Ripe and Ready? How to Know When to Harvest Homegrown Fruits and Veggies

When to Harvest: Tips and Tricks for Warm-Season Favorites

Size: 3- to 5-inch diameter
Color: Green or purple, depending on the variety
Notes:

• Harvest tight, firm buds.
• Each stem produces several buds—the top bud ripens first; lower buds are typically smaller.
• Cut a 1-to 3-inch stem with each bud for easier handling.
• Buds begin to lose tenderness when open, so harvest heavy, dense globes.

Size: Depends on variety
Color: Green, red, or purple, depending on the variety
Notes:

• Harvest often to prevent flower buds from forming and to encourage new, bushy growth.
• Herb is sweetest and most fragrant before flowering.
• Snip leaves or small branches gently with pruners.
• Small quantities can be harvested on young plants.
• Harvest up to one-third of the mature plant at a time. Pick all leaves before the first frost.

Size: Width of pencil, length depends on variety
Color: Green, purple, yellow, or speckled, depending on variety
Notes:

• Look for plump pods, but harvest before pods bulge.
• Overripe pods become tough and stringy: choose young, tender pods for best flavor.
• Beans should snap cleanly when bent in half.
• Pick often to encourage plants to keep producing.
• Use two hands when harvesting to avoid breaking the vine.
• More Garden Bean information

Size: Approximately 5 to 7 inches in diameter
Color: Yellow/cream skin under pronounced netting
Notes:

• Scent is a hint: you’ll notice a musky odor near plants.
• Smell the blossom end of fruit—it should be fragrant
• Fruit should feel heavy.
• Gently thump fruit and listen for a hollow sound.
• Look for a crack that encircles the stem-end of fruit.
• Fruit should slip off vine easily.

Size: Ears approximately 6 to 8 inches long
Color: Bright green husks, brown silks
Notes:

• Look for full, dried, brown silks beyond the end of the husk.
• Squeeze the ear to feel if inside seems plump, not thin.
• Harvest at the “milk” stage, when kernels are nearly full size but still soft, tender, and sweet. Kernels will produce a light, milky juice when punctured with a thumbnail.
• Grasp ear and pull downward while twisting to snap ear off stalk.
• Refrigerate immediately to preserve sugars.
• Additional Corn Information

Size: Pickling, 2 to 4 inches; Slicing, 6 to 8 inches; English, 10 to 12 inches
Color: Dark green (or for lemon cucumber—just turning yellow)
Notes:

• Cucumbers are sweetest and crispiest when harvested on the smaller side.
• Look for color changing from light green to dark green (or just turning yellow for lemon cucumbers).
• Harvest before fruit becomes oversized and bitter.
• Check vines daily, as cucumbers mature quickly.
• Vines produce more fruit the more often you harvest.
• Use a knife or clippers to cut 1-inch stem above the fruit to prevent rotting. Don’t pull fruit, as it may damage vines.
• Handle fruit gently to avoid bruising.

Size: Varies, depending on variety
Color: Dark purple, white, yellow, lavender, striped
Notes:

• Look for glossy, slightly firm fruit.
• Fruit can taste bitter if underripe or overripe, so check the plant frequently.
• Ripe fruit indents slightly when pressed—but springs back quickly.
• Some varieties sport thorns. Wear gloves to avoid irritation and use pruners to harvest fruit. Don’t pull fruit, as it may damage the plant.
• Snip 1 inch of stem above the plant and leave it attached to prevent rotting.
• Harvest regularly to keep the plant productive.

Size: Approximately 6-to 8-inch diameter
Color: Cream rind
Notes:

• Ready to harvest when the blossom end is slightly soft.
• Sweet, fruity aroma found at blossom end of melon.
• Fruit feels heavy when lifted.
• Cut from the vine with a knife or pruners.
• If not using immediately, leave 1 inch of stem attached to the fruit to avoid rotting.

Size: 2- to 3-inch pod
Color: Vibrant green, purple, or red, depending on variety
Notes:

• Harvest small and young for the most tender, flavorful okra—pods become woody when large.
• Harvest every 2 to 3 days to encourage continuous production throughout summer.
• Wear gloves and long sleeves to avoid fine hairs, called setulose, that can irritate skin.
• Use pruners to remove the pods from the plant, leaving a bit of tip on the pod.

Size: Varies, depending on the variety
Color: Green, red, orange, yellow, purple, striped, depending on variety
Notes:

• Harvest when pepper reaches full size and mature color, according to variety planted
• Full-size green peppers that haven’t ripened to final color are also edible—bell peppers may be a little less sweet and hot peppers a little less fiery than fully colored, mature peppers.
• Mature fruit should feel firm.
• Harvested peppers in the midst of changing color may continue to ripen when kept in a warm room for up to 3 days.
• Use a knife or pruning shears to cut peppers from the plant, leaving a short bit of stem attached to the fruit.
• Wear gloves when harvesting hot peppers. While capsaicin, the compound that produces heat, is primarily concentrated in veins, ribs, and seeds, it’s best to protect your skin just in case.
• Do not pull peppers from the plant, as the force can break branches.
• Harvest ripe peppers often to keep the plant productive.
• Look for “corking” on hot peppers. These streaks or stretch marks show signs of rapid growth and peak ripeness, which indicate ideal flavor.
• Some hot peppers, like jalapeños, are typically harvested green, while others develop hotter flavor when left to mature fully.
• For more information on harvesting peppers, check out this video.

Size: Varies, depending on variety
Color: Brown, cream, red, yellow, purple, blue
Notes:

• Harvest new potatoes 2 to 3 weeks after flowering.
• Dig main crop potatoes after vines turn brown and die.
• Use a spading fork to loosen soil carefully around the plant, about 6 to 10 inches from the stem.
• Dig 4 to 6 inches below the soil line and remove tubers with your hands.
• If rainy, wait for the soil to dry before digging for an easier harvest.
• Handle newly dug potatoes gently, as the skin is thin. Curing potatoes for two weeks produces tough skin for storage.

Size: Varies, depending on variety
Color: Also varies, depending on variety
Notes:

• Summer squash, like yellow squash and zucchini, can be harvested as baby squash or allowed to reach 6 to 8 inches long. Harvest before it grows too large to avoid thick, tough skin and poor flavor. Overripe summer squash loses its sweetness and becomes spongy.
• Check summer squash at least every other day for ripe fruit.
• Allow winter squash to ripen fully on the vine before harvesting.
• Winter squash is ready to harvest when the rind resists puncturing with a fingernail.
• If you love using edible squash flowers in garden-to-table meals, pick the first blooms that appear. These early male flowers bear pollen but no fruit, so you aren’t sacrificing future squash.
• For more information on harvesting squash, check out this video.
• Additional information on squash

Size: Approximately 5 inches in length, 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter
Color: Orange, White, Purple, Red, Yellow
Notes:

• Harvest tubers when vines turn yellow and start to die back. Cut back some of the vines to make harvest easier.
• Locate the primary crown of the plant you want to harvest. Use a digging fork to loosen an 18-inch-wide circle around the plant. Avoid cutting or bruising the tubers.
• Pull up the crown and use your hands to gather the sweet potatoes.
• Harvest all sweet potatoes before frost.
• Cure sweet potatoes to bring out sweetness and for better storage.

Size: 1- to 2-inch diameter
Color: Bright green or purple blush, depending on variety

Notes:

• Gently squeeze the casing to feel the size of the fruit.
• Ripe fruit will fill out the papery lantern, which bursts open to reveal fruit.
• Fruit may fall off the plant when ripe—check the ground.
• Should fall off into your hand when picked.
• Harvest when bright green or purple-blushed for best flavor. When allowed to ripen to yellow or purple, the fruit loses tart flavor and firmness.

Size: From cherry to beefsteak – size varies depending on variety
Color: Red, pink, orange, yellow, purple, cream, striped, depending on variety

Notes:

• Harvest when full size, firm, and richly colored
• Alternatively, look for fruit at “breaker” stage—the tomato begins to ripen from medium green to a lighter green with pink or yellow blushing. Harvested fruit will continue ripening indoors and still develop optimal flavor, color, and nutrients.
• Early harvest helps avoid splitting or cracking due to rain. Also prevents deer or squirrels from snacking on fruit.
• Use pruners to snip fruit from the vine.
• Check plants daily as fruit matures.
• Harvest all fruit before the first frost. Place green tomatoes in paper bags to ripen, or use unripe fruit for fried green tomatoes.
• For more information on harvesting tomatoes, check out this video.

Size: Varies, depending on variety
Color: Dull green rind, underbelly yellow

Notes:

• Tendril closest to fruit will turn brown and dry.
• Rind touching the soil shifts from greenish white to creamy yellow.
• Knock on the fruit—it will sound hollow when ripe.
• Cut from the vine with a knife or pruners, leaving a 2-inch stem.
• Don’t harvest early—fruit will not ripen off the vine.

Are you ready to harvest your garden treats with confidence?

We’d love to see what you’ve grown! Tag us on Instagram @national_garden_bureau to show off your delicious harvest.

And most importantly—enjoy your fabulous garden-to-table meals.

About National Garden Bureau

Founded more than 100 years ago, the National Garden Bureau educates, inspires, and motivates people to grow home gardens. National Garden Bureau members are horticultural experts, and the information shared with you comes directly from these experts to ensure your gardening success.