When and How to Harvest Vegetables for Best Flavour

It’s a well-known guarantee that gardening, In its slow, but steady pace, never fails to entice with new challenges. Regardless if it’s the garden or the gardener who decides the next challenge, each year there is something new. For example, once you’ve found your stride in growing your favourite vegetables successfully with good, plentiful yields, we look to develop a new skill. That skill is mastering when and how to harvest vegetables so that they taste their very best and are filled with the most flavour. At the root of it, precise picking blends an understanding of ripening and the patience of timing throughout the summer months.

The Science of Ripening 

Did you know that with some exception, much of what is referred to as a ‘vegetable’ in the garden is actually botanically considered fruit? An easy way to remember and differentiate is to consider which vegetables first developed from a flower. For the purpose of this post when we refer to the harvest of fruit, we include what generally comes to mind as a garden veggie; mostly everything but herbs, greens and root vegetables. We don’t throw in this fact needlessly. Instead, when discussing ripening, it’s easier to understand the concept with this in mind.

Essentially ripening is the process that occurs between the later stages of growth to when a fruit is ready to be harvested and eaten. Generally, ripening coincides with a softening of the fruit, an increase of sugars and decrease of acids and the development of richer flavours. Colouring often moves away from an initial unripe green to a rich colour that eventually darkens. Ethylene is often mentioned in conjunction with ripening. This is a plant hormone that increases with fruit maturation, acting as a signal to induce the ripening.

Now fruit can for the most part be broken down into two categories: those that continue to ripen after picking, and those that do not. This is, therefore, where precise timing comes in.

The Art of Timing 

To harvest vegetables at their peak ripeness requires an understanding of this timing. Can a fruit continue to ripen once brought into your home, or should be left and only harvested when needed? Colour, is often the easiest of indicators. We wait for rich hues to pop out amongst the green, and then we usually squeeze ever so gently. For the most part, firmness is welcomed when partnered with the final expected colour. Like a brilliant red pepper, once red, you’d harvest while still firm.  It can though, be enlightening to feel your fruit at different stages of development (so as to be able to compare). Size also needs to be considered. There are ideal sizes where there is a balance between ample edible material and taste. Often, the larger a vegetable that appears ripe gets, the worst it will taste. It’s finding and striking that balance that is key.

It can be tempting to pick a plant clean when it is bursting with fresh vegetables. Resist the temptation, unless you have a plan, or it’s the seasons end. We try to incorporate an eat-as-you-go policy, saving batch harvests for larger endeavours like canning or baking.  A good starting point, becomes knowing what you have growing in your garden in regards to how it ripens and what happens after it gets picked for determining when it will taste the best.

Harvest Vegetables of Perfection

Every garden is different. Here are a few fan-favourites with notes on how they ripen and when to pick for the perfect flavours:

• Tomatoes: ripen in some part off the vine, best to pick them when they are transitioning but not deep in their final colour. This is often referred to as the breaker stage. Picking several at a time is considered a fine practise. Store at room temperature until ready to use.
• Peppers: as mentioned above, they should not be picked until they are in their deepest colour but still firm. They will not ripen further once removed from the plant.
• Cucumbers: the key with cucumbers is the size, the larger the cuke, the more seeds and flesh, the smaller, the crunchier and arguably more flavourful. Taste preference can vary drastically so here we would recommend harvesting and trying at different sizes to determine a favourite. If pickling, pick as many cucumbers the day you hope to work with them as they do not further ripen.
• Green beans: enjoy fresh, no amount of counter sitting will help these develop additional flavour.
• Zucchini: just like with cucumbers, size plays a pivotal role–zucchini should be harvested when it is anywhere from 8-12 inches long. Anything larger and you deal with it becoming watery and bitter.

May your garden deliver rich tasting, delicious yields. Happy harvesting. In our next installment of the Wild Blog we review best harvesting practises for fresh herbs.  And, if you don’t already, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest.