The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Small Home Landscaping

Harvesting

No set rule can be given for harvesting all vegetable crops. But their food value depends upon the stage at which they are picked and used. Wrong methods of picking can damage vegetables too. In a heavy soil, carrots will break off unless they are dug with a digging fork. Other root crops should be dug and not pulled up. This is especially important in autumn if they are to be stored for winter.

Vegetables like peas, sweet corn and snap beans lose quality if allowed to stand for more than a few days on the plant. Leafy vegetables: lettuce, swiss chard, beet greens and mustard do not have to be full size before they are picked. Root crops: beets, carrots, radishes do not have to be maximum size before use. They are better in the young stages. But root crops for winter storage must be fully mature.

Broccoli must be cut when the flower heads form compact bunches and before the yellow flowers open. Snap beans may be picked when they are about 3 inches long and while the seeds are small. When picking tomatoes, beans and peas, hold the vines with one hand and pick the vegetables with the other to avoid breaking the vines.

Sweet corn and lima beans are more difficult to harvest at just the right time. For corn, the husk at the tip of the ear is pulled back slightly to expose the tip of the kernels. Press a few kernels with the finger nail. If they burst open, exposing a milky fluid, the ear is ready for picking. Lima bean pods must be pressed with the fingers to determine how fat the beans are. A few of the pods may have to be opened to be sure. In most cases, it is best to wait until the beans in each pod are fully grown.

Insect Pests

These may be troublesome, particularly with cabbage, broccoli and snap beans. Rotenone and pyrethrum dusts help in giving some control. Where chewing insects are doing damage by eating, arsenate of lead mixed with lime will ward them off. Arsenate of lead is a poison. It must not be used on vegetables eaten as greens or without removing the surface as in snap beans and broccoli. It may be used on young cabbage and tomato plants. Dusts are obtainable at all seed stores.