Tips for Harvesting Homegrown Fruit and Vegetables
Harvesting fruit vegetables correctly will mean you will enjoy a bountiful harvest and good quality crop every year.
Harvest vegetables when they are at their peak, for flavour and nutrition - bigger does not always equal better! Tomatoes can be picked either when they are fully ripe or green and left to ripen off the vine. Berries should be picked when they ripe.
Try to avoid brusing or damaging vegetables or leaves as this can create openings that diseases can enter and eventually damage the plants.
Use a sharp knife to harvest vegetables cleanly, particularly those that won’t easily be pulled from the vines.
Root vegetables are usually ready to harvest 6-8 weeks after planting, leaves will be darker with thicker stems. Dig carefully around the vegetables to prevent damage.