North Carolina seasonal food calendar: what to eat in each month

North Carolina stretches from the Outer Banks to the Smoky Mountains, and its growing seasons arrive weeks apart in different regions. A strawberry may ripen in the east in April and in the mountains in June. Here is a general calendar of what to look for each season, with notes on how weather moves things around. Treat each month as a range, and ask a grower or check a market's own page for what is ripe this week.

What is in season in winter?

December through February is the quiet season for fresh produce, but not for food. Sweet potatoes, which cure well, are stored and sold through the winter, and the state marks February as sweet potato month. Greens such as collards, kale and turnips grow in the cold and taste better after a frost. Oysters from the coast are at their best in the cooler months, which is the traditional season for oyster roasts. Apples, cider and pecans keep well in storage. Winter is also the time for country ham, pork and hearty stews, and for holiday baking, including Moravian cookies in Winston-Salem.

What is in season in spring?

Spring begins with greens and asparagus, and ramps, the wild mountain leek, appear in April and May in the mountains. Strawberries start in the east in April and move west through May, and many farms offer pick-your-own and roadside sales. Shad and early spring seafood appear on coastal menus. Farmers markets restart in full, and tailgate markets in the mountains open for the season. Spring is also the time for Cheerwine's festival in Salisbury.

What is in season in summer?

Summer is the peak. Tomatoes, corn, okra, cucumbers, squash, field peas, watermelon and cantaloupe fill farm stands, and blueberries and blackberries ripen in June and July. Peaches arrive in the Sandhills and the Piedmont, and a roadside peach milkshake is a seasonal treat. Along the coast, shrimp, blue crab, flounder and tuna are at their best. Muscadine grapes, a native Southern grape, ripen in late summer and early fall. Heat and storms can shift the dates, so call before a long drive to a pick-your-own farm.

Summer is also the season for church and community fish fries, peach festivals and county fairs, where you can taste regional food at low prices. In the Sandhills, peach stands open along the roads, and in the east, corn, butter beans and watermelon dominate the stands. If you are eating at home, a plate of sliced tomatoes with salt and white bread and mayonnaise is a traditional summer meal. Heat is intense, so pick early in the morning.

What is in season in fall?

Fall brings apples in the mountains, with the harvest running from late summer into October and cider and apple butter following. Sweet potatoes are dug in the east, pumpkins and winter squash appear, and pecans fall. Oysters return to the coast as the weather cools. Barbecue festivals and the Lexington event bring crowds in October. Fall color weekends in the mountains fill restaurants and inns, so book well ahead. The North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh is held in October, with a food tradition of its own.

The State Fair in Raleigh is a showcase of regional food, with sweet potato fries, apple desserts and farm-grown produce displayed in the exhibit halls. It runs in October. Fall is also the time for hog killing traditions in some rural communities, church barbecues and fall festivals with chili cook-offs. Back-road drives in the foothills are lined with roadside stands selling pumpkins, apples and cider.

How do you check what is ripe?

Ask the grower. A farm stand or market vendor knows what came in this morning and what is due next week. Use the state's agriculture department and market pages for general guidance, and local farm pages for pick-your-own dates, which change with the weather. After a wet spring or a late frost, dates can move by weeks. Don't plan a trip to pick a particular fruit without checking.

How do restaurants reflect the seasons?

Chefs who buy from local farms change menus with the season, so a short menu with items like ramps in April, tomatoes in July and sweet potatoes in November is a sign of a kitchen that follows the harvest. A menu with tomatoes in January probably uses imported produce. Ask the server what is local, and watch for farm names on the menu.

What do the regional differences mean?

The coastal plain grows sweet potatoes, strawberries and tobacco and is next to the sea. The Piedmont has peaches, berries, vegetables and barbecue. The mountains have apples, ramps, cabbage and trout. Plan a food trip with the region in mind, and you can taste a different season in a day's drive.

What about preserving and buying for later?

Many people can, pickle or freeze surplus produce. Farm stands sell canned jams, pickles and relishes, and a jar of local honey or sorghum makes a good gift. Check labels, and ask whether the jar was made in a licensed kitchen. Sweet potatoes, apples and winter squash keep for weeks in a cool, dry place.

How do you keep a seasonal food diary in North Carolina?

Strawberries in April, peaches in July and sweet potatoes in November are worth writing down so you do not miss them next year. Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing places to eat, and it rates by the dish, so each seasonal bite gets a score and a tag such as Must-Try.

Share the list through an invite link with friends who like to chase the harvest, and follow the ones who live in the mountains or on the coast. Mosey also runs seasonal food votes, which makes a state with a calendar this full a natural fit.

Rate this month's seasonal bite in the Mosey app.

More guides to read next:

• Where to eat in Chapel Hill and Carrboro: Franklin Street and the market
• North Carolina State Fair food guide: what to eat and when to go
• North Carolina barbecue: eastern whole hog versus Lexington style

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.