Fruits of Your Labor - Part 2

Since our last post on the Fruits of Your Labor - Part 1 the summer heat has promoted the growth and harvest of many new vegetables to be harvested!  By now, you should be enjoying the fruits of several vine crops such as:

Peppers

Both sweet and hot peppers can be eaten at all stages of growth however they are most flavorful when mature and ripe. Hot peppers can be picked when green, but if you really want to turn on the heat, let them mature and ripen to various colors on the vine!

Sweet Bell type peppers should be harvested when firm and full size (at least 3 1/2 to 4 inches) but still green. If left to ripen, they may also turn red, yellow, orange and purple depending on the type of pepper. The less green you see, the sweeter the taste in both sweet and hot peppers. To harvest peppers, cut the stem that connects to the branch. Remember that picking ripe peppers from your plants will keep them producing.

Eggplants

Eggplants have just started producing as they enjoy the hot summer warmth to really kick into action. Your eggplant should be shiny and firm but not hard to the touch. Picking them before they are fully grown is a good idea and will actually encourage more fruit to set. Again, cutting the fruits off the plant rather than tugging them off is best. Harvested eggplants will store in a cool spot for 1-2 weeks.  This year it seems that the number one problem on eggplants are the flea beetle. Flea beetles are favored by stable warm spring weather and hampered by alternating periods of hot and cold temperatures with intermittent rains. The best method of control are: Insecticidal soaps, garlic sprays or sticky traps.

Cucumbers

Some will harvest cucumbers to make pickles, if this is your intent than pick them when the fruits are 4 to 5" long. If you plan to eat them fresh, you can wait until they are 7-8" long using a sharp knife to harvest. If you wait too long, the cucumber can get seedy and will develop a bitter taste. However, most of the bitterness concentrates at the ends of the fruits, thus cutting both ends off the cucumber will help alleviate the bitter taste.  As with other vine vegetables, the longer you leave a mature fruit on the vine, the faster the main plant will quit producing.

Tomatoes

Finally! The arrival of fresh, ripening tomatoes has started! There's absolutely nothing more delightful than picking your first ripe tomato. You just can't beat the flavor of a home grown tomato, let alone the satisfaction of it!

Tomatoes can be picked at any time after they have started to ripen. If your anxious to pick your first tomato, you can pick it while it's still in the ripening process and either leave on your counter or put it in a paper bag to finish the ripening cycle.  This is also a good way to finish the ripening cycle during late fall when you have green tomatoes hanging on the vines. Again, cutting the tomato off the plant will ensure that you don't damage the main branch. Tomatoes should be somewhat firm to the touch when picking. If you let the tomato ripen too long, the skin will begin to soften and possibly rot, as well as your tomato production will slow down.

This year we've seen a lot "Blossom End Rot" on customers tomatoes. While it's not a fungus, it is a disorder in the plant itself and a rather common one at that. It is a calcium deficiency in the plant and can be controlled by adding calcium to your plant. Try a product called, "Rot Stop" by Bonide which is a ready to use foliage spray. You can also control other fungus and diseases such as "wilt" on tomato plants by watering only in the morning and keeping a schedule when watering.

Zucchini & Squash

Summer varieties of squash such as green and yellow zucchini should be harvested when they are immature. If left on the vines too long their skins get tough and will form many unwanted seeds inside the fruit.  Check your plants as soon as they start blooming as the squash will grow very vast after it blooms. The philosophy with zucchini is the more you pick, the more they will produce. Harvest zucchini when they are about 6" long and 2" in diameter. Remove the zucchini with a sharp knife or scissor to avoid damage to the main plant. You can store your freshly harvested squash in a refrigerator unwashed. Moisture encourages decay in fresh vegetables thus avoiding washing will further extend the fruit. 

Stay tuned for Part 3 in the coming weeks as we begin to harvest late season vegetables!

What are you harvesting now? Let us know!