For example we can eat peas as pea shoots, mange-tout or podded peas. We can even dry them and eat them dry. Potatoes are another example. We can harvest as small early potatoes, or any size up to huge baking potatoes. Their size will depend on harvest date, stage if maturity, spacing and cultivation method.
That means that When to Harvest Your Vegetables is largely a matter of choice rather than a strict rule. It’s rare that we harvest too early, it’s more likely we leave the crop too late when the cauliflower head has already blown or the leek has started to go woody!
Best Vegetable Harvesting Time Advice
If you want your veg to look like what you buy in the supermarket harvest it when it is the same size as what you’ve seen.
My second piece of advice is to harvest a sample and check them out! Just dig a potato plant, harvest a leek, pull a carrot or whatever.
It’s that simple, honestly.
These are general guidelines. The specific harvest time can vary depending on the variety, growing conditions, and your personal preference. But here are my thoughts …
When To Harvest Leafy Greens
Lettuce: Harvest when fully hearty OR harvest outer leaves as needed when they reach desired size. The outer leaf method means you can crop a single plant for months. That is especially useful over winter when starting plants its a lot slower. An added bonus is that lettuce leaves tolerate a lot of frost PROVIDED they haven’t hearted. So this method keeps the plant growing and being harvestable.
Spinach: Harvest young leaves for baby spinach, or larger leaves when mature.
Kale: Harvest as microgreens, as very young leaves from small plants or as mature leaves as needed. I often start picking a few leaves as needed when there are just 5-6 leaves and harvest judiciously as the plant keeps growing. This extends plant life for many months.
When To Harvest Root Vegetables
Carrots: Harvest when roots they reach your desired size. That could mean baby carrots, bunching carrots or as mature carrots that can be stored for many months.
Beetroot: Harvest when roots are 2-3 inches in diameter or larger to suit your needs. I grow them as multi-seeded modules and thin them out as they grow. That way I start with golf ball size and eventually harvest large roots.
Potatoes: Harvest when they are big enough! Earlies might be very small .. and can double in size in a week if conditions are ideal. Mid sized tubers come when the crop is about to flower and baking spuds are available once the crop has flowered and started to die back .But there is no correct time, provided they are big enough. Final size also depends on how close together you planted the crop and how ell they have been fed. Watering is also key. They can be grown without irrigation, but also respond extremely well to water once the tubers start to swell. The secret to seeing if they are ready .. is to dig a plant to two!
Onions: Harvest when tops fall over and bulbs feel firm.
Garlic: Harvest when leaves turn yellow and start to wither.
Carrots come in different colours, thin and skinny … or bigger. Depending on the variety.
When To Harvest Brassicas
Cabbage: Harvest when heads are firm and dense.
Broccoli: Harvest when heads are tight and compact.
Cauliflower: Harvest when heads are fully developed and white. Too often I see heads that have gone past their best and started to go over. If they look like they are in the supermarket then they are close ready .. experience tells us when they have stopped growing and are about to “explode”.
Brussels sprouts: Harvest individual sprouts as they mature. I.e. as they are big enough. The lower ones will mature first and when commercial crops are picked by hand (rare these days) the crop would be picked over 2-3 times over the crops season. Button size depends on variety and planting distance. The old Bedfordshire varieties were planted a yard apart in each directions … 4,840 plants per acre. Machine harvested varieties grown for single harvest of small buttons would be planted at approx two foot spacings … 10,890 plants per acre.
When To Harvest Peas and Beans
Peas: Harvest pea shoots when they have a couple of leaves to be cut and you can leave the lower stem to regrow. Mange tout are ready when the pods are full size but the peas haven’t started to expand. Podded peas are ready when the pods are full and plump but not overly large.
French beans: Harvest when pods are young and tender.
Runner beans: Harvest pods when young and tender, before seeds develop.
When To Harvest Cucurbits
Cucumbers: Harvest when they reach desired size, depending on variety. Ask yourself if they look like what you would buy in the shops .. if they are they are ready!
Courgettes (Zucchini): Harvest when young and tender, about 3-5 inches long depending on variety and preference.
Marrow are harvested when they have reached the size you want .. if harvested for storage ensure the stem and skin are hard and dry.
Squash: Harvest when mature, depending on variety. Check for rind hardness and colour.
Pumpkins: Harvest when rind is hard and stem is dry.
When To Harvest Tomatoes
Tomatoes: Harvest at any stage between when they start to show colour to when they are fully ripe with full collar for the variety. We may have our Owen preferences but there is no “right ” answer.
Other Vegetables
Sweetcorn: Harvest when tassels start to change colour and the kernels are full and milky.
Radishes: Harvest when roots reach desired size for the variety. Eg. French breakfast would be around 3/4 inch diameter whilst mooli (daikon) would be 2-3 inches in diameter depending on your preference.
I’ll be adding more veg and fruit to this list over the coming months. .. watch this space.
