Harvesting plant vegetables –

For many gardeners, harvest time is extremely crucial as it has a number of vegetables that need harvesting.

• The best practice in harvesting vegetables is to check regularly or daily to see what has ripened. Picking vegetables as soon as they are ripe often encourages the plant to produce even more.
  
  
• Do not look for big size. Bigger does not necessarily mean better.
  
  
• Most vegetables are at their peak of tenderness and flavor when they are relatively small
  
  

The timing of harvesting

The timing of the plant harvest is often one of the trickiest parts for any garden owner. Harvesting early will reduce the potency of the plant, while harvesting late will cause the vegetable to be riper than usual.Therefore, it is  crucial to keep track of what you planted and when it was planted. Make  it a practice to  note  the dates of plantations. Each plant has its own method of growth and ripening process. There are many cultivars of vegetables today, bred for different characteristics such as size and flavor.

Look for Signs of Trouble

Watch for signs of trouble, such as yellowing leaves or rotting fruit, and remove the problem parts. Because there’s no point in letting the plant put energy into fruit you won’t be able to eat.

More Tips for Harvesting Vegetables from Your Garden

For Herbs.  Cut them frequently to keep them from producing more stems and leaves and to keep them from blooming, which changes the flavor. Basil, especially, needs frequent pinching back to keep it bushy and productive.

Root vegetables.  For carrots, beets, turnips, radishes or parsnips , at the time of harvesting, loosen the soil gently and pull one up to see how big it is. Root vegetables are more tender and delicate in flavor if eaten younger and smaller; as they get older and larger, they get tougher, woodier and more pungent.

Capsicum and Hot  Peppers. Peppers and capsicum are mature and ready to eat when full-sized but still green. Hot peppers left will get hotter. So whether you cut at the green stage or later will depend on the variety of the plant type.

Tomatoes. Most of the Tomato varieties  are red when ripe, but some are orange, yellow, striped or even green. Different types have different harvest zones. So observe  what to expect from the variety you have planted and monitor the plant closely as its due date nears. Generally, a tomato is fully ripe when it releases easily from the stem. If you misjudge a bit it’s no tragedy, because tomatoes will ripen somewhat after picking. But they develop the fullest sweet flavor if they ripen in the sun on the vine. Some tomatoes are ‘determinate’ type, which will stop bearing after a few weeks. Most are ‘indeterminate’ kinds, which will keep flowering and setting fruit until killed by some means.  It’s a good idea to pick  the  green tomatoes once a week. The rest if harvested and stored inside the house  will ripen at room temperature, if wrapped in newspaper.

Cucumbers.  you can remove cucumbers at any stage, depending on what you want to use them for. Smaller ones will be more tender, with thinner skins and few or immature seeds. Older, mature cucumbers will be dry and woody. Like melons, cucumbers should be cut from the vine, not pulled.

Lettuce. It’s important to harvest  lettuce before hot weather affects the plant. Use scissors to cut the largest leaves individually from the plants. When the smaller leaves get big enough, harvest those. You may be able to continue the process till it gives up in the summer or rainy season. To prolong the lettuce harvest, look for season resistant varieties and sow seeds several times at two-week intervals.

Green beans. Green beans are an easy vegetable to harvest. Pick the pods when they are a little shy of their maximum size, to be sure that they are tender, with immature seeds. If you delay, the seeds will mature and harden and the pod will become tough. Don’t pick green beans in the morning when the dew is still on the vines, wait until they are fully dry to avoid spreading disease. Be sure to keep up with regular picking to encourage the vine to keep flowering and producing pods.

Peas. For garden peas, pick peas just before you are ready to use them. Pods left too long on the vine get tough and stringy.

Cantaloupes, muskmelons and honeydews: Harvesting melons can be a tricky process. A ripe cantaloupe or muskmelon will begin to have a tan or yellowish color beneath the corky “netting” on its skin. Cut the stem rather than breaking the fruit off, which creates a wound that invites the fruit to rot. Let the fruit ripen for another day or two at room temperature before use.

Watermelons. The traditional way of testing the ripeness is to test the  thump and listen for a dull, hollow sound, but this may not always work. When the spot beneath the melon, turns yellowish, rather than white or green, the melon is close to ripening. The rind also gets tougher, so test it with your thumbnail to check how easily it dents.