GardenLine | Vegetables | Harvesting of Vegetables: G - Z

Sharon Faye

GARLIC/LEEKS/ONIONS: Green onions are best harvested when the stem reaches the thickness of a pencil. Leeks are harvested when the stem diameter reaches 1/2 - 1 1/2 inches (2-4 cm). Garlic is ready to be pulled when 1/3 of the top has died back.

The remainder of onions may be gathered as needed or when tops start to bend over and yellow. If they are still actively growing by the beginning of September, the tops should be bent over to start a bulb curing process. Onions should not be subjected to a heavy frost or the bulbs will be ruined. If they do not cure on their own or conditions are not favourable for outdoor drying, they may be spread out on the floor in a warm dry building preferably with a forced flow of warm air.

Garlic requires a curing period of about 20 days at 200C (or 10-14 days at 270C) with a lot of air movement.

LETTUCE: The outer leaves should be harvested before yellowing or browning occurs. If the stand is thick, entire plants may be cut off, allowing the remaining plants more room to develop. Head lettuce should be firm before it is picked. In semi-heading types the centre will not become firm, so you may harvest as soon as a soft head forms. Leaf lettuce is ready to eat 40 days after seeding. Approximately 100 days are needed for large heads to form.

PEAS: Harvest the pods just before they appear round in cross section, while retaining their bright green colour. Chinese and snow peas, whose pods are eaten, are picked when pods are flat and about 1.5-2.5 inches (4- 6.5 cm) long. Pods longer than 3 inches (7.5 cm) are too fibrous. (Pick the pods carefully so as not to break the the vines and do not leave overripe pods on the plants.) Pods can be picked 60 days after planting.

BELL PEPPERS: Peppers may be harvested with a sharp knife; at any size when the fruit is dark green. If you would like a few red peppers for a nice colour contrast in salads, allow some of the fruit to remain on the plant until it turns red. Maturity time needed for transplants is between 75-85 days. Small peppers grow slowly so you will need 6-8 weeks from seed to transplant size.

WHITE POTATOES: For fresh tasting "new potatoes", dig up the tubers when the flowers form on the plant. For fully mature potatoes, wait until the top growth starts to die back. If you want to store the tubers for a prolonged period of time it's advisable to wait until the crop matures. Mature tubers will have a firm hardened skin, will be less susceptible to injuries and will store better than immature tubers. It is best to harvest before the first killing frost. If the growing season has been too short to mature the tubers naturally, the tops may be prematurely killed by cutting them, once tubers have reached an acceptable size. The skin will harden sufficiently if tubers are left 10-14 days in the soil.

PUMPKINS: Wait until the fruit is a deep orange. If you cannot sink your fingernail easily into the rind, the pumpkin is ripe enough to put directly into storage. By this time, the vines will usually be drying. If the pumpkin is not mature, it may be left on the vine until after a light frost. However, if the average daily temperature is below 150C growth will be reduced or eliminated and the benefit of covering the plant will be questionable. If a heavy frost threatens and you must harvest earlier, leaving the pumpkin at room temperature for a few weeks will allow the rind to harden. Pumpkins may be stored at 100C with 70 to 75 percent relative humidity.

RADISHES: Thinning and eating may start when radishes are the size of marbles. Radishes may harvested up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter; beyond that size they become pithy and strongly flavoured. Radishes mature 25-30 days after seeding.

SQUASH/ZUCCHINI: Common green zucchini is best harvested when 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) in length, yellow types at 4-7 inches (10-17 cm) and patty pan (scallop types) when 3-5 inches (7-12 cm) in diameter. Summer squash larger than this will develop hard skins and large inedible seeds. Spaghetti squash may be harvested when golden yellow and banana squash picked when golden orange. Winter squash are cut with a few inches of stem, after the vines have died back in late summer or fall. Skins should be hard enough to resist your fingernail. Frequent picking will encourage continuous production. Summer squash requires 50 days to mature, whereas winter types require 80-120 days.

TOMATOES: Tomatoes reach full flavour when uniformly red, but you may wish to pick some earlier for frying. Overripe fruit may used for processing into juice, catsup or sauce. One can expect a full red colour to develop 5 days after the first signs of pink show on the fruit. If frost is approaching and you still have green fruit on the plant, pick the tomatoes with 2 inches (5 cm) of stem attached or pull the entire plant. Store in a cool dark place (inside a brown paper bag or under brown paper works well) and allow to ripen. Ripening time from large transplants until harvest will range from 55-75 days.

REFERENCES:

When to Pick a Perfect Vegetable, by Warren Asa.

Growing Garden Potatoes; Agriculture Canada; Publication 1559 E.

Harvesting and Storage of Onions, by D.H. Dabbs; Department of Horticulture Science; University of Saskatchewan; Saskatoon.

Hortideas; September 1990.

The Pumpkin Comes in all Shapes and Sizes, by Grant Wood; University of Saskatchewan.

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Sustainable horticultural information, offered free of charge to the public with the support of the University of Saskatchewan Extension Division, the Department of Plant Sciences and the Provincial Government.