Late summer can be one of the best times for us as gardeners. We have been working hard in our gardens since the start of the season; seeding, reseeding, weeding, watering, thinning, pruning, covering and uncovering every day, and managing pests. But in late summer all of our hard work comes to fruition as we see our gardens taking off. Those Little broccoli starts that went in the ground 4 months ago now have heads on them that are bigger than those starts were. Our gardens now feel cramped as our squash plants make it so we can’t see the grown underneath all of the vegetation. These are the times that we as gardeners live for. But now that all of our food is getting ready what is the best way to harvest it? There is definitely some skill and knowledge in knowing when to harvest from your garden, and different techniques to use. Because of this, I went and asked some expert gardeners in the Valley different techniques that they use, and what some of their harvesting tips.
harvest when things are ready.
Ultimately there is not a hard and fast rule for when you should harvest from your garden. A lot of it depends on what you are wanting to get out of your harvest. The longer you let most veggies go, the bigger they get, but the tougher they get.
Harvesting Greens
Harvest greens from the outside of the plant so that the "heart" keeps growing. When it begins to heat up, you want to cut the flower to stop them from bolting. If you stay on top of this, you can get another couple of weeks or more out of them.
For storing them, try putting 3-4 sheets of paper towel at the bottom of a plastic bag, rinse leaves, and put them in a bag in the refrigerator. It is important to have an air bubble in the bag. I find that it keeps greens fresh and crisp for a couple of weeks.
Continual harvesting
Swiss Chard, kale, other greens (if you can keep them from bolting) beans, peas, berries, squash, edible flowers, and herbs are all great plants that you can harvest from for most of the growing season here in Gunnison.
Thin harvesting
Thin harvesting is a concept where you delay some of your thinning, and wait to do it when your veggies are big enough so you can use what you thin. This is something that we do out at our farm. We will thin harvest a bed of carrots for four weeks to provide carrots for our CSA.
When do you start harvesting in your garden?
You can harvest Greens, radishes, peas, and other veggies that mature quickly throughout the summer, but August is when things really peak. You can begin to harvest most everything that is growing in your garden. You can keep your more frost resistant crops going into September. However, if you are looking to extend your growing season, you will want to do something to extend your growing season. Something like frost cloth. This is a good time to harvest potatoes as well.
Root vegetables
size is up to you. You want big enough to eat but not so big that they are woody and hard as a rock... Roots are quite frost resistant as well. Mulch them with hay and as long as you can dig them out keep them in the garden.
With your potatoes, you are going to want to wait until the leaves start to turn brown. Carrots and beets will get slightly sweeter if you keep them in the ground for the first light frosts.
Brassicas.
It can sometimes be hard to tell when your brassicas are ready. The easiest way to tell is to test the firmness of their head. With any cabbage, you want to make sure the head has firmed up before you harvest it. Brussels sprouts will come between the leaves. You want to check their firmness just like you do with the other brassicas. If they are ready, just snap and it will come off. The plant will continue to grow upwards and so will the sprouts.
Broccoli
will form a main head. Cut when the little green "flowers" are "puffed" but not starting to show the yellow flowers. You should have more shoots coming up from the lower branches. If you miss your window, or you are just a big fan of broccoli, the leaves have the same broccoli flavor.
How do you know when garlic/onions are ready to be harvested?
You want to wait until the leaves start to turn yellow. If you harvest them before this, they won’t have a hard-outer layer and won’t store well.
This is by no means an all-encompassing account of everything that you need to know when it comes to harvesting techniques, but I do want to thank Benedicte Henrotte a master gardener, and Jenna Kelmser with Westerns Organics Guild for the information they provided. This information was very helpful. And for all of you gardeners out there. If you have found any good tips or tricks for harvesting let us know at sean@mountainrootsfoodproject.org