When To Harvest Your Fruits and Vegetables For Peak Flavor
With so many crops ripening now in the summer garden, knowing indicators of peak flavor for each makes the harvest worthwhile. Many crops are tasty and viable at various growth stages, while others feature a prime window for picking. Get the most out of your fruits and vegetables with indicators of ripeness with garden expert Katherine Rowe.
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From tomatoes and corn to melons and cucumbers, the taste of summer is about timing the pick. Harvesting too early means bypassing prime flavor, and too late misses the benefits and viability of the fruit.
To gauge readiness, first, count the days to mature fruits from your sowing date. Seed packets indicate this as “days to maturity.” Then, check for readiness regularly as crops near full development. Follow key indicators for popular summer growers to harvest them at peak ripeness and enjoy the priceless rewards of the homegrown garden.
Melons
There’s a sensitive window for harvesting melons for maximum flavor and texture. After spending time, space, and effort growing the delicious fruits, selecting them at the optimal ripeness makes them that much sweeter.
Watermelon
While some fruits continue to ripen after picking, watermelons ripen on the vine. They don’t continue to develop flavor or sweetness. A watermelon picked too early will taste undersweet with mealy flesh. It may have slight yellowing around the rind on the interior flesh and a swirl of light coloration. Ripe melons will be crisp and juicy with snapping rinds.
When fruits reach full size, cut back irrigation to avoid cracking. As they reach full development, the melons stop growing in size but continue to absorb water. At already 92% water, the extra moisture surpasses maximum capacity, and the rinds split open. Excess water also dilutes sugars and reduces the sweet flavor.
When to harvest watermelons depends on a few key traits. The main characteristics are color, stem qualities, and a sound factor.
Color
The best indicator of ripeness is color. Look for the color of the “field spot,” the belly or underside where the melon touches the ground. When ripe, this patch transitions from greenish-white to yellow or creamy white.
Shiny, waxy skin may also lose its luster. The skin becomes more dull and rough when mature.
Stem
Ripe watermelons have a brown, withered tendril or “pigtail” at the stem that connects them to the main vine. Some varieties present brown tendrils before they fully develop, and overripe watermelons have brown tendrils, too. Try to catch the melons as the stems turn and use the other ripeness indicators in tandem.
Sound
When tapped, the melon should make a “thump” noise. This sound is challenging to discern, takes practice, and isn’t always accurate. But, a ripe watermelon should sound hollow and dull with the tap of a finger. Unripe melons sound more metallic with a lighter tone.
The melon should feel weighty and may plump at the blossom end. The thick skin will be firm and resist a fingernail poke. Fruits that “give” when pressed are too soft and may be overripe.
Cantaloupe
There aren’t overarching rules for ripeness in cantaloupes. The best measures to look for are color, scent, and “slip.” Melons are ripe when the original green turns golden yellow with fully netted skin. The melon will emit a perfume of fresh-cut fruit. Do a scent test often as they near maturity. The aroma changes as the melon quickly ripens, and when it shifts to acrid or rancid, the melon is overripe.
If a cantaloupe is a “full slip” variety, it separates easily from the stem when ripe. The slip is where the stem meets the fruit. If the slip is green and sealed, the melon isn’t ready. If the slip is brown and separating from the fruit, the melon is ripe. Give it a test pull. It will pop off the stem easily when ready to harvest. Non-slip varieties need to be cut from the stem, and this gauge won’t be the same. Use the color and scent tests to check for viability.
Corn
Sweet corn is the most popular “eating” corn. It is easy to grow and has a sweet flavor that ranges in intensity. Corn harvest times vary depending on the variety and growing region. Picking juicy kernels at peak flavor is essential to maximizing sweetness, texture, and taste.
Ears usually mature in 60 to 100 days, depending on the selection and weather. The key indicator for corn readiness is the silks. Silks are threadlike tassels that appear on the tips of the ears.
When silks turn brown, allow two to three weeks for the ears to mature fully. In hot weather, they may be ready about 15 days after the silks turn brown. Some varieties take up to 22 days to fully develop from this point. Husks and stalks remain green when silks turn brown, and kernels get closer to ripening.
Pick in the “Milk Stage”
Kernels go through developmental stages, including pre-milk, milk, early dough, and dough. At the dough stage, kernels are overripe—tough and dry. With pre-milk, the juice is clear but not as sweet. The just-right phase to harvest corn is in the milk stage.
As silks brown and days pass, take a sneak peek at upper ears to check for readiness. Peel back the husk slightly and poke a kernel. If the juice is milky white, the harvest is ready. Lower, secondary ears are usually ready within a day or two following upper ears.
The milk stage doesn’t last long and is weather-dependent. Picking too early or late doesn’t render the ears inedible, but the optimal flavor is in the sweet spot stage, which sometimes lasts only a day or two in hot weather.
It’s best to pick ready ears early in the day before the sun warms the kernels. Once picked, sugars begin converting to starches. Heat hastens the process. The conversion results in a less sweet flavor the further out from picking.
To pluck the ear from the stalk, pull it downward, husk and all. Twist it and snap it loose from the stem. Chill the fresh picks promptly. Refrigerating soon after the harvest slows the sugar-to-starch turnover.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are ripe when the skin is shiny and even in color with a firm, fleshy feel. Give fruits a slight tug to pick them from the vine, or harvest them a little early to prevent cracking and let them ripen in a sunny spot in the kitchen. They’ll be tender, given a light squeeze.
The beauty of homegrown tomatoes is that they differ from commercially shipped fruits. Thin walls, tender skins, and juicy, soft flesh yield delicious rewards. After picking, store them on their shoulders rather than the base for stability and continued ripening. Keep them at room temperature, only refrigerating them if you need to prevent them from becoming overly ripe.
Pick Early
Tomatoes continue to ripen off the vine, and picking them a few days early has advantages. As the fruits ripen on the stem, they fill with water and may crack or split. Environmental factors like water fluctuations, heavy rain, and sun contribute to this.
Picking tomatoes when slightly firm and a half to nearly full color prevents cracking. It also protects temptingly ripe fruits from pests like insects, birds, and small mammals.
Harvesting before fully ready also avoids overripening. Tomatoes reach peak flavor quickly in the summer heat, and picking them when you can, even in advance, means you won’t miss the prime flavor.
Determining Ripeness in Colorful Varieties
It can be challenging to discern peak ripeness in tomatoes that mature in colors other than bright, rich red. In dark varieties like ‘Cherokee Purple’ or yellow selections like ‘Golden Jubilee,’ use color gradation and the fruit’s shoulders as a guide.
Tomatoes ripen from the blossom end (bottom) to the shoulders (stem end). Look for tones of the mature color at the base, fading to lighter shades toward the stem. The shoulders should be transitioning from green to their mature color. Shoulders will be slightly soft. Pick when fruits show 50 to 70% of their final color.
Summer Squash
Summer squash and zucchini are tasty at various stages of development. Their mature size depends on the variety, but harvesting young fruits yields delicious results. Baby squash is only a few inches long and sometimes has the flower still attached. It will be tender with a nutty flavor.
If you live in an area plagued by squash vine borer, consider growing resistant winter squashes like Cucurbita moschata. While they mature in the winter, they’re a great stand-in for summer squash with early harvesting of undeveloped fruits.
The average length of summer squash and zucchini is six to eight inches. The seeds are soft and undeveloped, with more flesh than the seed cavity. If they stay on the vine, they continue to grow. When they overgrow, use them for baking, stuffing, and as sweet additions to bread beyond their tender stage.
To harvest blossoms, pick male flowers in the morning before they wilt. Male flowers will have no fruit attached. Leave a few for cross-pollination. Both male and female blossoms are edible.
Eggplant
Eggplant gives solid cues to gauge ripeness. Look for shiny, dark skin. Harvest the nightshades young or at their mature size for optimal flavor. With light pressure, ripe eggplants bounce back.
Overripe eggplants will be dull with less reflective shine. When sliced, they reveal developed seeds, making them less tasty. They’re likely overripe and bitter if limp and languid under a gentle squeeze.
Asian-style eggplants are easy-to-grow selections with smaller fruits. Slim and elongated, they are fast to mature and forgiving in timing the ripeness with less bitterness.
Lettuce
Tender lettuce leaves quickly turn bitter in warming temperatures. As they age, they become thicker and more acrid-tasting.
Harvest mid-size leaves regularly instead of waiting for a whole head to form to avoid bitterness. Leave outer leaves in place, as well as young central leaves, for continual picking. Pick a few from multiple plants each time to leave a ready supply.
Alternatively, sow successional rounds of seeds to harvest as baby lettuces or microgreens. Baby greens are young leaves clipped or pinched early—clip whole plants to harvest. Microgreens are seedlings ready in 10 to 15 days from sprouting. Clip the sprouts just above the soil line when they reach two to three inches.
For the crispest lettuce, harvest in the morning. Leaves are best the day they’re picked. Store them in the refrigerator after picking.
Peppers
Peppers are another crop to harvest at varying stages of development. Play with flavor and heat levels at different sizes and colorations. The nightshades bring a diversity of flavor throughout their growth phases, harvested green or fully ripe.
Green peppers are unripe, immature peppers. Left on the plant, they mature to their full color and flavor. Green bell peppers, jalapenos, poblanos, and serranos are immature peppers. Given time to develop, they become yellow, orange, or red (depending on the variety). To avoid harvesting too early, wait for the color to break slightly. Green will give way to shades of the mature pepper.
Mature peppers are those in full color and flavor. They often become spicier and sweeter as they fully develop. Walls become thin and less rigid, and flavor concentrates. Fully developed peppers may show corking when ripe. Corking is when pepper skins stretch, indicated by tan streaking.
Cucumbers
A ripe cucumber means a crisp cucurbit that’s not too bitter or seedy. Look for a uniform shape with consistent dark green skin. Immature fruits may have ridges, spines, or bumps, which mellow as cucumbers develop.
In overripe cucumbers, the blossom end becomes streaked with yellow. Developed seeds lead to an acrid flavor.
If your cucumber is bitter but not overripe, it may be due to heat or water stress. Increase water or mulch to help retain moisture and regulate temperatures.
