Tips for Harvesting Vegetables:when to harvest vegetablesTips & Techniques for harvesting vegetables Some vegetables are easy to identify when its time to pick them. Tomatoes for example, turn a bright red in order to tell us they’re ready for harvest.
Other plants make it more difficult to discern the appropriate time. The best method of identifying the proper time for harvesting vegetables is to identify it plant by plant.
Asparagus: Asparagus takes several years before you can harvest your bounty. The longer you allow it to grow, the more plants you have to harvest. Pick the asparagus while the flower at the top is closed and the thickness of the stem is little finger thick or less. The smaller the shoots the more tender the flesh. Cease harvest after about 4 weeks to allow the plant to flower and get nutrition for next year.
Beans: The identification of harvest time depends on the type of beans you grow. Green and Yellow Beans: Pick green beans when they are as thick as a pencil or smaller. Beyond that point, the flesh feeds the seed and the bean is bitter, stringy and papery. The pod snaps in two when it’s ready to harvest.
Handling and Harvesting Vegetables
Lima Beans (Butter Beans): If you have a bush variety, you’ll have beans ready for harvest in 60 to 80 days, pole beans take about 20 days longer. Pick the pods when they are plump and firm. You need to remove them before the pods dry in order to extend the production season. Like the green beans, it spoils the texture and flavor of the bean if you leave the pods on the plant to long.
Shell Beans (Navy Beans, Great Northern, Black Beans, Kidney Beans) Harvesting Vegetables like these beans is best when the pods are brown and leathery. Pull the whole plant, allow further drying and shell the beans. Fava Beans (Broad Beans): If you pick the fava beans when the seed is the size of a pea, you can use the whole pod for cooking. If you want dried beans allow them to continue to grow and dry.
Broccoli: Harvesting broccoli isn’t difficult as long as you remember you’re eating the flower buds. You don’t want the round green buds to open or it ruins the flavor of the broccoli. Cut the broccoli when the buds are as large as the head of a match.
Cauliflower: Cauliflower comes in two varieties, self-blanching and traditional. The traditional variety needs to have the leaves tied at the top in order for the cauliflower to remain white. Self-blanching has huge leaves that don’t require tying. Once you notice the white curds on the head are relatively full and the still smooth, harvest the plant by cutting it at the base of the flower.
Cucumbers: Pick your cucumbers at various stages. If you want them for pickles, pick the cucumbers when they’re small. Do not allow the cucumbers to grow too large as the flesh becomes pithy and the seeds grow very large.
Garlic: When the tops of the garlic turn brown and die, it’s time to dig the garlic out of the ground and allow it to dry.
Lettuce: There are two types of lettuce, head lettuce and leaf lettuce. Both have different harvest times. Head Lettuce: Squeeze the head gently to see if it’s firm. If you’re expecting hot weather, pick before the heat occurs as it makes the plant flower (bolt) and go to seed. Leaf Lettuce: Harvest the leaves when they’re about 4 inches. For more tender leaves, harvest them slightly smaller.
Parsley: Pick the leaves for use any time for use and harvest at the end of the season by cutting off the plant at the base with a sharp knife. Parsley is a biennial so you’ll get a plant the following year but near the end of the year, it bolts and goes to seed. Don’t use it after it bolts, it’s bitter.
Peppers: Peppers come in many varieties but the most common are the sweet bell and the hot pepper. Sweet Pepper: The less green you see on the pepper, the sweeter the pepper. All peppers change colors as they ripen. That’s why red and other colored peppers are more expensive; they take longer growing time. As sweet peppers mature, they change colors. If you want to use them as green peppers, wait until you see a hint of color change for a less bitter taste. Pick them when they’re large but still green for the green pepper taste that’s not too sweet. Hot peppers: Just like sweet peppers whose sweetness increases as it matures, hot peppers heat increases the longer it remains on the vine. Pick it at various times for different amounts of heat for your dishes.
Pumpkins: Pumpkins turn orange and the vines die back when it’s ripe. A sure test for readiness is to poke it with a fingernail. If the skin doesn’t crack, it’s ready.
Squash: Squash has many varieties but only two distinct types, summer squash (zucchini) and winter squash. Summer squash: The skin should be soft enough to piece with the fingernail. Don’t allow the squash to grow too large or it becomes pithy. The best use for large zucchini is to peel, core and grate for bread. Winter Squash: You want the squash to turn the color it’s meant to be before you pick it.
Spinach: Once spinach goes to seed, it’s useless. Harvest spinach when it’s several inches tall but before you see flower or the stalks appear. Cut it at the base to harvest.
Watermelon: when it comes to harvesting vegetables like watermelon ,there’s normally a white spot on the underside of the watermelon, it should turn yellow when it’s time to harvest. Thump it with your fingers and listen for a hollow sound. Harvesting Vegetables is not hard as it seems.
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