After you spend a few months planning, planting and growing your garden, you may want to enjoy the fruits, and vegetables, of your labor. However, it can be tricky to know when and how to harvest your kitchen garden.
These tips will help you pick produce that is ripe and ready:
Keep a Garden Journal
When you plant your garden, take note of what you have planted, where you placed it and how many days it will take to ripen. Each day, check the growth of your plants and make notes in your journal along the way. Don't forget to include current weather conditions, because this could speed up or slow down the growth of your garden. These notes will help you monitor the progress of your plants and will allow you to anticipate exactly when your fruits and vegetables will be ripe for the picking.
Check the Quality of Your Vegetables
When you go to the garden each day to check on your plants, make sure that you are monitoring for signs of decay or disease. Irregular growth, unusual spots or discoloration may be a sign that your plant is not thriving. It also may indicate that a pest has moved in to your garden. If you see any suspicious signs or symptoms, act quickly to prevent further damage to your garden.
Pick Those Vegetables Before They Get Too Big
It may sound surprising, but you don't want your vegetables to grow too large. Extra-large vegetables are going to lack flavor and are also going to have more seeds than their younger, smaller counterparts. It's best to keep an eye on their growth and development in your garden, and pick vegetables when they are between a small and moderate size. This will allow you to enjoy the freshest and most delicious vegetables in your garden salad every evening.
Pull Gently
One of the trickiest parts about harvesting your garden is taking the vegetables off their plants. It is important you gently tug on the vegetables so they easily break free from their mother plant. A light pull will allow you to grab your fresh produce without damaging the plant, and will ensure that the plant can continue to grow and thrive throughout the season.
By harvesting your garden regularly, you will find that your plants continue to produce throughout the entire season.
About the Author
Carolyn Andrews
Carolyn Andrews has over 30 years licensed Brokerage experience in both California and Colorado. Born in England, Carolyn moved to California in 1980, then relocated to Denver, Colorado in 1991. Carolyn has also received recognition for Top Sales at RE/MAX Alliance Aurora in 2007-2008 and is a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame & Chairman’s Club, as well as a recipient of the ReMax Lifetime Achievement Award. Carolyn has sold over 2000 homes personally in her career. Carolyn has been actively involved in many aspects of the Real Estate business including investment property, luxury homes, mountain resort property, skiin/ski out, REO/default management, loss mitigation, valuations, and disposition. She has been a speaker and panelist at several conferences and has been consulted on many occasions by various organizations in the REO/financial industries for her expertise and served on many boards. She has attended numerous ongoing classes to stay abreast of changes in the ever-evolving Real Estate industry. She is the prior State Director for Colorado for VAREP(Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals). She is a member of 3 boards of Realtors including Metro Denver, Colorado Springs and Summit County mountain areas. She heads up The Andrews Group and is or has been an active member of NAR, CAR,REOMAC, CIPS, CRS, AREAA, NAPW, NAHREP, and is an original member of the ELITEReal Estate network. She was ranked #1 for most homes sold in Denver 2007 by Denver Board of Realtors, #2 for 2008, and #2 for 2009, #5 in 2010 and #4 in 2011 and has been consistently in the top 10 ever since. Carolyn Andrews has been a top rated Endorsed Local Provider for the Dave Ramsey Organization and also a Top Producing agent for 2018 for the Homelight Company.
