NGB releases harvest guide for home gardeners
The National Garden Bureau (NGB) has released a new harvest guide to help home gardeners determine when fruits and vegetables are ready to pick for the best flavor, texture and quality.
The guide, “Ripe and Ready? How to Know When to Harvest Homegrown Fruits and Veggies,” includes harvesting recommendations for 16 warm-season crops, including sweet potatoes, tomatoes, corn, melons, cucumbers and basil. It provides visual and sensory indicators to help gardeners identify peak harvest timing.
“We’ve all walked into the garden to find a zucchini that somehow turned into a baseball bat overnight,” said Diane Blazek, NGB executive director. “Our goal with this guide is to give home growers clear visual and sensory cues so they can harvest at the precise moment of peak flavor, texture and nutritional value.”
Among the recommendations, the guide advises harvesting produce in the early morning after dew has dried to maximize crispness and sugar content. It also recommends harvesting tomatoes at the breaker stage, when fruit first begins changing color, allowing tomatoes to finish ripening indoors without sacrificing flavor, color or nutritional value.
For crops that develop underground or inside husks, the guide outlines additional indicators. Corn is ready during the milk stage when silks are dry and brown, while watermelons are ready when the tendril nearest the fruit has dried and the underside changes from white to creamy yellow.
The guide also notes that frequent harvesting of crops such as bush beans, cucumbers and basil encourages continued production throughout the growing season.
Photos courtesy of NGB.
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