Before you get ahead of yourself, step back and think about when you planted your vegetable garden. Vegetables such as asparagus, mushrooms, chives, and oregano are planted early in the growing season, whereas tomatoes, potatoes, and onions are planted later in the season, so their harvest dates can differ.
Each vegetable’s growing season starts shortly after the last spring frost date for a specified city/state and depends upon the minimal soil temperature required for germination. Although these are important guidelines to keep in mind when planting, it’s still critical to keep them in your back pocket as you approach harvest.
For reassurance, refer to the estimated growing timeline on the back of your seed packets. If you threw them away, do not panic! There are plenty of other signs indicating if your vegetables are ready for the dinner table!
Carefully assess your vegetables as you water and nurture their growth. Pay attention to how much they increase in size day-by-day and week-by-week.
Then, compare your findings to the estimated size of each vegetable when fully mature. As soon as you notice they are full-size, pick your bounty while ripe to encourage the plant to keep producing throughout the growing season.
Make sure you have the right lawn and garden tools and supplies to pick your bounty when the timing is appropriate. Depending on the vegetables you’re growing, indicators such as color, size, and timing will vary.
So here is a list of a few common vegetables and tips to help you know when it’s time for harvest!
Asparagus – Pick when the stems reach a length of 6 to 10 inches and a width of less than 1 inch in diameter (should be about as thick as your pinkie finger).
To harvest, bend the stems until they snap and leave the remains of the plant in the soil so new shoots can develop.
The harvest time is over when the stems no longer grow larger than 1/2 inch in diameter.
If you just planted new asparagus seedlings this year, you must wait two years before you harvest.
Radishes – Harvest when the root diameter reaches the size listed for each variety, which is usually less than 1 inch.
Pull your radishes 25-30 days after you planted them. If you planted winter varieties, then wait 60 days after sowing to harvest.
Green Snap Beans – Pick when the pods are still able to be bent and before the seeds have begun to fill out the pods. At this point, the green bean snaps are tender and succulent.
Bush snap beans are generally ready for harvest eight weeks after planting and pole snaps are ready in nine weeks.
Carrots – The top portion of your carrots must begin to show at the soil line to justify harvest. This generally happens when the carrot reaches 1 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. If the diameter looks good, chances are the length is also good, but pull one out of the ground to be certain.
Carrots can be left in the ground while mature, and you can pull them up as needed until the ground has begun to freeze.
Cucumbers – Cut slicing cucumbers from the vine when they are 6 to 8 inches long and appear dark green in color; remove pickling cucumbers from the vine when they are 1-1/2 to 3 inches tall.
Be sure not to leave your cucumber on the vine too long—it will turn yellow or orange. Overripe cucumbers can be very bitter even before they start to turn yellow.
Pick your cucumbers regularly or else the plant will stop reproducing.
Tomatoes – To get the best sun-ripened flavor possible, pick the tomatoes when they have developed fully in color and show no traces of green skin. They ripen from the center of the fruit to the outside.
When you have identified it’s time to harvest, pick by gently lifting each tomato until the stem snaps.
If you are experiencing extremely hot weather conditions, you can pick the tomatoes while they are light pink in color and let them mature fully indoors (tomatoes will not ripen in temperatures above 86°F).
Potatoes – Young potatoes can be harvested 45 to 55 days after planting, which is usually about the time blossoms appear.
Wait until the tops of the vines die before you begin harvesting. Potatoes are tubers, so you want the plant to store as much of the flavorful starch as possible.
Be sure to dig out your potatoes before the first hard frost hits—the soil temperature must be above 45°F. It is recommended that you use a shovel or a spading fork in order to dig. Drive the fork around the outside edges of the plant and carefully remove the potatoes.
Be sure that the skins around the outside are mature if you plan on storing the potatoes right away.
Bunching Onions/Scallions – Feel free to harvest scallions while they are still young, as needed. This is generally a few weeks after they have been planted.
However, they pack the most flavor when picked at a length of slightly less than 10 inches long.
Onions – Bulb onions are ready to harvest about three to five months after the seeds are sown.
When the leaves begin to turn yellow, bend the stems into a horizontal position to stop the growth of the bulb and allow it to ripen. Next, remove the soil from the top half of the bulb.
When the leaves turn brown be sure to lift the bulb.
Check out additional gardening tips and learn more about USDA hardiness zones, gardening zones for vegetable gardens, easy-to-grow vegetables, and much more!
