August 5, 2000
Plant-A-Row For The Hungry
Summer Harvest
Healthy Choices - Drink Water
Gilberg Perennial Farms

Welcome to the August Meeting!

How has your garden grown from the seedlings from our April meeting? How has your harvest been? In many areas of the world, a good harvest means being able to feed your family. In other areas, supermarkets are your favorite local food pantries. Fresh produce is so nutritious for all. How do you know when to harvest your garden? If you saved your seed packets, in your journal, they usually state how long from planting to picking or harvest. But due to weather, water, fertilizing, could possibly change harvest date, so I really enjoy at least a bi-weekly visit to the garden. This helps with watering and weeding needs and then also you are in a good habit when mid-summer and harvest begins. After the fun of planting, watering, weeding, feeding, it's finally time to start picking what you have grown! Put your sense to work to decide your vegetables and fruit are ready to pick. Does it look ripe? Does it smell ripe? And, does it taste ripe? Be gentle when you pick your harvest. Be cautious about the plant - hold plant and vegetable so the rest keeps growing. If it does not come off easily, let an adult possibly help you with a knife or scissors if necessary. You will find if you eat just as soon as you harvest, you will appreciate the great/best taste. In using the tomatoes and peppers, one meal I think of most that children like is Pizza. See the information in the back section. Vegetable harvest and storage information:

Root Crops:
Beets: Begin harvest when beet is 1 inch in diameter. Tender tops make excellent greens. Main harvest is when beets are 2-3 inches. Harvest spring-planted beets before hot weather (July). Harvest fall beets before the first moderate freeze. For storage, wash roots, trim tops to one-half inch, place in perforated plastic bags and store in refrigerator, cold moist cellar or pit. Storage life is 2-4 months.

Carrots: Harvest spring carrots before hot weather (July). Fall-planted carrots should be harvested before the first moderate freeze. For storage, wash roots, trip tops to one-half inch, place in perforated plastic bags and store in refrigerator, cold moist cellar or pit. Storage life is 2-4 months.
Horseradish: Harvest after several severe freezes. Store in the ground all winter; mulch with straw or leaves and dig when needed.

Parsnips: Harvest in late fall after several moderate freezes. Exposure to cold develops the sweet flavor. For storage requirements, see carrots.

Potato, Irish: Harvest in July when the tops have yellowed or died. Do not leave in ground exposed to high soil temperatures from sun. Wash potatoes and remove the diseased or damaged ones. Cure for about a week in a shaded, well ventilated place (open barn, shed, garage). Avoid exposing tubers to light. Store in as cool a place as possible at this time of year. You are not likely to find ideal storage conditions at this time of year other than commercial cold storage. Cool basements are probably the best storage available. Keep humidity high and provide good ventilation. Storage time is 2-4 months.

Radish: Harvest when ½ to 1 inch in diameter. Wash roots, trim both tap root and tops and store in plastic bags in refrigerator for up to one month. Winter or black radishes are stored the same as carrots.

Salsify: See parsnips for harvest and storage.

Turnip: Turnips can be harvested from the time they are one inch in diameter. They are best as a fall crop and can withstand several light freezes. Store the same as carrots.

Cole Crops (cabbage group):

Broccoli: Harvest terminal head while florets are still tight and of good green color. Smaller side heads will develop. Store in perforated plastic bags for up to one week in the refrigerator. Freeze any surplus.

Brussels sprouts: Harvest the sprouts (small heads) when they are firm: begin from the bottom of the plant. Sprouts can stand several moderate freezes. Harvest all sprouts prior to the first severe freeze and store in the refrigerator in perforated bags for up to three weeks. Freeze any surplus.

Cabbage: Harvest when heads are solid. Store cabbage in refrigerator, cold cellar or outdoor pit in plastic bags for up to two months.

Cauliflower: Tie outer leaves about the head when curds are about 1-2 inches in diameter (except purple types). Heads will be ready for harvest in about two weeks. Cauliflower may be stored in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Freeze any surplus.

Chinese cabbage: Grows best in the fall, although varieties that mature in less than 55 days can be planted in early spring. Harvest head after the first moderate frost in the fall and store in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator, cold cellar or outdoor pit. Chinese cabbage will keep for up to two months. Harvest spring cabbage when heads solidify but before the seed stalk forms.

Kohlrabi: Harvest when the swollen stems are 2-3 inches in diameter. Stems become woody if lift too long before harvest or if grown under poor conditions. Cut off root and leaf stems and store in plastic bags as indicated for carrots. Storage life is 2-4 weeks.

Greens: Chard (Swiss): This is a summer green that is harvested continuously. Merely break off the outer leaves. Swiss chard is a beet developed for its top. A spring planting will provide greens from early summer to the first moderate freeze. Store up to two weeks in refrigerator.

Collards, Kale, Mustard, Spinach: Harvest the leaves and leaf stems of greens when they reach suitable size. Either harvest the whole plant or the outer, larger leaves. Greens do not store well, but may be kept in plastic bags in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Freeze any surplus.

Salads:
Endive (Escarole): Harvest whole plant. Wash thoroughly to remove soil and sand. Gather leaves together and tie with rubber band. Store in plastic bags in refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Lettuce: Head, semi-head and leaf lettuce can be stored for up to two weeks in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator.

Parsley: Parsley will over-winter if planted in a protected place such as a cold frame. If planted in the open, it can be carefully lifted with a ball of soil just before the soil freezes, potted and taken into the house in a cool, sunny room and harvested for several weeks. Parsley will keep in plastic bags in the refrigerator for about one week.
Legumes:
Lima Beans: Harvest when pods have filled. For tender limas, harvest when a bit immature; for "meaty" limas, harvest when mature. Shelled limas can be stored in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator for about a week. Surplus limas can be canned or frozen.

Garden peas: Harvest when pods have filled. For tender peas, harvest when a bit immature; for "meaty" peas, harvest when mature. Unshelled peas can be kept in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator for about a week. Freeze or can surplus.

Southern peas (Crowder, Purple Hull, etc): For fresh use, freezing or canning, harvest when seeds are large and plump but moist. Either shelled or unshelled peas may be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Other vegetables:
Asparagus: Harvest by snapping 10-12 inch spears off at ground level. Store in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to one week. Freeze or can any surplus.

Onions, green: Harvest green onions when they attain sufficient size. Cut off roots; remove top, leaving an inch of green. Place in plastic bag and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Rhubarb: Harvest leaf stalks when ½ to 1 inch in diameter. DO NOT USE LEAVES. Rhubarb can be stored in perforated plastic bags for up to three weeks in the refrigerator. Surplus rhubarb can be frozen.

Sweet corn: Harvest sweet corn when kernels are plump and tender. Silks will be dry and kernels filled. Check a few ears for maturity: Open top of ear and press a few kernels with thumbnail. If milky juice exudes, it is ready for harvest. Harvest at peak of quality, husk to conserve space, and store in plastic bags for no more than two days in the refrigerator. The new super sweet varieties will store for a week or more. Freeze or can surplus corn.

Vine crops:
Cantaloupe (Muskmelon): Harvest when the stem slips easily from the fruit. Lift the melon; if ripe it should separate easily. Store ripe melons in the refrigerator in a plastic bag for up to 10 days. Try a few boxes of frozen melon balls.

Squash, summer: Harvest when fruit is young and tender. Skin should be easily penetrated with the thumbnail. Store for up to a week in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Cucumber: Harvest cucumbers before seeds become half-size. This will vary with variety. Most varieties will be 1 ½ - 2 ½ inches in diameter and 5-8 inches long. Pickling cucumbers will be a bit more blocky and not as long as slicers. Store slicing cucumbers in the warmest part of the refrigerator. Place in plastic bag. Storage life is about one week. Pickling cucumber should be cooled quickly in ice water and can be kept up to two days in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

atermelon: Harvest when underside of fruit turns from whitish to yellowish. The tendril at the juncture of the fruit stem and the vine usually dies when the fruit is mature. Thumping an immature melon gives a ringing metallic sound, while a mature melon gives a dull thud. Watermelons will store at room temperature for about a week and at a temperature of 45-50 degrees for two or three weeks.

Other vegetables:
Eggplant: Harvest when fruits are nearly full-grown, but color is still bright. Eggplants are not adapted to long storage. Keep in warm part of refrigerator for about a week.

Beans, green: Bean pods will be most tender when the small seed inside is one-fourth normal size. The pods become more fibrous as the beans mature. Store green beans up to one week in perforated plastic bags in the warm part of the refrigerator. Can or freeze surplus.

Okra: Harvest okra pods when they are 2-3 inches long. Over-mature pods are woodsy. Store in plastic bags in the warm part of the refrigerator for about one week. Freeze surplus.

Peppers, sweet: Harvest when fruits are firm and full size. If red fruits are desired, leave on plant until red color develops. Sweet peppers can be stored for 2-3 weeks in the warm part of the refrigerator in plastic bags.

Onions, dry: Harvest onions when the tops have fallen over and the necks have shriveled. Remove tops, place in shallow boxes or mesh bags and cure in open garage or barn for 3-4 weeks. Store in mesh bags in as cool a place as can be found in mid-summer. During humid (muggy) weather keep ventilated.

Peppers, hot: Pull plants late in the season and hang to dry in sun or a warm place. Store in a dry cool place (usually a basement).

Pumpkins, Squash, winter: Harvest pumpkins and winter squash when the skin is hard and the colors darken. Both should be harvested before frost. Remove the fruit from the vine with a portion of the stem attached. Store on shelves in a single layer so air can circulate around them.

Sweet potatoes: Harvest in fall before frosts and freezing temperature. Handle carefully in the digging process. Cure for one week at temperature of 80-85 degreed. Ideal storage is at 55 degrees and 85 percent relative humidity. (This might be accomplished in a basement with ventilated boxes covered with periodically moistened burlap sacks.)

Tomato: Ripe tomatoes will keep for a week at 55-60 degrees. Green, mature tomatoes, harvested before frost, should be kept at a temperature between 55 and 70 degrees. For faster ripening, raise temperature to 65-70 degrees. Mature green tomatoes should approach normal size and have a whitish green skin color. Keep mature green tomatoes from 3-5 weeks by wrapping each tomato in newspaper and inspecting for ripeness each week. Now who were the two French brothers who were first to figure out how to safely store food up to a year in glass containers by heating the food in corked bottles and sealing them with wire and wax. They are Francois and Nicholas Appert. The Apperts established a factory near Paris in 1810 received a grant from Napoleon Bona Parte to devise canning production methods for the French military. In 1814 they published a treatise entitled "The Art of Preserving." Depending on what you want to do - eat it now or have that extra plant-a-row for the hungry, canning or freezing. The major thing is you grew it yourself and you should be proud.