Summer Harvesting

When it was still raining in June, I despaired of having any harvest at all, but now many crops are doing quite well.

The tomatoes are ripening slowly but surely. As always my Sweet Olive variety is the favorite. The patty pan squash was left on the vine too long as I was away on vacation and had to be peeled to be edible.

But the eggplant is wonderful! They are ripening nicely and many more to come on the plant. Rosemarie Nichols-McGee of Nichols Garden Nursery advised me to plant them in a container for best ripening – and she was right!

The beans are coming on, along with the grapes. The dozen onions I put in as an afterthought may produce something yet. I’m hopeful for a warm September to keep everything going.

With many crops it’s easy to tell when to pick, but others can be tricky – beans get stringy and squash gets seedy, for example. For some general guidelines on harvesting all kinds of garden vegetables, check out these publications from Minnesota and Michigan.