Vegetable gardening can be one of the most rewarding activities and, at the same time, one of the most frustrating experiences — and that is just trying to find your tools.
It is so rewarding to be able to grow your own food. I grew up on a farm — every year, we planted a large garden that would feed my family of eight for the entire winter. We spent much of our summers preserving food.
Even though shelling peas or peeling corn for days on end didn’t seem like a lot of fun at the time, it is something that never leaves you. I am so glad that I had that experience.
The true frustration comes into play when it comes to the different diseases, insects and other critters that can wreak havoc in the garden.
The weather this year, to say the least, has also been quite the challenge — a cold spring followed by a record-breaking heat wave in July. There are so many challenges we do not have much control over.
For the past two to three years, I have been trying to grow more vegetables in containers (no more space left in my garden for veggies).
I know that my plants have really struggled this year. The tomatoes started off OK, but they look like they have given up.
Someone or something has been enjoying my kale, and it isn’t me. I was excited to see my first cucumber forming on my vine until it started looking like it might be my one and only.
No matter how bad your vegetable garden is doing, the one thing that I love about gardeners is their eternal optimism — they will always say, “Wait until next year, it will be better than ever.” I sure hope so.
Here are some general tips as you continue to haul in your bountiful harvest this summer and fall:
Pick at the correct time. For some vegetables, this means picking at the peak of ripeness. Others, like tomatoes, can be picked a bit early and will continue to ripen off the plant.
Corn — Pick cobs when tassel turns brown and cob feels plump.
Carrots — Start harvesting when size is large enough to use them. Carrots become sweeter when harvested after soil starts to cool in late summer.
Eggplant — Cut from plant when skin turns glossy and fruit has stopped getting bigger.
Cucumbers — Start to harvest as fruit is large enough to use. Harvest often to keep them producing.
Green beans — Pick when young and tender. When bean pods begin to bulge, it means that the seed is maturing and the bean will be tougher and stringier.
Melons — Withhold water from your melons for about a week before harvesting. This will help the sugars to become more concentrated and sweeter-tasting.
Tomatoes — Best to harvest before they become dead ripe on the vine. This will help reduce the fruit’s skin from cracking, and you can pick them before any critters decide to feast on them. Leave them on the countertop to ripen. Do not twist stem and green calyx off when picking tomatoes. They will last longer if left on.
Onions — Harvest Spanish or cooking onions once leaves have yellowed and fallen over.
Zucchini — Harvest when young and tender.
Harvest regularly. For many vegetables, like green and yellow beans, production will stop if they are left on the plant to mature.
Pick in the morning. There are a couple of good reasons to harvest your vegetables early in the day. One reason is that the temperatures will be cooler, making it a more desirable time for you to be out in the sun. Secondly, your produce will be better hydrated and not stressed. This enhances the quality and flavour.
Preserve your food. Wait to harvest your produce until you know you’ll have time for the canning, freezing or dehydration process right away. Preserving vegetables when they are at their freshest helps retain valuable nutrients and improves flavour.
Cut, don’t tear, to avoid damaging the plant and bruising the fruit. Water root crops before your summer vegetable harvest to soften the soil and reduce the risk of marring tender skin.
Happy harvesting.
Joanne Young is a Niagara-on-the-Lake garden expert and coach. See her website at joanneyoung.ca.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society is hosting a series of Saturday morning gardening classes, available to the public. They will be facilitated by Joanne Young on Saturdays at 10 a.m., running from Sept. 6 to Sept. 27 at the NOTL Community Centre.
Saturday, Sept. 6 — Fall & Winter Plant Show-Offs
Saturday, Sept. 13 — Starting From The Ground Up
Saturday, Sept. 20 — The World of Bulbs
Saturday, Sept. 27 — Putting Your Garden To Bed
Join us for the classes that interest you. For full seminar details and to pre-register, visit notlhortsociety.com/classes.
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