When is the right time to harvest vegetables from your garden? Follow these tips

It's so rewarding to grow your own crops.  However, knowing when a vegetable has reached its best eating quality can be difficult to determine. 

Many gardeners fall for the "bigger is better" mindset and allow crops to stay on plants too long. Seed catalogs and seed packets list "days to maturity", but that's only a guide.  Many factors influence a harvest date such as soil fertility, precipitation, and temperature.  Consider the following tips.

Cucumber: Pickling varieties should be harvested between 2 to 6 inches in length; slicing and burpless types between 6 and 10 inches.  Pick frequently to encourage continued production.

Eggplant: Harvest before the flesh becomes tough.  Fruit should be shiny and uniform in color.   The fruit is ripe when the side of the fruit is pressed slightly with your thumbnail and an indentation remains. Harvest the fruits by cutting stems with a sharp knife or pruners versus pulling the fruit off.

Peppers: Hot peppers can be picked green or allowed to ripen and change colors on the plant.   Sweet peppers should be harvested when they reach full size, and the fruit walls feel firm.  Bell peppers can be harvested green or yellow or allow them to ripen further on the plant for red or orange.

Summer squash: Harvest zucchini when fruits are 7 to 8 inches long and scallop types when they are 3 to 4 inches in diameter.  Smaller sizes are more tender.  Leaving large fruits on the plant can inhibit the development of additional fruit.

Tomato: Tomatoes are ripe when they become the desired color for their variety.  They should be firm, with shiny skin and an even color.  If the tops of the fruits have stayed green, it doesn't necessarily mean the fruit isn't ripe.  It's just a condition called "green shoulders".  The best suggestion is to taste one. If immature or green fruit is harvested, don't refrigerate since this inhibits ripening.  Ripe tomatoes should be stored at room temperature.

Almost all vegetables are best when harvested early in the morning.  Frequent picking is essential for prolonging the harvest.  Here's to enjoying the fruits of your labors!

Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County answers home and garden questions which can be emailed to [email protected] or call 315-736-3394, press 1 and ext. 333.   Leave your question, name and phone number.  Questions are answered on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Also, visit our website at https://cceoneida.com/ or phone 315-736-3394, press 1 and then ext.100.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Gardening column: Knowing when to harvest vegetables can be difficult