In the technologically-advanced world that we live in, you might be accustomed to having all types of fruits, vegetables and herbs in your grocery store at any time of the year. However, chances are that those produce items were picked a year ago and stored until they brought them to your market. Self-sufficiency is an important principle that could help save you thousands of dollars a year in food and other bills. More and more, our neighbors and friends are becoming self-sufficient by planting gardens, trees and raising small animals. You can become self-sufficient by growing your own produce. You can control how much you grow, save yourself money and combat against possible inflation. Below is a seasonal produce cheat sheet! You can click on the images below to see a simple calendar that shows you when certain fruits, vegetables and herbs are in season. You can use this to shop according to the season or even know when you should be harvesting. We hope these come in handy! We’ve also prepared a PDF version that you can print off and keep. Investing in freeze-dried fruits and vegetables that stay on a shelf for years could help you be self-sufficient. That way you can pull out any seasonal item that you want at any time of the year. [Update: There were a lot of questions about where this information is valid. This information represents the produce seasons for the northern hemisphere and specifically represents the norm for the United States. While some states and areas might vary with some produce, these graphics represent the average across the nation. Also, there have been some questions about printable versions of this document. The large orange "Print version" button on the top of this document might not be the highest quality print depending on your browser type. However, this link should provide a higher quality printable PDF.]