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When To Harvest - Urban Farmer's Guide
Home > Gardener's Guide > When to Harvest Vegetables
To receive all the best flavor and nutrition from your vegetables, you need to know when to harvest your vegetables. Some vegetables taste terrible if picked to early; others become tough and stringy if picked too late. If vegetables are properly picked and stored; most will last a while without rotting or losing flavor.
Most vegetables are harvested when they're young and tender, which often means harvesting before the fruit reaches full size. Harvesting early will give most vegetables a better taste but in many instances will keep the plant productive. If you keep harvesting vegetables like snap beans, summer squash, peas, broccoli, spinach and lettuce, they'll continue to produce all summer long.
Vegetables When to Harvest
     | Asparagus Beans, snap Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Kohlrabi Lettuce & other greens Muskmelons Onions Parsnips Peanuts Peas Peppers Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Spinach Squash, summer Squash, winter Sweet potatoes Tomatoes Turnips Watermelons | When spears are 6 to 9" inches long About 2 to 3 weeks after bloom When 1 to 3" inches wide When flower heads are tight and green When heads are firm When tops are 1" inch wide While heads are still white not light brown When silks are dry and brown Slicing when 6" inches long; pickling at 2" inches long Before color dulls When 2 to 3" inches wide While leaves are tender When fruit slips off vine easily When necks are tight, scales dry When roots reach desired length When leaves turn yellow While pods are still tender When fruits reach desired size and color When vines die back When shells harden When roots are up to 1 inch wide When leaves are tender When 6 to 8" inches long When shells harden When they reach desired size When they have a uniform color When 2 to 3" inches wide When underside turns yellow and produce a dull sound |
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