Spring Market Season Is Here: What to Buy Right Now

There is a particular electricity to the first weeks of spring market season. Farmers who spent the winter tending cold storage and greenhouse crops are finally back outdoors, and the stalls that were quiet or closed are filling back up with color. If you have been waiting for a reason to get back to your local market, this is it.

Here is what is hitting stalls right now — and what to do with it when you get home.

Asparagus: Do Not Miss It

Asparagus has one of the shortest windows of any spring vegetable — typically four to six weeks before the plants need to fern out and rest. What you find at the farmers market right now is dramatically different from the rubber stalks sitting in grocery store bins year-round.

Fresh-cut asparagus snaps cleanly, has tight tips, and smells faintly green and grassy. The flavor is bright and slightly sweet — nothing like the limp, fibrous version most people grew up eating.

How to select: Look for stalks that are uniformly sized (so they cook evenly) with firm, closed tips. Thickness is a matter of preference — thin stalks are more tender, thicker stalks have more flavor.

How to use it: The simplest preparations are usually the best. Toss in olive oil, season with salt, and roast at high heat for 12 minutes. Finish with lemon zest and shaved parmesan. Or blanch briefly, shock in ice water, and serve at room temperature with a soft-boiled egg and a mustard vinaigrette.

Peak timing: Now through late April in most regions. Do not wait.

Strawberries: The Smell Tells You Everything

If you have only ever bought grocery store strawberries, prepare to be surprised. Farmers market strawberries — especially early-season varieties — are smaller, softer, and dramatically more fragrant. You will smell them before you see them.

Markets in the South and Southwest are already seeing early-season strawberries. Markets further north will have them by mid-to-late April. Either way, they are worth seeking out.

How to select: Look for deep red color all the way to the stem. Avoid berries with white shoulders — that is a sign they were picked underripe. A good strawberry at room temperature should smell like jam.

How to use them: Eat them plain. Seriously — rinse, hull, and eat at room temperature. If you want to do more: macerate sliced berries with a pinch of sugar and a splash of balsamic, and serve over Greek yogurt or pound cake.

Storage: Do not refrigerate until you must. Strawberries lose flavor fast in the cold. Buy what you will use in two days.

Artichokes: Underrated and Underused

Artichokes are a spring vegetable that most home cooks walk past — they look intimidating and the prep time seems daunting. That is a mistake. A farmers market artichoke, eaten the same day it was picked, is one of the best things you will eat this spring.

How to select: Pick one up — it should feel heavy for its size, with tightly packed, squeaky leaves. A little browning on the outer leaves is fine. Avoid anything that looks dried out or has spread leaves.

How to use them: The simplest method: steam whole for 35-45 minutes until a leaf pulls free easily, then serve with drawn butter or aioli for dipping. Pull the leaves one at a time, dip, and scrape the flesh off with your teeth. When you reach the heart, scoop out the fuzzy choke and eat the tender base — that is the reward.

A faster option: Slice in half, brush with olive oil, season generously, and grill cut-side down for 8-10 minutes. Serve with lemon.

Radishes, Greens, and the Rest of the Spring Haul

Beyond the headliners, spring markets are filling up with a quieter abundance worth paying attention to:

Spring radishes are back — the French breakfast variety (oblong, mild, slightly peppery) and watermelon radishes (dramatic magenta interior, mild flavor). Slice thin, serve on buttered bread with flaky salt. Done.

Spring greens — arugula, spinach, butter lettuce, and early mesclun mixes — are at their most tender right now before summer heat sets in. These are salad greens worth eating as a salad, not just a base for toppings.

Rhubarb is starting to appear in warmer regions. Look for firm, deeply colored stalks. It pairs beautifully with strawberries (see above) in a quick compote that works on everything from oatmeal to ice cream.

Herbs — chives, flat-leaf parsley, tarragon, chervil — are back in force. Fresh herbs transform simple dishes. Buy more than you think you need.

Markets Opening Everywhere This Week

If your local market has been on a winter hiatus, check now — many are reopening this month. The Bluffton Area Farmers Market (Indiana) held its final indoor market on March 21 and is preparing to launch its outdoor season. Markets in Carthage, Texas kicked off their 2026 season on March 14 with an opening day celebration. Across the country, vendors are setting up stalls they have not occupied since last fall.

New for 2026: several markets are extending their seasons in both directions — earlier spring openings and later fall closes — in response to consistent year-round demand from shoppers who no longer want to wait.

Go This Weekend

The window for the best of spring produce is genuinely short. Asparagus will be gone before you know it. The first strawberries are already at their peak. Artichokes will give way to summer crops before long.

This is the best time of year to be a farmers market shopper — everything is new, everything is fresh, and the farmers who grew it are right there to tell you exactly what to do with it.

Find your local market and its opening dates at FarmerMarket.us — then go this weekend.