Northeast Regional Food Guide Fact Sheets
The Northeast- An Abundant Producer
From apples and chickens in West Virginia to fish caught off the coast of Maine, the Northeast region produces a variety and abundance of food. Cattle, sheep, and goats are raised to provide dairy products and meat; chickens furnish meat and eggs; pigs, turkey, and deer supply meat; and fish farms add to the area's natural supply of freshwater fish, ocean fish, and shellfish. Our region also yields a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including many types of dry beans. Grains such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, and buckwheat are cultivated in the Northeast, and sweet treats such as honey and maple syrup are regional specialties.
Meats, grains, and dairy products with many low-fat options are usually available year round. But because of the northeastern climate, fruits and vegetables have definite seasons-specific periods of time when crops are planted, when they grow, and when they are harvested and taken to market. But no matter what the season, plenty of northeastern produce is always available in a variety of forms-fresh, canned, frozen, dried, or stored.
The Northeast Regional Food Guide poster can help you get an idea of the diversity available in each group of foods that come from the region. Fresh produce is listed under the season(s) in which it is available.
What Is a Season?
The Northeast region spans several latitudes and varies in geography and climate. Thus spring in northern New England can begin much later than spring in the Mid-Atlantic states.
Although the calendar defines seasons by the length of the days, a practical agricultural definition is based on frosts, or freezing temperatures. The last frost date for your area (the last date, on average, that the temperature falls below freezing) marks the time when spring produce, which is planted in very early spring, will begin to mature and be ready for harvest. As spring progresses, look for peas, asparagus, lettuce, rhubarb, radishes, and all kinds of greens; early-maturing broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, and beets are ready in later spring. Around this last frost date, many vegetable farmers plant summer crops such as tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, and peppers. Also notice that in the springtime some dairy cows are put out on pasture to graze the lush grass. Many farmers make their first cutting of hay at this time as well.
Summer produce is ready six weeks (green beans) to eight or nine weeks (tomatoes) after planting. During the summer be sure to enjoy a wide array of ripe northeastern fruit, including peaches, plums, cherries, melons, and berries.
The first frost, marking the end of summer and the transition to fall, may slip by unnoticed because it may occur at night while it is still warm during the day. Pay close attention to your local weather forecasts or call your county Cooperative Extension office to get information on frost dates for your area. Most summer vegetables cannot survive freezing temperatures, whereas fall crops thrive in cooler weather. Fall broccoli, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, and grapes actually get "sweeter" after a frost. Depending on your area, fall produce may be available for one to several months before very cold weather sets in. Most farmers plant garlic in mid-October for spring greens and summer bulbs.
Once there is a long stretch of severely cold weather and winter has arrived, winter produce begins to take the place of fall produce. Some winter crops, such as kale or leeks, are available only for the first month or two of the winter in harsher climates. In milder climates, these more tender crops may be available all winter. Most winter favorites such as potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, winter squash, apples, and beets, as well as less familiar vegetables such as burdock, rutabagas, and Jerusalem artichokes, are harvested in the late fall and stored throughout the winter. Several crops are also available from greenhouses, and there is always a wide variety of canned and frozen alternatives from which to choose. As winter ends and the temperature warms up again, watch out for the last frost date in the spring. It's time for spring produce and the beginning of another cycle.
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