Grown In Connecticut: With September Comes Fall Fruits And Vegetables

Rick Macsuga of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture said that the summer fruits and vegetables are dwindling while the fall and winter crops are abundant.

"We're starting to see pumpkins, gourds, corns, cornstalks and hay bales and cider are all new for this week," he said. "We're coming into peak season for apples too." 

Macsuga said all kinds of varieties of apples are now available with more to come as the weeks progress and Macoun apples should be available next week.

Along with all varieties of winter squash, Macsuga said, "greens, kales, swiss chards and collards are all available and will continue right through the fall. They can take it right into a freeze."

Macsuga said celery root, or celeriac, is now available. He said it is a bulb the size of a softball and "really gangly looking, almost like a ball of string." It is used in soups and stews and lasts a very long time.

Beans and raspberries are lingering but will be gone soon, he said. The same goes for plums, peaches and nectarines, musk melons and honey dews.

What's fresh this week: 

Apples

Pears

Peppers

Tomatoes

Eggplant

Grapes

Winter squash

Potatoes

Peppers

Onions

Corn

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Cabbage

Kale

Spinach

Collard greens

Swiss Chard

Pumpkins

Gourds

Cider

Celery root

Where to find them:

The Ledyard Farmers’ Market is on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ledyard Town Center at the Fair Grounds. www.ledyardfresh.com, WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted.

The Norwich Uncas Farmers’ Market is on Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Uncas on the Thames, 401 West Thames Street, 100 Campbell Building. WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted, SNAP/EBT.

The Norwich Downtown Farmers’ Market is on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the boat marina in Howard Brown Park on Route 2. WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted.

The Preston Farmers’ Market is on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Preston Plains School on Route 164. WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted.