Once mid-September hits, we’re officially in the fall season — at least, in restaurants and at farmers’ markets. According to Freshlist’s Erin Bradley, the fall crop season runs from the middle of September to Thanksgiving, before cold-weather crops take over. It’s time for squash, though we’ll still see some lingering signs of summer.

“We’re blessed with a region that allows us to keep summer items like tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, and berries into October, but the plants really start to slow down in production,” Bradley says. “That combined with widely varying daytime and nighttime temps leads us to really start pushing fall products the second week of September. It’s what we know is going to come in versus what may not.”

While tomato season can never be long enough for most of us, there are some definite highlights coming onto menus right now, including apples, beets, carrots, ginger, and prickly pear. Of course, a wide variety of squash is also in peak season, from butternut and delicata to spaghetti and pattypan. Among the city’s chefs, this year’s favorites seem to be hubbard, something close to a butternut, and smooth-fleshed kuri squashes. Another favorite is the candy roaster squash.

With the return of cool-weather lettuces, Freshlist chef Matt Martin anticipates a fall staple rapidly coming back onto menus: roasted beet salad with arugula or little gem lettuce. This season, however, as diners take a more plant-focused perspective, he believes it will become a feature instead of a side dish.

Looking to make use of fall’s squash bounty at home? We did an explainer a few years back, with idea on how to use a variety of heirloom types. Find it here.

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