Gauging Ripeness: Your plants may look ready to pick, but are they?

Tag : Potatoes Carrots Onions Cabbage
By DEAN FOSDICK - For The Associated Press
NEW MARKET, Va. - Few things will ruin a season's worth ofexpectations faster than dining on fresh-picked fruits orvegetables whose time hasn't come. Or, for that matter, whose timehas come and gone.
Guess wrong about when to shift produce from plot to plate andyou've wasted weeks of effort. That's what home gardening is allabout, isn't it: trying to capture that unmatched moment of peakflavor? Growing better quality food at less cost?

Determining when that moment has arrived, however, is not simple.

“The only sure way to tell if something is ready for harvestis to sample it,” said Cynthia Haynes, an extensionhorticulturist with Iowa State University.

“Size and color usually are good indicators, but even veterangardeners can be fooled,” Haynes said. “Colors willchange first, although that doesn't mean they're ripe. Fruits andvegetables have to reach full size before flavors can develop. Eata few first to be certain.”
Pick too early and flavor will be lacking. Wait too long and you'llhave starchy, bitter-tasting produce.

“It often will be moldy and insect damaged, too,” saidLauren Devine, a spokeswoman for Jarden Home Brands in Daleville,Ind., which manufactures the classic Ball home-canning Mason jars.“Definitely not top quality. You'd be smart to tossit.”

Here are some guidelines for deciding when to harvest the mostpopular homegrown fruits and vegetables:

Asparagus: Start when the spears are 6 or more inches long and asthick as your little finger. Snap them off at ground level and stopharvesting after several weeks so the plants have time to rechargefor next season.

Beans (Lima): Pick when the pods are bright green and filled out.The beans are more tender if taken before they've fully matured.You'll know they're beyond prime when the pods begin to yellow.
Beans (Snap): Best eaten when beans inside the pod are aboutone-quarter of full size. Pick frequently because they are quick toturn tough and starchy.

Beets: Ready for eating when the roots reach an inch or more indiameter. Start your harvest with the tops, which make excellentgreens.

Cabbage: Begin bringing them in if the heads feel solid whenpressure is gradually applied. The heads often split if allowed togrow overripe.

Carrots: Depends on variety and size preference. Pull one from theground to check its length and then give it a raw taste test.

Cauliflower (and Broccoli): Harvest when the heads are full andsmooth and before the color starts to turn.

Corn (Sweet): Wait until the silks are dry and the ears completelyfilled out. “Shuck an ear and use a fingernail to pierce akernel,” said Haynes. “You want to see a milky juicecoming out. That tells you it's ready for harvest.”

Cucumbers (and Zucchini): Inspect daily and pick early and often.“Zucchini can be troublesome,” Haynes said. “...If it gets too big, it can get too soft. But the more you harvest,the more the plants fruit for you.”

Eggplant: Cut the fruit from the plant when it has grown firm andshiny. An eggplant is beyond prime when its color dulls and theseeds turn brown.

Lettuce (Head): Like cabbage, harvest when the heads become firmand full.

Lettuce (Leaf): “Clip the outer leaves with a knife orscissors just above the ground,” Haynes said. “It fillsout again quickly and you can make many return visits before theplant is done. You'll know when because the leaves will starttasting bitter.”
Melons: “Of all the crops one can grow, melons keep the bestsecrets about their own ripeness, but there are ways of crackingthe code,” said Roger Doiron, founding director of KitchenGardeners International, a nonprofit network of organic cooks andgardeners based in Scarborough, Maine. “Muskmelons, forexample, ripen on the vine but not off, so they don't get anysweeter after picking. Gardeners should be looking to harvest whentheir muskmelons ‘slip' from the vines when gentle pressureis applied to the stem.”

Watermelons, meanwhile, develop white-colored spots on theirundersides that become yellow as they ripen. A mature melon willgive off a dull, hollow thud when thumped with a knuckle.

“They should look heavy for their size, like oranges,”said Devine. “They'll be juicy when mature. You also shouldbe able to tell by smelling the melons. They give off a reallyfruity flavor (when ripe).”

Onions (Dry): Harvest when the tops and necks have withered andcollapsed, and the bulbs won't dent when squeezed. Let dry for acouple of weeks.

Peas: Pods should feel full but not plump or the peas will havehardened and become bitter. Peas are like strawberries; they cryout to be sampled.

Potatoes: “In the case of ‘buried treasure,' likegarlic and potatoes, you need to look at their leaves for signs ofreadiness,” Doiron said. “Potatoes can be harvestedwhen their foliage starts to turn yellow.” Dig slowly andcarefully to avoid slicing or bruising the tubers. Cure in a coolarea for a week or more before eating.

Tomatoes: Harvest when the fruit is fully red but still firm.Tomatoes will continue to mature after being picked butvine-ripened fruit tastes best. Refrigerating dulls the flavor;leave them at room temperature if they can't be eaten immediatelyafter being picked.

A popular harvesting rule of thumb is to pick small and pick often.Bigger is not always better when dealing with produce. Smalleritems frequently are more flavorful.

“Of all the home garden's advantages, proximity may be thebiggest,” Doiron said. “When my garden is goingfull-tilt, I've got the equivalent of a fully stocked producesection ripening just steps from my backdoor with something new inseason every few days.”