When is ready to harvest

You will see that the head starts to form right in the center of the plant. Around harvest time, the plant leaves will start to open up and reveal the head. Cauliflower is at an ideal size when its head is about six to 12 inches in diameter. It should still be firm and not feel soft or spongy. Another good indicator is if the florets are tightly packed together. The color of a perfect cauliflower head is white or ivory. Make sure you cut it loose before it gets to this point. They can grow pretty fast.

A good sign that broccoli is ready to harvest is that its buds on the head are still tight without any spaces. The broccoli head should be anywhere from four to eight inches depending on the variety. Touch the head and give it a squeeze. It should also be firm. It takes about 55 to 70 days before peas can be harvested from the time they are planted.

You have to rely on how they feel instead. Squeeze the pod and feel for the peas. You want them to just be the size of the pod itself, but not busting open. Pods should be pretty firm, but still have a little bit of give.

If you want, you can break one of the pods open in half to see how much space the peas are taking. The pod needs to be at least the length of your four fingers stacked beside each other.

Pick them when you see a very slight outline of the seeds. Spring onions can be ready to take out of the ground about 50 days or eight weeks after planting.

How you trim these and how much you trim is up to you. Others like to remove them completely because they say it makes the product less harsh. Step 3: Dry. This starts the moment you cut and trim your crops and continues for 3—7 days.

The idea is to slowly dry your buds for the best benefits while protecting them against mold and bacteria growth. Now, how you go about drying your buds is up to you, but there are a few proven methods.

This makes them easy to dry slowly by simply hanging them upside down. There are many methods to do this, including using strings, clothes hangers or wire. This will make the drying process slow enough while reducing the chances of mold and bacteria growth. Step 4: Cure. After your buds have dried i. The breakdown of sugars makes for a smoother product, while reducing chlorophyll takes away any bad tastes such as grass.

Changing their position in the jar like this should help them cure more uniformly. After two weeks or so, you only need to open the jars about once per week, not daily. And the longer you cure them this way, the better the buds, up to a period of about six months. You will improve as you gain more experience.

Did You Enjoy This Article? If you liked this article, then you will love the Advanced Nutrients newsletter. Fill out the subscription form on this page to join our newsletter now! Since , Advanced Nutrients has been committed to educating the community and bringing the most up-to-date knowledge to the forefront of grows across the globe. Next Post Previous Post. Wait a couple days. When they are ready, they should fall off right into your hand. The perfect cantaloupe is heavy, has a fragrant aroma on the blossom end, and makes a hollow sound when thumped.

At the stem, a crack appears that encircles the base of the stem. A ripe melon should slip right off the vine without pulling but not have already fallen off. Honeydews should have a slight yellow blush on their ivory rinds when ready. They also get slightly softer at the blossom end.

Unlike muskmelons, honeydews do not slip off at the stem so must be cut from the vines. When you harvest melons, leave about an inch of stem attached to fruit to keep it from rotting unless you plan to eat immediately.

Store melons in the refrigerator for up to a week. Look for plump, firm fruit with a glossy, uniform, dark color for the variety and a fragrant aroma.

Figs should be allowed to fully ripen on the tree. The fruit should give slightly when gently squeezed, but should not be overly squishy. Figs grow perpendicularly out of the branch and will hang down slightly when they are ready to be harvested. Look for plump, firm grapes that are tightly attached to the stems. If the green variety, the color should be green tinged with yellow; if the red variety, color should be dark red without any green; if the purple variety, color should be almost black without any green.

The best indicator of ripeness is taste. However, start with lemons that are heavy for their size and show a bright yellow color. Avoid dull or greenish color and soft spots. At their peak, peaches have a golden color and a body that yields easily when gently squeezed. There should be no green left on the fruit. If you pick off a tree, the peaches should come off the tree with only a slight twist. The fruits found on the top and outside of the tree usually ripen first. Harvest pears when they are mature but still hard.

Most varieties do not change color when ripe, but the color should be consistent and the aroma fragrant. The stem area should yield slightly to pressure.

Plums will have the best flavor when left to ripen on the tree for as long as possible. Squeeze the fruit gently, and if it feels soft, the plum is ripe. Ripe fruits will come off the tree easily; just give them a slight twist.

The berry will be fragrant, plump, fairly firm not mushy , and show a bright, uniform color. A ripe raspberry will leave the vine willingly. Ripe strawberries are fully red in color and shiny.

The ripening process happens over two weeks. The skin should have a dull green cast not shiny and be very hard — difficult to pierce with a fingernail. Watch for a symmetrical body shape, an underbelly that has turned from green to buttery yellow, and the leaf on the tendril nearest the fruit to turn brown and withers.

Rap it with your knuckles and listen for a dull, hollow sound. See more tips about how to tell if a watermelon is ripe. Do not harvest too early as watermelons will not ripen off the vine. If you have trouble growing tasty melons in your area, it may be that your climate is too cool. Watermelons will keep in a cool place such as a basement for 2 to 3 weeks unrefrigerated.

Also, learn more about how to properly store fruits and vegetables so that they last! If you pick a cantaloupe before the skin under the mesh is yellow, the sugars will never develop and the taste will not be pleasing. If you buy a green one from the grocery it is not worth taking home because it will not ripen properly. I live in zone 7 and still have warm to hot days , but nights are around 58 degrees.

Plastic covered high tunnels are used by professionals. You could try row covers or something heavier, like newspaper in the evenings and remove it in the morning when the air is warmer and the Sun is up.

I really like the stories you put in the Old Farmer Almanac, however it would be great if it was printable. Thank you for your kind words! At the top of each article, there are light grey symbols. One of these is a print symbol. We hope this is helpful! Harvest Brussels Sprouts from the bottom of the stalk when they reach about 1 inch in diameter.

See our Brussels Sprouts growing guide here: www. THEY made some garden plots for us not very good 7 to 9 in. THE tomatoe and parcly and mint grew everything else died. Some one told me you should not plant DILL and tomatoes together,is this true? Depending on where you live you can plant some more swiss chard seed now and get a fall harvest.

Chard likes cool weather. Please see our chard page for growing tips. Spaghetti Squash is ripe and ready to be picked when the rinds turn a dark yellow and they are tough enough that you can't puncture them with your fingernail. I have a watermelon that is solid green, no colour change on the bottom, and vine still producing babies and smaller ones Looks dull, and the tendril is yellowing, but not dried out or dead yet.

The new melons have a paler green striped look, this one has no stripes almost at all now I have sugar baby watermelon in the garden almost ready I think. If part of it is yellow but the stem is still green, should I keep waiting?

I have a dawarf grapefruit tree, cherry tree, plum tree, and orange tree. The same goes for fava beans. The pods of climbing beans are the opposite — they should be long and smooth, without beans bulging inside. For other fruiting vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes, be guided by skin color.

Look for a good, even color over the entire fruit. Traditional varieties of cucumber are ready when there is no pronounced point at the tip.

Pick them small for snacking cucumbers, or leave them to grow larger for slicing. But the best-tasting zucchini are picked soon after they reach about four inches 10cm long. Summer squashes can be harvested as soon as they reach a desirable size. Leave winter squashes on their plants until late autumn.

They can be protected with a row cover.