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Most gardeners probably don't consider picking vegetables to be work. After all, harvesting is collecting dividends from your garden investments. It's actually the reward for hard work, done well.
However, there are important guidelines for picking vegetables to get the most return on your investment. To harvest your vegetables at the best time and optimum size for the variety planted it's important to know that some vegetables are best when immature and tender, for example, snap beans, cucumbers and summer squash. Picking these early and often encourages continued yield. Others, such as tomatoes, melons, winter squash, pumpkins, garlic and onions, need time to develop to full potential. Still others, including broccoli and globe artichoke, are best at bud stage. Carrots and beets can be used at small size or left to develop further, as can potatoes. A few vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, parsnips, rutabaga and salsify, need a couple of good fall freezes to sweeten them up.
To help keep your vegetables at optimum condition until harvest, draw soil over the tops of root vegetables to prevent green shoulders and woody tops. Water evenly and break up the soil around eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and melons to create a "dust mulch" to help ripen these vegetables. And always harvest vegetables, especially beans, on a dry day to prevent spread of fungi or disease.
When to harvest:
- Bush beans - when pods are full but seeds undeveloped.
- Filet beans - at about ¼ inch width, and every other day. They toughen quickly.
- Romano beans - moderate seed bumps are normal. They are still tender at this stage.
- Broccoli - when heads are full and tightly packed, but before any yellow flowers open. After cutting terminal head, fertilize to help smaller side heads develop. Cut regularly to keep them coming.
- Cabbage - cut early varieties at their normal smaller size. Later varieties will be larger when ready. These are the kraut cabbages.
- Carrots - loosen the soil around these before digging. Good when at least 1 inch at crown. They hold quality for about three weeks after reaching recommended size.
- Collards, Swiss chard, and kale - can pull leaves until the ground freezes. Twist off outer leaves. Centers will renew.
- Corn - ready when silks turn brown and a kernel near the tip releases milky juice. Sugar-enhanced varieties retain their quality on the stalk for about a week. To harvest, twist cob and pull down.
- Eggplant - use at about halfway to maturity, when firm and plump with glossy skin. Use shears to cut the prickly stem. They will continue to produce.
- Globe Artichoke - needs a long growing season. Cut flower buds when mature but still tightly closed.
- Horseradish - dig after a hard frost, saving some side shoots to replant. Can also harvest in spring, before growth starts.
- Jerusalem Artichoke (Sunchoke) - this tuber of a sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus) is dug in late summer.
- Kohlrabi - this is an enlarged stem. Cut at 2-2 ½ inches diameter. Don't wait, as woodiness develops.
- Muskmelons (cantaloupes) - when well netted, coloring up and with a good aroma.
A ripe melon easily separates from its stem. One exception is Charentais. Cut these when they attain varietal color and are aromatic.
- Okra - pick immature pods at 3-4 inches long just before using, as okra quickly loses its delicate flavor.
- Parsnips, Rutabaga and Salsify - after two frosts, which improve flavor, dig or mulch (3 to 4 inches deep) to harvest for a month longer.
- Peppers - cut when meaty and plump while green. Allowing them to ripen will halt production.
- Spinach - harvest promptly when ready by cutting just below root attachment.
- Summer squash - wear gloves, some plant stems are thorny. Cut the yellow ones like crookneck, at 5-6 inches, pattypan at 3 inches, zucchini at 6-8 inches.
- Winter squash and Pumpkins - the more maturity they attain, the sweeter they become. Cut after a light frost (28-3l degrees) when richly colored and the skin is tough enough to resist piercing with a thumbnail. Cut stem at 2 inches. Cure in field 7-10 days, covering in the evening if frost is expected. Before storing, wash with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water to help prevent mold.
- Tomatillo - pick when papery husk loosens and splits and color yellows.
- Tomatoes - pick as soon as full-colored for the variety. They will produce until frost. Light green fruit can be picked and will color up indoors. Store in shallow trays or wrap in newspaper, which must be unwrapped weekly for inspection. If frost threatens, cover tender plants lightly to try to save them. If you're lucky, Indian summer weather might bring additional yield.
- Watermelons - the tendril next to the stem end will have dried, the ground-spot will be yellow and a thump with your knuckle will bring a dull thud.
- Winter melons (casaba, crenshaw, honeydew) - when well colored and aromatic. These can be stored indoors for a few weeks.
Some vegetables, such as garlic, onions, potatoes and shallots indicate when they're ready, as the tops begin to die.
- Garlic - usually in July, the two bottom leaves will have yellowed. Dig and air-dry in the shade a few days before storing in flat trays or braiding.
- Onions - when tops have fallen over, lift just enough to break the roots and leave upright in the row until tops are dry. Twist tops off and store on racks or hang in mesh bags.
- Potatoes -at bloom time, from outer edge of root area, small (l ½ inch) tubers can be dug. Avoid disturbing central area. Use small tubers, or fingerlings, right away. When the entire plant dies down harvest the crop. Cure potatoes in airy shade for a week. Store in trays in a dark, ventilated area. Darkness helps prevent solanine from forming (this is what causes greening).
- Shallots - dig when tops fall and begin to brown. Store in trays.
The last thing to harvest: collect all non-diseased plant debris and add to the compost pile to begin your investment in next year's harvest.
For more information on Gardening, contact your
local Colorado State University Extension office. |
