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Wooden flats of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries on a market table under canvas canopies, with fir trees behind

Grown and made in the 97 zip codes

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. 01 What's in season

    Month-by-month harvest windows for Oregon fruit, vegetables and nuts.
  2. 02 Shopping a farmers market

    Timing, payment, questions to ask growers and how to judge ripeness.
  3. 03 Storing fresh produce

    Counter, crisper or cellar: keep market produce at its best for longer.
  4. 04 Preserving the harvest

    Canning, freezing and drying, with the altitude rules Oregon cooks miss.
  5. 05 Becoming a market vendor

    Licensing questions, booth setup and the first-season mistakes to avoid.
Hands sorting heirloom tomatoes, sweet peppers and green beans into a wooden crate at the edge of a field
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. That shows up in a few practical ways.

  1. 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.
  2. Varieties that do not ship. Marionberries, soft heirloom tomatoes and fragile lettuces rarely survive long-haul distribution. Markets are where you find them.
  3. Answers. Ask how something was grown, when it was picked and how to cook it. The person behind the table usually knows. Our shopping guide lists the questions that get useful replies.
  4. Money that stays put. What you spend at a farm stand goes to a household business, not a distribution chain.
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.

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Asparagus
Strawberries
Marionberries
Blueberries
Sweet corn
Tomatoes
Pears
Hazelnuts
Winter squash
Brussels sprouts

Explore all 25 crops by month

For growers and makers

Selling at market is a small business with a canopy

Most first-season vendors underestimate the paperwork and overestimate how much a tidy table sells on its own. Our vendor guide walks through the order to do things in, from the license questions to the weight of your canopy legs.

  1. Find out what you needRaw produce, processed foods and crafts follow different rules.
  2. Price before you packCount booth fees, mileage and the hours behind the table.
  3. Build a booth that readsHeight, abundance and clear signs move more than a flat table.
  4. Keep records from day oneSales by item tell you what to grow or make next year.
Read the vendor guide Tell us what you sell
A vendor raising a white pop-up canopy over a table of leafy greens and radishes before a market opens
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 want to 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