Bringing in the summer harvests: How and when to harvest your crops

It's summertime and all of your hard work in the spring is starting to pay off in delicious harvests of veggies and fruits! How to harvest your veggies can vary depending on the crop. Below are some great tips for keeping your plants happy and your harvests plenty.

And, don't forget! Food banks LOVE getting donations of garden fresh produce, in any amount. Here's how to donate to the Lynnwood Food Bank and the Edmonds Food Bank. Contact your local food bank today to find out how to share your garden bounty!

WHEN TO HARVEST

Harvesting time varies depending on when plants were seeded, but below are some helpful tips to help you know when it's time to harvest.

Bulbing onion ready to harvest. Additional curing time will allow the onion to be stored longer.

Greens: Kale, collards, swiss chard, mustards

For leafy greens, harvest time can start when the plants are established. Harvest the lower leaves as needed, leaving it to continue to grow from the top. Avoid over harvesting things like kale, swish chard, and collards as it will take away the ability of the plant to photosynthesize.

Bulbing Onions

Bulbing onions are harvested after the tops fall over. They can be harvested at anytime before then as well, but the tops falling over signifies that they are done growing. If you want to store the onions they need additional drying time to cure the skins.

Winter Squash

Winter Squash is meant to be left on the vine until the plant completely matures the fruit. Leave the fruit on the plant until the plant has died back considerably or when the skin is hard to puncture with your fingernail and the stem is completely dried and brown.

Garlic

Read more about harvesting garlic here.

Harvest often for increased production

Certain summer crops need to be harvested often to ensure the plant keeps producing. Once these plants begin producing, check them daily to harvest as needed. These include:

• Green beans and peas

• Summer Squash

• Cucumber

• Indeterminate tomatoes

• Basil

• Cilantro

• Sprouting broccoli

Reproduction is a plants main goal! It completes its mission by storing enough energy to make viable seed.

In the case of fruiting plants like cucumbers and squash, the plant is trying to get the fruit to mature so that the seeds inside are viable. It's main goal is to reproduce by way of producing viable seed. That is why it's not a good idea to let your zucchini get to baseball size! The plant is going to think it's done its job and may not keep producing. It's also using a lot of energy and water to keep that one zucchini alive, so by harvesting your fruits small it frees up the plant to keep producing more.

HOW TO HARVEST

Green beans & peas:

Harvest using two hands or clippers so you don't pull/damage the plants. Harvest every day and when beans/peas are small and crisp. If the seeds inside are visible you've waited too long. Remove any that have gone past their prime, until you are ready to leave the plants to dry some seed at the end of the season.

Scarlet runner beans ready to harvest. The beans on the left and center are the perfect size for fresh eating.

For beans and peas, once the seeds in the pod start to harden, the plant has done it's job. So pick the pods before the pea or bean seed begin to really show through the exterior.

Summer Squash & Cucumbers

Harvest fruit when it is small and the skin has not darkened. Darkening of the skin signals that the plant is drying the fruit and the skin will not be edible at that point. Harvest by cutting the fruit from the vine.

Cucumbers can also get very seedy if allowed to get too big. You can cut out the seeds and cut off the skin and still use them, but harvesting sooner will help. I grow lemon cucumbers and silver slicer cucumbers that can be challenging to know when to harvest. For both, harvest when skin is still soft (easily punctured) and light in color.

Indeterminate Tomatoes

Indeterminate plants keep setting flowers and fruit. So to encourage more flowers to set, harvest ripe fruit often. Check plants daily and harvest tomatoes before they are totally ripe (still a little firm), this reduces the chances of splitting.

Tomatoes can be harvested using hand pruners but they also have a natural 'knuckle' on their stem that will snap if bent backwards (and the fruit is ready).

Basil

Harvest basil by pinching back the upper leaves to a lower leaf node and remove the largest leaves. This keeps plants from getting too big and storing enough energy to go to the 'bolting' stage of growth. When leafy plants bolt, they take energy from the leaves to use for making the flower stalks and flowers so the leaves get bitter.

Winter Squash

Winter squash gets it's own category because unlike summer squash you will leave the fruit on the vine until the end of the season and the vine has died completely. You want the skin to be completely 'cured' so that the squash can be safely stored for the winter if you want - although you can eat it right away as well!

A winter squash NOT ready to harvest. The stem is still green and the skin is still curing.

PSA: Winter and Summer Squash are both seeded at the same time, in the late spring. The names 'summer' and 'winter' represent the time of year they are eaten. Summer squash are harvested and eaten in the summer. Winter squash signifies that it can be stored and eaten in the winter.

Sprouting broccoli

Harvest sprouts often to keep the plant from flowering and continuing to produce new side shoots. Harvest by cutting the small heads off to a lower leaf node that will then send up a sprout. Regular heading broccoli will also send up side shoots after the main head is harvested. AND, all the leaves are edible too!

Cabbage/Cauliflower/Broccoli

Harvest brassica crops like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli when the heads are completely mature but not starting to separate. When the head starts to open it is preparing to flower. You can still harvest it at this stage but get it before it goes much further and harvest it sooner next time.

Talk to a GARDEN COACH to learn more!

Want to learn more about when and how to harvest your crops, including fruit and herbs? Schedule a free 15-minute phone call to talk about garden coaching and consultations and how it can quickly and dramatically increase your knowledge by learning in your own garden with the seasons.

Learn More!

I also offer seasonal classes so be sure you are signed up to get my emails to be notified of upcoming events.

Happy harvest season!

Marni