Feb
Winter squash Sep–Jan
Brussels sprouts Oct–Dec

For growers and makers

Selling at market is a small business with a canopy

  1. Step 1 of 4

    Find out what you need

    Raw produce, processed foods and crafts follow different rules. Sort out which ones apply to you before anything else.

  2. Step 2 of 4

    Price before you pack

    Count booth fees, mileage and the hours behind the table, then set prices that still pay you on a slow day.

  3. Step 3 of 4

    Build a booth that reads

    Height, abundance and clear signs move more than a flat table. Shoppers decide from several stalls away.

  4. Step 4 of 4

    Keep records from day one

    Sales by item tell you what to grow or make next year. Most first-season vendors wish they had started sooner.

Read the vendor guide Tell us what you sell

After the market

Bring it home and make it last

The best tomato of August is wasted if it sits in the fridge for a week. Two guides cover what happens after the tote bag hits the counter.

Herbs in jars of water, greens in a crisper drawer and peaches ripening on a kitchen counter Where each kind of produce should liveCounter, crisper or somewhere cool and dark, with a lookup for 30 crops. Jars of berry jam and pickled beans cooling on a towel beside a canning pot Canning, freezing and drying safelyIncluding the altitude adjustments that matter in Bend and Klamath Falls.

Grow it, make it, or help build it?

97 Market is talking with Oregon growers, food makers and community groups. If you would like to sell, partner, or simply ask a question, send a note and a person will reply.

Write to 97 Market