Let's Grow Stuff

Greetings from the garden. My name is Ben, and today we're gonna harvest midsummer vegetables. So let's jump into the garden and get started.

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Well, summer is not only an exciting time in the garden because we can start to harvest, but it's also an important time because harvesting encourages our plants to keep producing throughout the remainder of the season. So as we get into the garden, there's two types of crops that we'll see. The first are single-harvest crops and the second are recurring-harvest crops. Single-harvest crops include things like garlic, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, and potatoes. They won't keep producing throughout the season because we remove most or all of the plant when we harvest. Recurring crops include things like beans, squash, herbs, and kale, and should be harvested multiple times throughout the season. Well, first we're gonna get started with harvesting garlic. You'll know your garlic is ready when at least 50% of the leaves have turned brown. Using a hand trowel or pitchfork, dig about six inches away and straight down from the base of the stem and gently unearth the entire plant. Shake off as much excess soil as you can. It's important to keep the above-ground stem and leaves attached at this point, as they're still transferring nutrients and flavor into the bulb if they're green. And they also aid in storage and drying. Tie the top of the stalks together with string in bundles of five to ten and hang them, bulb down, in a dark, dry, and well-ventilated place for about three weeks. When the whole stalk is brown and the bulb has formed several layers of papery skin, they are ready to clean and store. Next, we're gonna dig in and tackle potatoes. So harvesting potatoes this time of year, we're actually harvesting what we call new or baby potatoes because they aren't fully mature. You can begin to harvest new potatoes about 60 to 90 days after initial planting, but you'll know you can when they begin to flower. Now new potatoes, because they aren't fully mature, they won't store for long. So it's important to harvest them just before you plan to eat them. Using your pitchfork, dig about 12 inches away and straight down from the base of the plant. And gently lift up and shake off excess soil. Cut off your new potatoes from their roots and stems and give them a pre-wash outside in a bucket to remove the heavier soil. Remember that because they're young, the skins are very thin. So we would recommend washing them again when you get indoors, but use something very gentle like a sponge or just your hands. Now let's take a look at some recurring-harvest crops and, as an important reminder, you need to stay on top of harvesting these to encourage plants to keep producing throughout the season. To get started, let's look at harvesting some green beans. Optimal time to harvest is when the beans are about six to eight inches long and smooth. If the pod is bumpy, it means the bean seeds have begun to swell on the inside and the pod will be less tender when eating. You'll want to harvest every three to five days to stay on top of how quickly beans can produce. When harvesting, don't pull or tug. Instead, use your fingernails or a small kitchen knife or pocket knife to remove the bean from the main stem. Next, let's harvest herbs. Only harvest what you need in the moment, as fresh herbs won't keep for very long indoors. As a rule of thumb, it's a good idea to harvest the younger leaves. If you notice your herbs beginning to flower, pinch the flowers off to encourage the plant to keep producing more leaves. Finally, kale. Typically, you can harvest kale about every two weeks. Harvest kale leaves from the bottom of the plant and only harvest about 30% of the total leaves on a plant at one time. Gently bend each leaf downward relative to the main stem, and it should break off easily. Don't pull up because you risk pulling the plant out of the ground. You can keep harvesting kale like this through autumn. Well, there you have it. You can now begin to enjoy the fruits of your labor, and I hope you enjoy cooking up something special with your new vegetable harvest. Thanks for joining us in the garden today, and we'll see you next time.

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