Is there really a "right" way to harvest your produce?
After putting the time and effort into planning your garden, starting your seeds, and nurturing your plants, you want it to pay off when it comes time to harvest. But did you know there are “right” ways and “wrong” ways to harvest?!
We sure didn’t when we first started gardening!
We’d get home from work in one of the hottest parts of the day, go out to the garden to pull what looked good and go back and stick it in the fridge. A few days later when we finally got around to wanting to make a meal with the produce, we’d open the fridge drawer only to be sorely disappointed that the carrots were shriveled, the greens were wilted and the tomatoes tasted mealy.
What were we doing wrong?!
As it turns out, quite a few things.
While you can certainly break the rules at times (we all do!), here are a few key principles to have a more successful harvest:
Walk through your garden at least once a week to evaluate your plants’ progress. See which plants are ripe, which are getting close, and make a mental (or written) plan about when you’ll come back to harvest.
Harvest early in the morning if at all possible. Most plants are at their best in the morning before the heat of the day has taken a toll on the plant.
Get your plants out of the sun and into the shade, and ultimately into the house as quickly as possible.
Separate the root crops from their greens and store separately to prolong the life of your veggies. Learn how to properly store your fruits and veggies so you get the best flavor. For instance, tomatoes should stay on the countertop. Scallions can be stored in a jar of water. And apples should not be stored next to bananas.
For more tips about harvesting your produce, check out this video and begin making these changes in your own garden!
