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The art of vegetable gardening isn't just about knowing how to plant, weed and water. It's also about knowing exactly when to harvest, so you get sweet, succulent vegetables that keep well. Here are a few tips on how to do it with the most popular vegetables.
Tomato
For the best taste, pick tomatoes when they are fully orange-red. If frost is threatening, the fruit can be harvested before ripening, but the flavor will be diminished: this is the flavor of "store tomatoes", which have been picked before ripening, because at this stage they are more resistant to transport. Place immature tomatoes that have begun to change color in a warm, damp place, preferably in the dark (in a brown paper bag, for example). Exposing them to the sun on a windowsill will only cause them to lose liquid, resulting in less succulent fruit. You can eat these "artificially ripened" tomatoes once they have turned red. Tomatoes picked green will never ripen: use them as "green tomatoes" in ketchups.
Corn
Corn is ripe when its silks are brown and the kernels are full of sap. Mash a kernel and if "milk" comes out, it's ripe. No vegetable loses its flavor as quickly as corn. Preferably, pick only a few hours before eating. Our ancestors used to say that you should start boiling the water before harvesting "corn"… and they weren't entirely wrong!
>Bean
Harvest beans in dry weather, cutting off the pods with shears rather than pulling them out, so as not to uproot the plant by accident. The bean is ripe when the pod is well formed, but still young. If the seeds can be clearly distinguished by the swelling they produce through the husk, the pod is overripe and the bean will taste mushy. Harvest regularly, every three days or so, to stimulate the bean plant to produce more.
Cucumber
Cucumbers should be picked while still immature, when they have reached the desired size, but before they turn yellow, as they then become bitter. Regular harvesting stimulates continuous production throughout the summer.
Onion
Fresh onions can be harvested at any time. For storage onions, wait until the bulb is fully mature. When the leaves begin to fall and turn yellow on their own, this is a sign that maturity has been reached. Then lay the recontenting leaves on the ground… but leave the bulbs in place for a few weeks, until their skins become paper-dry. You can then bring them in for the winter.
Photo: Markus SpiskeCarrot
For immediate consumption, carrots can be harvested at any time, once the root has reached the desired size (and don't forget that "baby carrots" can be eaten). However, for storage carrots, harvest in autumn. Carrots will be sweeter if the ground has begun to freeze.
Photo: Markus Spiske
Zucchini
Don't wait too long, as zucchini is at its best before ripening, when its seeds are still embryonic. When the fruit measures 18 to 20 cm (8″) by 3 to 4 cm (1-1/2″), it should be ready. Harvest them two or three times a week to stimulate continuous production. Use a sharp knife for harvesting, as tearing off the fruit can damage the plant.
And there you have it! Many expert secrets about harvesting vegetables.