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AMES -- As August progresses and gardens across Iowa reach their peak, home gardeners face an important task: harvesting vegetables at the right stage of maturity. Proper timing not only improves flavor and texture, but also encourages many crops to keep producing.
Knowing what to look for can help gardeners enjoy the highest quality harvest from tomatoes, peppers, melons, squash and other popular garden crops.
• Tomatoes: let color be your guide
Tomatoes are among the most anticipated harvests of the season. Allow fruit to ripen on the vine whenever possible.
• Peppers: green or fully colored
Both sweet and hot peppers offer gardeners flexibility at harvest. Pick peppers that are firm and the appropriate size for the variety. Frequent harvesting keeps plants productive throughout the season.
• Eggplant: harvest while fruit is glossy
Eggplant quality declines quickly when fruit remains on the plant too long. The skin should leave a slight dent and bounce back when pressed by the thumb. Dull, seedy or tough fruit are overmature. Use a knife or hand shears and leave about an inch of stem attached.
• Okra: pick early and often
Okra can go from tender to tough in just a few days. Pods longer than 5 inches typically become tough and stringy. Removing oversized pods promptly helps maintain flowering and continued production.
• Melons: watch for signs of ripeness
Melons require careful observation because harvest quality does not improve after picking. For muskmelons and cantaloupes, look for the “slip” stage. A ripe muskmelon separates easily from the vine.
Watermelon harvest requires different indicators. Look for the underside of the melon to change from greenish white to creamy yellow. Leaving a short section of stem attached helps maintain quality after harvest.
• Squash: harvest at the right stage
Summer and winter squash require very different harvest approaches. Summer squash should be harvested young and small. Zucchini and other elongated summer squash are best harvested at about 6 to 12 inches long and around 2 inches in diameter. Scallop types should be harvested when 3 to 5 inches across. At this stage, the rind remains soft, and the seeds are tender.
Winter squash should remain on the vine until fully mature. Mature winter squash have hard rinds that cannot be punctured with a thumbnail. Harvest winter squash with about 1 inch of stem attached.