Pick for Peak Flavor
Knowing when to harvest will guarantee the freshest, most flavorful and nutritious produce from your garden.
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Photos by Rick Wetherbee
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by Kris Wetherbee
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The secret to enjoying garden-fresh produce at its prime is
knowing when to harvest. If you’ve ever eaten a melon
that lacked sweetness, or green beans that were fibrous and
tough, you know how crucial timing can be. Just as
different vegetables have their own distinct needs for
planting, fertilizing and growing, each also will give
certain clues when it is ready to pick.
A few vegetables are very accommodating and can stay in the
ground for weeks until you’re ready to eat them.
Others need continual picking to ensure ongoing production
of a crop, but most have a short window of time during
which they can be gathered at peak flavor. After a
vegetable passes its prime, it undergoes permanent changes
that alter its taste, appearance, quality and, sometimes,
its future production. Sugars turn to starches, and the
texture becomes mushy, like an overripe melon or chewy
green beans.
On the other hand, if you pick too soon, you will harvest a
vegetable that has not had adequate time to develop peak
flavor, substance and nutrition.
Here’s a guide to help you know precisely when your
summer and fall fruits and vegetables have reached their
peak of perfection and are ready to be picked and eaten:
Beans should be checked daily for
harvesting. Snap beans/green beans are ready when the pods
have filled out but the seeds are still tiny, which,
depending on weather conditions, is usually some two to
four weeks after bloom. The pods should be firm and crisp,
with pliable tips. Pick haricot (French filet) types when
the pods are about one-eighth inch in diameter, while
they’re still young and very slender.
Beets can be picked when the roots are
from 1 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, and most taste best
when they are about the size of a pingpong ball or golf
ball. White and golden varieties are tasty and tender until
they reach baseball size, but storage (winter-keeping)
varieties remain tender until they reach softball size or
even slightly larger. When harvested past their prime,
beets have a strong taste and tough, pithy texture.
Broccoli should be harvested when the buds
are still tight and before the florets begin opening their
yellow flowers. For the first harvest, cut the central
stalk at a slant about 5 to 6 inches below the base of the
head. This prevents rot and encourages production of new
side shoots, which can be harvested at a later date.
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