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Be Silly. Be honest. Be kind.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Harvesting Vegetables |
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Commercial vegetable growers, wholesalers and retailers
are experts at determining the optimum harvest time and
storage conditions to ensure that the vegetables you find
in the grocery store will have the longest possible shelf
life. They do an excellent job of ensuring that the
grocery store produce department is continually stocked
with the freshest vegetables possible, even when the
grower is thousands of miles from the consumer. The only
problem with the system is that the optimum harvest time
for a long shelf life is not always the optimum time for
the best flavor.
Some people swear that once the bloom falls off the end of
the squash, it's past it's prime. These infant squash
aren't available at the grocery store because at this
stage they bruise easily and have a shorter shelf life
than squash left on the vines until the skin toughens.
Some vegetables (such as tomatoes) are picked long before
their prime and ripen in storage facilities rather than on
the vine.
The only way to experience vegetables at their prime is to
grow them yourself. For best results, harvest your
vegetables the day you plan to eat them, preferably early
in the morning. Sprinkle them lightly with water and store
them in a cool place until you're ready to prepare them.
Some vegetables, such as parsnips, carrots and potatoes,
keep well in the ground until needed. Others have a short
harvest window and should be picked promptly when ripe.
Invest in a good kitchen garden cookbook with a variety of
recipes for each vegetable to prevent monotony when you
find yourself harvesting the same vegetables for several
consecutive days.
Not sure exactly when to harvest? We've posted a chart on
recommended harvest times here: http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/harvest.htm
Contributed by
http://www.gardenguides.com
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