Love the thought of having a big garden but not sure when to Harvest for the best quality produce? Here are some great tips and best times to harvest vegetable that are perfect for every plate.

Tips for Harvesting Vegetables

Vegetables are full of the best flavor and nutrients at the peak of their proper maturity, this does not always mean when it’s the biggest. Most crops are not ready to harvest until they are fully developed, however tomatoes can be taken off the vine and place in direct warm sunlight until mature or left on the vine to ripen.

Try not to damage the vegetable or bruise them, this will cause decay. Just like human skin, the broken stem or vine can allow bacteria and disease to enter the plant making it sick. When removing ripe veggies from the vine or plant, if they do not come off easily, use a knife to remove them. This all avoid damage.

Try to harvest your vegetables when it is dry to avoid any spread of plant disease in wet foliage. Check the ripeness of the veggies daily during harvest time, you don’t want them to be overgrown. Pick them when they are perfectly ripe.

Harvest Times

Asparagus

• Asparagus plants mature and are ready to harvest the third year after planting
• Stalks will be 6-9 inches
• Cut the stalks at the soil line
• Harvest before plant flowers

Beans, snap

• Harvest before the seeds begin to bulge and pods are close to full size
• Beans should snap easily and be crisp
• The tips of the beans should be pliable

Beans, lima

• Harvest before the pods turn yellow
• Tips should feel spongy
• Open a few pods and check to see that the seeds are juicy, this means they are fresh and ready to harvest.
• Pods are not eatable

Beets

• Harvest when beets are one and a half inches in diameter
• Leaves should be four to six inches in length
• Both the green leaves and the beets can be eaten

Broccoli

• Harvest before buds turn yellow and they are still tight
• Cut six inches below the flowering head
• Continue to harvest if the shoots are still producing

Brussels Sprouts

• Harvest when buds are the bottom at the plant are firm
• Do not pick the leaves
• Squeeze at growing point on the top of the plant to create larger buds

Cabbage

• Harvest before the head splits, when it is firm but not tough
• Give the head a quarter turn to break the roots and  avoid splitting which is caused by too much water intake

Cantaloupe/muskmelon

• Melon should release easily from the vine
• Skin should look like a thick netting

Carrots

• If it is cool outside carrots can be harvested later in the season, however they must be harvested before the ground freezes
• Carrots are ready to harvest when they are one inch in diameter
• Do not damage carrots, they will rot in storage if they are bruised

Cauliflower

• Head should be firm
• Six to seven inches in diameter for harvesting
• To avoid the heads turning yellow, fold the outside leaves up over the head and twisty tie in place when the heads are only two inches wide

Corn

• Silk should be dry and a rusty brown color
• Kennels should be fat and juice
• Harvest during cool weather in the early day light hours

Cucumbers

• Harvest when six to nine inches long
• Color should be bright green and firm
• Do not lift the vines when harvesting this will damage the vines

Eggplant

• Harvest when four to six inches inches in diameter
• Skin should be shiny, dark purple.
• If fruit is overripe, seeds are hard and flesh separates into stringy channels

Greens

• Collards, kale, chard, mustard — Cut outer leaves when six to eight inches in length

Lettuce, Head

• Harvest when heads are semi-firm and about six inches in diameter
• Cut from the bottom of the plant instead of pulling the whole head
• When the middle starts to grow taller, the plant will flower causing the lettuce will taste bitter

Okra

• Harvest when pods are three to four inches in length
• If not harvested, pods stop producing, pull every other day

Onions

• Harvest when tops fall over and begin to die
• Bulbs should be two to three inches wide
• Harvest green onions when they are six to eight inches in height

Peppers

• Peppers are shiny green and about three inches around
• Bell Peppers are tasty and still be havested after turning red or yellow
• Hot peppers are red or yellow when ripe

Sweet Potatoes

• Harvest before the first frost
• Skin should be firm and the vines have mostly died
• Avoid bruises and broken roots by lifting gentle

Radishes

• Harvest when roots are one to one and a half inches in diameter
• Tops of radish will show through the soil when it is fully grown

Rutabagas

• Rutabagas are mature when four to six inches in diameter
• They become woody if soil is too dry

Spinach

• should be harvested when the leaves are four to six inches long
• Harvesting larger, whole plants or older leaves will allow new growth

Summer Squash

Zucchini, cocozelle, crookneck, straightneck, scallop

• Pick when seeds and fruits are small.
• Squash should be six to eight inches long
• skin you can puncture with a fingernail

Winter Squash

Pumpkins, Butternut, buttercup, acorn, hubbard

• Harvest when fruits are full size
• Rind should be firm and shiny
• Bottom of fruit should be a cream or orange color

Tomatoes

• Harvest at full color peak and when tomatoes are firm
• Overripe tomatoes will be mushy
• Do not refrigerate, the texture and flavor with spoil in cold temperatures

Turnips

• Harvest before first frost
• Roots should be two to three inches in diameter
• When grown for greens, pick leaves when four to six inches in length

Watermelon

• Withered and brown tendrils near stem
• The bottoms are cream to yellow colored
• The fruit should sound hollow when tapped on

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