What's in Season: April Produce Guide

Spring is a wonderful time for fresh produce, as the winter's harsh temperatures give way to milder weather and the earth begins to awaken with new growth. April is a particularly bountiful month, with a variety of delicious and nutritious fruits and vegetables coming into season.

In this blog post, we'll explore some of the best seasonal produce that you can find during the month of April.

This post is the 4th in my Monthly Seasonal Produce Guides series.

Jump to:

• Asparagus
• Arugula
• Carrots
• Fava beans
• Lettuce
• Peas
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Spinach
• Spring Onions
• Strawberries
• Tender Greens
• Disclaimer

For me, as a cook and a gardener, eating seasonally and eating local go hand in hand. The goal of eating seasonally is so that I can enjoy foods that are harvested as close to home as possible and that didn’t have to travel thousands of miles.

This is why I am such a big proponent of homegrown food and edible gardening and why I wrote a book on the subject (Seed to Table).

Much of the produce trucked from far away places is harvested early and forced to ripen before it hits your grocery store produce aisle. Another reason to seek out seasonal food? You’re supporting local farmers and that’s a good thing! So, what's in season in April?

It can be eaten raw, steamed, grilled, marinated or baked. Asparagus is in season in early spring and should still be available locally in May.

Note: Though asparagus is typically available at the grocery store all year round, it grown in South America (Peru is a large producer of Asparagus for the world market). It is flown thousands of miles. I personally choose to enjoy asparagus when it is in season in the spring. A good tip is to check the label.

You can enjoy it as baby leaves (the kind you get in bags or clamshell containers) or as more mature bunches (which will be much more peppery and used more for cooking rather than raw eating).

Growing arugula in the home garden or a container garden is actually quite easy and I recommend it to anyone starting a food-growing journey.

When shopping for carrots in April, look for bunched carrots. Smaller spring-harvested carrots are one of the earliest crops you can enjoy as the growing season kicks into gear. Don't forget to make my fermented carrots recipe.

Try my Ful Medames (Fava and chickpea stew) recipe.

Included in my book, Seed to Table, is a recipe for Spring Pesto which features both peas and arugula.

They are also incredibly easy to grow yourself in your home garden or even containers. Radishes are one of the first crops to be harvested from my garden in the spring.

Local spring radishes are available March, April, May and June. Later in the season you will be able to find local Winter Radish varieties like Daikon, Black Spanish and Watermelon Radish which are perfect for Danmuji, Vietnamese pickles, and Korean Radish Kimchi.

Rhubarb

This tart, reddish-pink vegetable (yes, it’s a vegetable even though it is used in sweet recipes) is a good source of fiber, calcium, and antioxidants like flavonoids. It has a tangy, slightly sweet flavor that's perfect for adding to pies, jams, tarts and other desserts.

April usually marks the beginning of field-grown rhubarb. Try my Rhubarb Frangipane Tart recipe.

Note: The local rhubarb available in January, February and March is forced, meaning that it is grown in dark conditions and forced to produce stalks. These stalks will be lighter in color and slightly skinnier than your typical rhubarb stalks harvested from the field in the spring (April, May, June).

Note: Greenhouse-grown spinach is available year-round, typically sold in bags or clamshell plastic containers at the grocery store produce aisle. Local field spinach is only available for a short time, typically in March, April and May. Once the weather warms up, it is no longer available unless farmers take special measures to protect it from the summer heat.

Spring Onions

Spring onions, also known as green onions or scallions, are a type of onion that comes into season in March. They are essentially immature onions that are harvested early. The color can be green or purple and they will sometimes have a small bulb (this is a good thing!). It is incredibly easy to grow onions in the home garden.

They have a mild, sweet flavor and are usually eaten raw or lightly cooked. Spring onions are high in vitamin K and low in calories. They are a good source of fiber. Add them to salads or use them as garnish. I love grilling and charring them and using them in salsa and sauces.

I created a handy graphic for you here. Go ahead and Pin it so you can refer to it again and again.

Disclaimer

Seasonal food is very regionally specific. Something might be in season in California and not in season in New York. For example, strawberries are in season in California year-round. In New York, Ontario, and other parts of the North East, local strawberries will be in season in June and July.

The best way to know your food is in season? Shop at local farmers’ markets and ask questions. Look at the grocery store labels and tags.

Let me know if you have any questions (leave a comment) and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, visit the Urban Farm Shop, or subscribe for new posts via email.