Best summer harvests

Start the harvest season as you mean to go on! Bob looks at how to best coordinate your efforts so nothing goes to waste

JULY is when our real harvest begins. Oh sure, we will have had the first pickings – but now, everything comes in a rush.

With the long days pushing growth, some crops can go over before we even notice, and then all our work is wasted. Garlic is a classic example: it looks great today, but it can be gone tomorrow. Dig your garlic up before the leaves detach themselves, or you won’t find them all. Lift just as leaves start to wither, then dry more thoroughly under cover.

Likewise, harvest onions and shallots once their leaves wither and fall naturally – never try to ‘help’ by impatiently bending these down, as that may initiate rot at the necks during storage.

Most salads and herbs can be picked piecemeal as soon as their leaves are large enough – there’s no need to wait until they are fully grown. Some crops such as carrots, turnips and beetroot can also be eaten from when they are quite small – this can be done while thinning to leave the remainder space to mature to full size.

Some crops, especially peas and beans, can go over in a day – seriously, the difference between a fat, tender pea and a hard, floury one is only a day or so. Likewise, green French beans are succulent and snap if bent, but within just a day or so the seed can be seen swelling and the pod will have become too tough to snap. Courgettes are legendary: if picked daily, they can produce a multitude more, but leave one to swell and no more will come. So it is important to keep these well picked over – likewise cucumbers, especially the indoor sorts, where one hidden fruit turning yellow will stop the whole plant in its tracks. And don’t forget the many soft fruits ripening now, which may be missed if not checked regularly. 3

Raise the height of cut of your mower, as longer grass blades promote deeper roots, keeping your lawn greener for longer. 4

Draw the earth up around the base of stems of sweetcorn and tomatoes, encouraging more roots and stronger, steadier growth.

Harvest carrots like ‘Nantes’ when small so those left are better able to bulk up Harvest shallots such as ‘Jermor’ once the leaves wither and never bend leaves down, as this will compromise their storage potential Runner beans like ‘Scarlet Emperor’ can change from fat and tender to hard and floury in the space of a day

If picked daily, courgette plants produce plenty more crops