Harvest all types of lettuce almost any time during growth. • Harvest loose-headed leaf lettuce when the leaves are large enough to use—just 2 to 3 inches (5-7 cm) long. • Harvest Bibb and Butterhead types of lettuce—with large ruffly outer leaves surrounding a soft, folded heart—when the leaves begin to cup inward to form…
Harvest and Storage
How to Harvest and Store Artichokes
Harvest artichokes when the buds are tight and firm and about 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter. Harvest buds before the petals begin to open. If you wait until the bud opens, the petals will no longer be tender. An artichoke plant will produce several flower buds beginning in late spring. The bud atop each…
How to Harvest and Store Tomatillos
Tomatillos are ready to harvest when the papery husk surrounding the fruit turns from green to tan and begins to split; the fruit itself will be bright green, purple, or yellow depending on the variety. A mature tomatillo will be the size of a cherry tomato or slightly larger. Smaller fruit is often sweeter than…
How to Harvest and Store Collards
Collard leaves are ready to pick as soon as they reach usable size. They will be most tasty when picked young–less than 10 inches long and dark green. Older leaves will be tough and stringy. Collard greens are ready for harvest 75 to 85 days from transplants, 85 to 95 days from seed. Harvest leaves…
How to Harvest and Store Jerusalem Artichokes
How to Harvest Jerusalem Artichokes Harvest Jerusalem artichoke tubers from late summer onward. The tubers will be big enough to eat about 130 days after planting. Tubers of Jerusalem artichokes—also called sunchokes–left in the ground past several frosts will be sweeter than those lifted sooner. Where the ground freezes, lift the entire crop before the…
How to Harvest and Store Leeks
When to Harvest Leeks: Harvest leeks when they are big enough to use. Some varieties mature at ½ to ¾ inches in diameter; others can grow to 1 inch (2.5 cm) or more in diameter. • A leek is ready for harvest when its white stem or shaft is 3 inches (7 cm) long or…
How to Harvest and Store Pumpkins
When to Harvest Pumpkins: • Harvest pumpkins when they are fully colored and the rinds are hard. •The color of a mature pumpkin can vary according to variety; mature coloration can be orange, white, gray, or blue-gray. • A mature pumpkin will have a hard, shiny shell that is not easily dented or punctured by…
How to Harvest and Store Watermelon
When to Harvest Watermelon: Harvest watermelon 85 to 90 days after sowing seed, 35 to 45 days after flowers appear. There are several ways to know a watermelon is ripe and ready to harvest: The fruit is the size you expect it to be at harvest; size varies by variety. The tendril closest to the…
How to Harvest and Store Sweet Potatoes
Harvest sweet potatoes as soon as they are big enough to eat—usually when the ends of the vines begin to turn yellow. Most sweet potato varieties are ready to harvest 95 to 120 days after transplanting. But smaller tubers—called “baby bakers”—can be lifted sooner if they are big enough to eat. Lift a few tubers…
How to Harvest and Store Garlic
When to Harvest Garlic: Harvest garlic bulbs when two-thirds of the plant’s leaves turn yellow and start to fall over—about 9 months after planting. The cloves of a mature garlic bulb should fill out the skin of the bulb making it plump; to know for sure your crop is ready, pull up a few bulbs…