Spring Market Finds: Ramps, Asparagus, Leafy Greens and More

While the first local crops of the outdoor season hit our farmers markets in April, it is usually May before we see a major influx of favorite varieties from Chicago region produce farms.

We say “usually” under advisement, though, because when those crops pop up is mostly a matter of spring weather conditions. And as Chicagoland residents know, the only thing predictable about our area’s weather—whether it’s year to year or even day to day—is its unpredictability.

Take ramps, the foraged wild onion prized by chefs and spring food lovers alike. Chicago’s name is widely traced to shikaakwa, an Indigenous word linked to the wild leeks, onions or garlic that once grew abundantly here, later recorded by the French in forms such as chicagou.

Ramps love cool weather, which is why they are typically the first local crop to arrive at our farmers markets in late March or early April. During a chilly spring, the ramp season is apt to last several weeks. In mid-April, when this article was written, Chicago and southwestern Michigan temperatures were anything but chilly. In fact, highs in parts of the region reached the upper 70s and even touched 80, raising doubts that growing ramps would even make it all the way to  May. But then the weather shifted back to a more typical late-April pattern, so they might just sneak into May after all.

For local food fans that are not ramp devotees, it is not officially spring until vendors’ tables are piled high with asparagus—the first mass-consumed veggie to hit the region’s farmers markets. Most of Chicagoland’s asparagus comes from Michigan, which is by far the most prolific asparagus producer among the states.

Like many regional crops, the length of this versatile vegetable’s market season varies from year to year. Asparagus likes moisture, but not too much, and it hates extreme heat and cold. We have experienced years in which the asparagus season lasted only a few weeks—wrapping up by the end of May—and others that stretched the limits by starting in late April and lasting until around
July 4. The recent warm weather wave that brought the first spears to Chicago markets by April 17 presages what could be a very long season.

The lower Lake Michigan farm region’s beloved strawberry season typically begins in mid-to-late May. But if asparagus can be variable because of weather conditions, strawberries are downright finicky. A late, hard freeze when strawberry plants are flowering can be a devastating fruit killer. The berries are also affected by moisture, especially when too much rain causes rot and draws destructive insects. 

As a result, a good strawberry crop can last for several weeks. In a bad year, the season can pass in a flash. For strawberry fans forever, best to grab them as soon as they appear at the market just to be safe. If it turns out to be a long season, that will mean more berry bliss.

A word to the wise: Strawberries are among the most fragile of fruits, even under the best circumstances. To help keep them intact from market to home, a hard-sided container prevents bouncing and bruising en route.

University of Illinois Extension publishes a useful guide to what’s in season. Other crops typically found in northern Illinois farmers markets in May include salad greens (including lettuce, mustards and endive), radishes, spring spinach and rhubarb. 

But there are additional crops being grown indoors—usually in farm hoophouses and hothouses—that add to May selections.

Perhaps the best example is the rise of the spring hothouse-grown heirloom tomato. For many years, hothouse tomatoes had a negative reputation for hard textures and little flavor. But greatly improved indoor growing practices and technology have produced heirloom tomatoes that are ripe and delicious. 

For many tomato lovers, nothing will surpass the juicy flavor bomb of a summer field-ripened tomato. But no longer do they need to go tomato-less in the many months between our region’s outdoor growing seasons.

Find a convenient market nearby in Local Food Forum’s Farmers Market Tracker, which is updated weekly through the season, and in the Illinois Farmers Market Association’s searchable market map at ILFMA.org/find-a-market.