HARVEST

> When harvesting summer vegetables, don’t discard those with the odd mark or two. Perfect shapes and unblemished leaves do not make your crops taste any better.

> Pick globe artichoke before young flower buds start to open, ideally when they are 5-10cm in diameter. Cut stem 8-10cm below the base of buds to keep them fresh for longer. Other buds will often form on the one stalk.

> Dig up beetroot roots if plants are close together, taking out alternate plants in each row. This will allow remaining roots to get larger. Try this also with carrots and use thinnings in salads and stir-fries.

> Potatoes can be harvested even if leaves haven’t completely turned brown, particularly if the weather is starting to get cold in your area. Make sure you remove all potato tubers from the ground when digging up your spuds as leaving small ones to germinate can cause diseases and attract pests next season. For a healthy vege garden it’s important to practise good crop rotation and never plant those in the same family two years in succession.

After potatoes, for instance, you could plant leafy greens, onions or anything in the cabbage family.

> Wait until top growth has died down when harvesting yams. Likewise with pumpkin. As vines die down pick them with a little bit of stalk attached so they will store for longer.

> Keep picking tomatoes as they start to turn red, yellow, black, purple or orange depending on the variety. If you want to pull out plants to make space for growing winter vegetables, hang any branches with green fruit on them in a warm, dry porch or inside the house, and they’ll generally ripen.