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cucumbers

Vegetable Gardening: Harvesting Tips!

July 12, 2021

Your vegetable garden is likely approaching peak production time—but when and how to harvest? Even if you are a pro, here’s how to make sure those caring for your precious crops while you’re away know when to pick!

What matters about harvest time?

  • Harvest stage affects flavor and yields:
    • Picking too soon not only reduces the amount of food your garden produces but also may mean missing that perfectly ripened taste—although not all vegetables lose flavor after picking.
    • Waiting too long definitely means missing the best flavor—think sweet corn turned starchy—and your produce actually spoils. Crops literally go to seed have accomplished their goal and will stop producing!
  • Factors that affect harvest and storage.
    • Warmer temperatures after picking can affect flavor—crops like peas and sweet corn that turn starchy, for example, need immediate cooling. Joseph Masabni of Texas A&M Extension, advises “harvest these vegetables early in the morning or right before you intend to use them.”
    • Not all crops benefit from refrigeration, however! And humidity levels and air circulation are important, too! If you’re not going to use your bounty immediately, some crops, such as garlic, dry onions, potatoes, and tomatoes are best stored only at room temperature, according to UC-Davis Post Harvest Technology specialists (see below). They also recommend that cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers be refrigerated only for 1 to 3 days and then used as soon as you remove them from the cold.
    • Advise those harvesting in your absence how often you check your crops, and which are most time-sensitive!

 Things to look for when you harvest

Harvesting takes more time than you’d expect—look carefully for items to pick amongst all those leaves and vines. This makes harvesting a great time to give your garden plants a quick check-up!

  • Size matters!
    • Jokes abound about baseball-bat-size zucchini, but squash aren’t the only crops that can grow out of useful size.
    • If you intend to eat fresh beans rather than saving them to use dry, the beans need to just start to fill out their pods.

      These red noodle beans need picking!
  • Color changes are usually important, too.
    • Tomatoes turning red are an obvious example, but how red is the best time for picking? Maybe earlier than you think! Picking at the “breaker” stage rather than fully red means your tomatoes will continue to ripen indoors, taste vine-ripened, but won’t suffer sunscald, or damage from insects or birds.

      Tomatoes will develop full flavor ripened indoors if picked once they begin to show some color.
    • Cucumbers should still be uniformly green, not starting to yellow.

      Cucumbers are best picked green rather than starting to yellow.
    •  Eggplants should be purple (light or dark depending on the variety), but still glossy, not dull

      Pick eggplants while the skin is still glossy.
    • Watermelons, on the other hand, should develop a duller, rougher surface and the spot touching the ground should be yellowing, not white

      Ripe watermelon skin should be starting to dull and roughen and the ground spot turning yellow.
    • .Detecting defects may mean removing fruits before they take any more resources from the plant—think blossom-end rot on tomatoes or peppers—or harvesting while part of the crop is still salvageable—such as a nip out of an otherwise healthy tomato.
    • Damage may alert you to insect infestations—minimize or eliminate, by hand-picking the culprits—such as snails or slugs—or treating to prevent further damage—wash away aphids on greens or treating pickleworm infestations of cucumbers and squash with pesticides, for example. Learn which “bugs” you see are pests and which are helpful predators!
    • Harvest “helpers” will be more eager to volunteer if they pick at the right time—and you won’t find all your tomatoes gone despite their size or plants loaded with overripe items bringing production to a halt. Alerting you to any emerging problems is another bonus.

“Harvesting” spent plants?

While picking your crops pick off dead leaves, spent blossoms, and trim errant runners to keep plants looking good and productive. Knowledgeable helpers can perform these tasks.

In WNC, most vegetable garden plants are annuals, or treated as such, so when you harvest, evaluate when it’s time to pull the whole plant—it may be too risky to ask short-term caregivers to make this decision!

  • Is the plant diseased? If there are signs of disease, either do what you can to remove diseased portions, treat the problem, or remove the entire plant.
  • Is production slowing?
    • Review fertilizing or watering practices to improve yields. Most crops need an inch of rain a week to prosper—water established plants deeply once a week if rains are insufficient. Check your crops’ needs for fertilizer and the application rates recommended for the fertilizers you are using.
    • Extreme temperatures may interfere with fruit set or how your crops ripen. Be patient if better weather will solve the problem! Note, though, that spring crops that fade with high temperatures are long gone; so too, frosts will damage tender crops, so harvest these before freezing temperatures.
    • Once you’ve decided your plants have passed peak production, pull the plants and consider planting a fall crop. See the calendar below for all the crops you can plant in August for a bountiful autumn harvest!

 Article by Buncombe County Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers

 For more information:

When to harvest specific crops: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/16-vegetable-gardening#vegetableharvestingguidelines

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/harvesting-handling-vegetables-garden/

Ripening after harvest:

https://gardenprofessors.com/ripening/

https://www.johnson.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/agent-articles/vegetables/harvest-ripen-tomatoes.html

Storing produce:

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/files/230110.pdf

Planting times for WNC:

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/western-north-carolina-planting-calendar-for-annual-vegetables-fruits-and-herbs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Categories Vegetables & Fruits Tags beans, cucumbers, eggplant, Harvest, squash, tomatoes, vegetable gardens, watermelon

Vegetable Garden Pests: Beware the Pickleworm!

August 21, 2019

Just inside from harvesting vegetables, I heard yelling from the kitchen. She was staring at a freshly washed cucumber in the sink. Sprouting from it were green projections that were alive and wriggling! This was our introduction to the insect pest with the unique name of pickleworm.

These critters are the larvae of the pickleworm moth (Diaphania nitidalis), which overwinters in Florida and becomes a late summer pest of cucurbits (not only cucumbers, but summer and winter squash, pumpkins, cantaloupe, and watermelons) in Western North Carolina.

Adult Pickleworm Moth

Life cycle

Once the moths arrive in our area, they lay eggs on cucurbits, which hatch, go through several larval stages, pupate in the plants’ leaves or in the leaf litter, and become adults in less than a month! This short life cycle means we may see two or even three generations of pickleworms a year.

Damage

The larvae can feed on flowers, leaves, and vines, as well as fruits. Larvae eating blooms can prevent fruit set. Like squash borers (Melittia cucurbitae), in the worst-case scenario, pickleworm larvae feeding on the vines can kill your plants. You may see pickleworm excrement (frass), or simply small holes in your fruits. In both cases, your crop is ruined once the larvae are feeding because the damaged areas with start to rot. According to University of Florida’s John L. Capinera, cantaloupes, with their thick skins, may have external damage called “rindworm.”

Pickleworm Larvae and Damage to Squash

Management

  • Early planting. Plantings that mature before the moths arrive are likely to escape pickleworm damage.
  • Resistant varieties. Some squash varieties that are more resistant: summer squashes Early Prolific Straightneck, Early Yellow Summer Crookneck, and Summer Crookneck; and Butternut 23 winter squash.
  • Floating row covers. Using row covers at night can prevent the night-flying moths from egg-laying, while still allowing pollinators to visit the flowers by day.
  • Garden clean-up. Removing damaged fruits and vines can prevent further generations in the same gardening season.

Learn more:

Pickleworm, University of Tennessee Publication # W206:

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W206.pdf

University of Florida Featured Creatures:

https://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/pickleworm.htm

Insect Management on Cucurbit Vegetables in North Carolina

https://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/cucurbit-insect-management-in-north-carolina/

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Categories Pest Management Tags cucumbers, insects, IPM, pickleworm, pumpkins, squash, vegetable gardens, watermelon

A New Take on Vegetable Standbys

January 12, 2017

Do you grow the same vegetable varieties every year? Or are you easily seduced by the latest new thing? I’ve tried both approaches, but neither reliably supplies me with the bounty of veggies I imagine! Now, I think I’ve found an easier way to have delicious produce, while minimizing disappointing crop failures.

New/old vegetable varieties
Whether you’re perusing the latest seed and plant catalogs, or cruising your favorite nurseries, box stores, and farmer’s markets, you’ll see plenty of familiar vegetable varieties that are tried and true. You’re also going see the latest award-winning varieties. But have you considered that sometimes it is an older, less touted variety that can save the day? 

What’s different?
Although many gardeners are rediscovering heirloom varieties—typically defined as open-pollinated species in cultivation for at least 50 years—the choices I’m finding more useful in my home garden are not necessarily heirlooms. I’ve succeeded by trying more obscure varieties, as well as different species, subspecies, or even a different genus than the vegetable varieties you’d typically plant. Genetic differences may make these choices better-suited to our soil and climate conditions, or make the plants more resistant to the pests and diseases we typically encounter.

Asparagus bean

Green beans
I know I am the exception, but I have a terrible time growing green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Even when I succeed, I don’t enjoy picking them, cutting or breaking off the ends of each bean that grows beyond the tiny stage, or “stringing” those that require fibrous bits removed.

I tried “asparagus beans” (Vigna unguiculata subspecies sesquipedalis) on a whim when my daughter gave me a packet from a Japanese seed company as a “stocking stuffer” one Christmas. They not only grew and produced a steady crop of beans, but the long beans were easier to pick and cut into lengths to fit your recipe!

These beans are the same species as cowpeas—southern peas, black-eyed peas or crowder beans—usually grown for shelled beans. The subspecies that comes to us via Asia produces very long beans, delicious picked once the pods are filling out, but the individual beans aren’t yet visible. You can shell these beans if the pods mature. Grow them on a trellis, like pole beans. These beans do have a “drier” taste, but one I enjoy!

Cucumber 'Poona Kheera'_by TangledBranches_CC-BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
‘Poona Kheera’ cucumber

Cucumbers
Cucumbers often succumb to a variety of pests and diseases, and when they don’t, you may find them bitter or that they produce more than you want to eat fresh or pickled. Poona Kheera (Cucumis sativus), a variety from India, is one cucumber that is not as likely to be bitter, is edible at almost any size, and good for cooking as well as eating fresh.

Poona Kheera looks quite different from other cucumbers, fatter with a whitish skin that turns brown as it matures. Grow this variety as you would any other cucumber, but enjoy the unique appearance and excellent flavor!

Tatume squash_by Karen Hine_CC-BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Tatume squash

Squash
The squash borer is my worst garden pest. I don’t use pesticides in my garden, in part because I don’t want to bother about the timing of spraying or dusting. Every year I consoled myself that the few summer squash (Cucurbita pepo) I harvested before the borers struck were plenty—but I could eat yellow squash all summer, just like I do tomatoes and never tire of it!

I’ve had some success with timing plantings or watching for egg masses or killing grubs when they first invade, but nothing reliably worked. I’ve tried growing summer squash substitutes—some edible gourds (Lagenaria siceraria, Luffa species) and winter squash (Cucurbita moschata) harvested early—because they are less susceptible to borers, but the taste just didn’t compare.

Enter Tatume or Tatuma (Cucurbita pepo) and I fell in love! This variety does require space, but is either less attractive to borers or better able to survive their attacks. If you don’t harvest it small—before it reaches softball size— you can use it as a winter squash, too.

Finding vegetable seeds
I always look forward to garden catalogs as the first signs of spring! Whether you are new to gardening or not, you may need help in finding sources for the varieties you want to plant. Many seed companies are now putting their catalogs online and a resource for searching these catalogs makes finding varieties and comparing prices a lot easier! Once you’ve identified a company that sells the seeds you want, check to see if their seeds are available at local retail outlets to save on shipping costs. 

Article by Debbie Green, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

Resources:
https://gardening.ces.ncsu.edu/plants-2/vegetables-2
https://www.pickacarrot.com/about.html

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Categories Vegetables & Fruits Tags cucumbers, green beans, seeds, squash, vegetable gardens

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