How the method works
Season, maturity and the delay between the field and the crock
A recipe assumes a vegetable at a particular stage. This page collects what is actually published about that stage, and says where it is not published.
On this page
On this page
- The national guide gives seasons, never months
- A state calendar with months: Michigan, lower and upper peninsulas
- The two Michigan charts disagree with each other
- One publisher, eleven years apart, two cabbage calendars
- A second state calendar, built on maturity rather than months
- The delay between the field and the crock, where it is published
- Method note on how these sources were read
A recipe says "fresh cabbage" or "firm cucumbers" as if the vegetable were always the same vegetable. It is not. What arrives at the crock depends on the season, on the stage of maturity at harvest, and on how long the vegetable has waited since it left the field. This page collects what is actually published on those three points, names the source for every figure, and states plainly where nothing is published.
The national guide gives seasons, never months
The USDA seasonal produce guide, which is a different publication from the national canning guide cited elsewhere on this site, ranks vegetables by season only. It prints no months, no dates, and it carries its own warning, quoted verbatim: "Seasonal produce in your area will vary by growing conditions and weather." No month in this page is extrapolated from that guide, because none exists in it.
| Vegetable, as labeled by the guide | Seasons listed |
|---|---|
| Cucumbers | Summer |
| Cabbage | Spring, Fall, Winter |
| Green Beans | Summer, Fall |
| Carrots | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
| Beets | Summer, Fall, Winter |
| Radishes | Spring, Fall |
| Turnips | Spring, Fall, Winter |
| Cauliflower | Fall |
| Bell Peppers | Summer, Fall |
| Tomatoes | Summer |
| Onions | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
| Garlic | Spring, Summer, Fall |
| Ginger | Fall |
| Summer Squash | Summer |
| Zucchini | Summer |
One absence is worth naming. The USDA seasonal produce guide does not distinguish green tomatoes from tomatoes. A single line, "Tomatoes, Summer," covers both. Anyone fermenting green tomatoes on the strength of that guide alone is working with a calendar that does not see that vegetable at all.
A state calendar with months: Michigan, lower and upper peninsulas
Michigan State University Extension publishes two charts, one for each peninsula, both dated July 23, 2025. Their own published caveat reads: "These charts show when fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables commonly grown in Michigan's lower peninsula are most likely ready to buy. Dates can change a little each year and in different parts of the state." These months describe Michigan. They describe no other state.
| Vegetable | Lower Peninsula | Upper Peninsula |
|---|---|---|
| Cucumbers, field | Jul, Aug, Sep | Jul, Aug, Sep |
| Cucumbers, greenhouse | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct | not listed |
| Cabbage | Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct | Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov |
| Green, snap, string and wax beans | Jul, Aug, Sep | Jul, Aug, Sep |
| Carrots | Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct | May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct |
| Beets | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct |
| Radishes | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct | May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov |
| Turnips | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct |
| Cauliflower | Aug, Sep, Oct | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct |
| Peppers | Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct | Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct |
| Tomatoes | Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct | Aug, Sep |
| Onions | Jan, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec | Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec |
| Garlic | Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec | Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec |
| Garlic scapes | Jun, Jul, Aug | Jun, Jul |
| Summer squash, including zucchini | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep | Jul, Aug, Sep |
Two readings need a note. The January entry for onions in the lower-peninsula chart appears exactly that way in the published table; it is reported here as printed, not corrected. And two vegetables are simply absent: ginger is not listed in either chart, and green tomatoes have no line of their own, only the single "Tomatoes" row. Nothing is published for either under this calendar.
The two Michigan charts disagree with each other
Within one state, the two MSU charts diverge for the same vegetable. Tomatoes run Jul through Oct in the lower peninsula and Aug through Sep in the upper peninsula. Carrots run Jul through Oct below and May through Oct above. Cauliflower runs Aug through Oct below and Jun through Oct above. These are not errors to reconcile; they are the published range within Michigan alone. The same publisher, in the same year, gives two different answers depending on which peninsula you stand in.
One publisher, eleven years apart, two cabbage calendars
MSU Extension also publishes a cabbage sheet, Michigan Fresh: Using, Storing, and Preserving Cabbage, HNI09, dated December 8, 2014. It states: "Michigan-grown cabbage is available September through March." The 2025 lower-peninsula chart gives Jul through Oct for cabbage. Both come from the same publisher, eleven years apart. This page does not arbitrate between them. It records that the two statements do not agree, and that the reader who needs a Michigan cabbage month must choose which published source to trust, knowing the publisher has said both.
Never present a state calendar as the season for the United States
The national guide gives seasons only and warns that availability "will vary by growing conditions and weather." The Michigan months describe Michigan, not California, not Florida, not the Southeast. Every calendar on this page states its own reach, and you should hold any other calendar to the same standard.
A second state calendar, built on maturity rather than months
The second state source is South Carolina: HGIC-1262, Clemson Cooperative Extension, revised April 10, 2020. This calendar is valid for South Carolina, not for the country. Its sheet is organized differently. Instead of months, it publishes maturity criteria, and those criteria are what tell a fermenter when a vegetable is ready for the crock.
| Vegetable | What is published |
|---|---|
| Cucumber | "Begin harvesting when cucumbers are about 2 inches long up to any size, but before their flesh becomes bitter" |
| Cabbage | Harvest "when the head is solid, firm, and has reached adequate size", no month given |
| Beans | "Harvest beans while the pods are still tender, before the enlarging seed can be seen through the pod" |
| Carrot | "Harvest roots when they reach the desired size (typically 3/4 to 1-inch diameter)"; fall carrots can stay in the ground through winter if mulched |
| Beet | "Harvest spring-planted beets before hot weather (June)"; fall beets before a moderate freeze |
| Radish | "Roots will be ready to harvest in about 3 to 4 weeks after planting from seed" |
| Turnip | "Harvest turnip roots when they reach the size of a tennis ball or larger" |
| Cauliflower | "Typically 10 to 15 days after tying leaves" |
| Pepper | Harvest at full size with firm walls, no month given |
| Tomato | "Fully vine-ripened but still firm" |
| Onion, dry bulb | "Harvest the bulb onions when about three-fourths of the tops have fallen over" |
| Garlic | "Ready to harvest when the leaves begin to yellow in early summer" |
| Summer squash | "When growing conditions are favorable, harvest the crop daily or every other day" |
The delay between the field and the crock, where it is published
Only two figures on the field-to-crock delay appear anywhere in the material gathered for this page, and both come from Oregon State's PNW 355. For cucumbers: "Pick cucumbers early in the morning and use within 24 hours for best quality." For cabbage: "Start sauerkraut within 24 to 48 hours after harvest." Those are the only published delays. For every other vegetable in the tables above, carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, cauliflower, peppers, onions, garlic, squash, nothing is published on how long it may wait. The reason behind the cucumber and cabbage limits is not stated in the source, so it is not guessed at here.
Method note on how these sources were read
The USDA seasonal produce pages refused direct requests, so their content was read through Internet Archive snapshots taken January 1 and January 9, 2026. The MSU Extension pages were read the same way, and their live addresses also respond normally. No month anywhere on this page was extrapolated from a season or borrowed from one vegetable to cover another.
What this page does not say: there is no month-by-month national calendar of vegetable availability in the United States, because none was found, and the USDA seasonal produce guide publishes seasons only. There is likewise no published field-to-crock delay for any vegetable except cucumbers and cabbage as given by PNW 355, no published ginger month in either Michigan chart, and no published calendar line for green tomatoes in the USDA seasonal produce guide or in Michigan's. Those gaps are stated and left open.
Sources of the figures on this page
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home and Garden Information Center, Harvesting Vegetables, HGIC 1262, published August 10, 2010, revised April 10, 2020. Maturity criteria at harvest for the vegetables covered here, for one American state.
- Oregon State University Extension Service, Pickling Vegetables, PNW 355, by Jeanne Brandt, revised July 2019, reviewed 2024. Equipment, water, salt and vinegar, the fermentation procedures and seventeen tested recipes.
- National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia, Selection of Fresh Cucumbers, adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, revised 2015. The sizes named in the recipes and the quantities per canner load.
- National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia, Sauerkraut, adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, revised 2015. The 25 lb to three quarter cup ratio, the depth of the container, the fermentation temperatures and both processing schedules.