6 | SUMMER 2026 EDIBLE CENTRAL OREGON Summer crops in Central Oregon start to appear in June, and quickly accelerate through the hot months until we are surrounded by their abundance. Throughout this time, every week at the farmers market is unique—a new and ever more varied explosion of colors and flavors. In June, the early season brings the first tender greens: lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, arugula, and bok choy, alongside roots like radishes, turnips, and the first flush of beets and carrots. Early season graces us with sweet treats like fresh peas, rhubarb, and strawberries. These are crops that can tolerate early cold snaps, grow rapidly, and are often sheltered in greenhouses to give them an early start; by the time they reach the market in June, farmers have already been tending them for a month or more, and it’s an incredible feeling to finally see them go home in someone’s bag. By July, larger field crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage fill the bins, while garlic scapes and fresh herbs like basil and parsley hint at what’s to come. This is an exciting moment, when the harvest is feeling full, and our whole diets can effortlessly come from the soil around us, and yet it feels like something new is ripening every day. Throughout July, berries weigh down their branches, tomatoes and peppers begin to blush, cucumbers and zucchinis fill the shade beneath their leaves, and the early peas give way to beans and melons. Come August—“abundant August,” as farmers say—it’s a feast: On top of everything, we’re also starting to snap off fresh ears of sweet corn and taste the heat of hot peppers. By now, beets have grown enormous, bright juicy heads peeking out of the soil, and storage varieties of potatoes, carrots, and beets, parsnips, onions, leeks, garlic, and cabbage are nearly ready, promising nourishment deep into the colder months. Few things capture the spirit of summer like a meal sourced entirely from the farmers market. Roots at Heart’s Farmers Market Salad does just that—a crisp mix of cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, fennel, radishes, and cilantro. This salad is a taste of Central Oregon’s summer season at its peak. In Season was created in partnership with High Desert Food & Farm Alliance (HDFFA). HDFFA is a nonprofit organization that supports a healthy and thriving food and farm network in Central Oregon through education, collaboration, and inclusion. Founded in 2010, its programs include the High Desert Food Trail, food access programs, agricultural support, and community education—all with the aim of building a prosperous food and farm network with equitable access for all Central Oregonians. hdffa.org IN SEASON Words by Christine Boyle
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