Gardening Series: Tips for Harvesting and Storing Fruits & Vegetables from Your Garden P2
Source: Denver Urban Gardens
Photo Source: Unsplash,
Harvesting
General Principles for Harvesting
These tips will help you know when and how to harvest most things in your garden. For specific crops, please search the item on the internet, e.g., Google “when to harvest beets”.
Harvest for peak flavor and nutrition. Many vegetables, such as beans, peas, summer squash, and turnips, are at their peak of taste and nutrition when they are tender and immature. Other vegetables, such as tomatoes, melons, and winter squash, need to be allowed to completely ripen on the vine so that their flavors can become fully developed.
Harvest for size. Size is generally a reliable indicator of maturity, but it takes a little practice to know when some vegetables are just right for picking. Because there may be some variance in vegetable varieties, always check seed packets or any information that is provided with purchased transplants for guidance on mature vegetable sizes.
Harvest often. One of the biggest mistakes a gardener can make is neglecting to harvest vegetables regularly. Unpicked beans can go from tender to tough in no time at all. A zucchini that was just 2 inches long a couple of days ago can be an overripe 2-foot-long club today. Keep in mind that the goal of the plant is to reproduce. If vegetables are allowed to grow to full maturity and are not harvested, the plant will stop producing.
Harvest with the right tools. Some crops, such as lettuce, kale, and peas, can be either pinched or gently snapped off with your fingers. Vegetables that don’t easily separate from the plant should be cut off. A dedicated pair of scissors is ideal for snipping off some vegetables, such as beans. A sharp knife or hand pruners should be used to harvest crops with tougher stems, such as eggplants and cucumbers. A garden fork is an ideal tool for harvesting potatoes and root crops.
Harvest under the right conditions. Vegetable quality is at its highest at the time of harvest and begins to decrease rapidly thereafter. The best time of day to harvest most vegetables is in the early morning after the dew dries. This is when they are at their sweetest and juiciest. Avoid picking vegetables in the heat of the day, especially leafy vegetables, which can wilt immediately.
Handle plants with care. Keep vining plants properly trellised so that the weight of maturing vegetables doesn’t cause the plant stems to bend or break. Avoid tugging or ripping a vegetable from the plant. This can damage the plant and provide an entry point for diseases. Also, avoid working among vegetables during wet weather to inadvertently spread fungal and other diseases among plants.
Harvest the outer (larger) leaves of leafy vegetables first. Lettuces and some other leafy vegetables sprout from the center of the plant. Unless you are harvesting the entire plant, pick the larger, outer leaves first and leave the tiny new growth in the center to continue developing.
How to keep strawberries healthy and productive
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Fertilizing
If June-bearing plants do not produce many runners by mid-July this usually means the plants need more nitrogen.
You can apply compost or an organic fertilizer, such as blood meal, around the plants to increase nitrogen for plant growth.
Before plants begin to grow in the spring of the second year, you may need to add more compost or organic nitrogen to encourage plant growth and fruit development.
Weeding
Because strawberries are poor competitors, keep all weeds out of the strawberry bed.
Hand-weeding is recommended for home gardeners.
Careful cultivation with a hoe is effective for managing weeds in strawberry plantings, but be careful not to dig too deeply, as you could damage the plant's shallow root system.Shidonna Raven Garden & Cook How to: Clean Cooking & Eating
Source: Evergreen Botany
How can you introduce more (organic or natural) fresh vegetables and fruits into your diet? How could this impact the environment? How could a home garden contribute to your and your family's over all health?
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