Harvest time - when is what harvested?

The right harvest times for fruit and vegetables: What is harvested when?

When harvesting fruit and vegetables, it is useful to know which crops can ripen and which should be eaten straight away. This makes it easier to plan when what needs to be harvested and processed. In technical terms, fruit and vegetables that ripen after harvest are also called "climacteric". Whether fruit and vegetables can ripen is due to the plant hormone ethylene. This gaseous substance is also produced by ripening fruit after harvest. Ethylene ensures that certain metabolic processes continue to take place after the harvest so that the fruit continues to ripen. Because ethylene is gaseous, it also gets close to fruit and vegetables and ensures that they ripen more quickly. Non-climacteric crops (i.e. crops that do not ripen) do not have ethylene receptors, which means that they cannot ripen later.

Which fruit and vegetables can ripen?

Ripening foods include fruit such as apples, bananas, pears, quinces, apricots, peaches, plums, blueberries, medlars, melons and kiwis. Tropical fruits such as avocados, mangoes, papayas and bananas also ripen. Tomatoes can also ripen. Non-ripening fruits are berries such as strawberries, raspberries, currants and blackberries or citrus fruits, pomegranates, cherries and grapes. Peppers, leeks, zucchinis, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants and cabbage also do not ripen.

Harvesting vegetables: When is time to harvest?

The perfect harvest time for many vegetables can be easily determined with a few tricks. Onions are ripe as soon as the leaves fold over and dry out. Rhubarb can be harvested when the leaves are completely unfolded. Cauliflower is ready to harvest when the florets are still white and closed. Ripe kohlrabi is about the size of a tennis ball. Sweetcorn can be harvested when the threads of the cobs turn black. With pumpkins, you can use the tapping test to find out the degree of ripeness. If the pumpkin sounds hollow, you can harvest it! To see if your sweet potatoes are ready to harvest, you can cut them slightly. If the cut area dries quickly and hardly juices at all, you can harvest it. Peppers are typically harvested when they are fully ripe. You can tell when they have reached their typical color. This can range from yellow, red to purple. However, green peppers are harvested unripe.

Early vegetables - better to harvest too early than too late

Not all vegetables should be harvested when fully ripe, otherwise their flavor will diminish. This means that they are harvested before they have fully developed their seeds or other reproductive organs, for example. These vegetables are known as"early vegetables". These include, for example, peas, which become mealy over time; kohlrabi, which becomes woody, and zucchinis and cucumbers, which lose their aroma and whose skin can become very firm. Eggplants become waddy and dry if they are harvested too late.

Eggplants are best harvested as soon as the skin loses a slight sheen and the seeds are still white. Cucumbers should always be harvested before the skin turns yellow. An exception to this is the peeling cucumber, which is only ready to harvest when the skin turns yellow. Cucumbers are usually ready to harvest when they have reached a size of 20 - 30 cm. Zucchinis can be harvested as soon as they have reached a size of 15 to 20 cm and the flower has completely faded. For peas, the right time is as soon as the peas are visible in the pods.

Late vegetables - the longer they ripen, the tastier they are

Late vegetables taste better the later they are harvested. This includes most root vegetables such as carrots. Parsnips and salsify can even be covered with straw or fleece in the garden over the winter. With radishes and radishes, however, you should be careful not to harvest them too late, as the roots will otherwise become woody or furry. Kale and Brussels sprouts only taste really good once they have had at least one night frost. If you choose late leek varieties, they can cope so well with frost that some of them will continue to grow in winter.

Harvesting tips: The right time of day

For some vegetables, the time of day at which they are harvested is important. Lettuce, spinach and other leafy vegetables should only be harvested in the evening, as this is when the nitrate content is at its lowest. Nitrate is important for plants because it allows proteins to be formed. Nitrate is broken down during the day, which means that the concentration is lowest in the evening. The same applies to the following vegetables : beet, kohlrabi, radishes and radishes. Nitrate is harmful to our health in higher concentrations, as it can be converted into nitrosamines in the body, which are carcinogenic. The vitamin content of many vegetables also increases during the course of the day. Only herbs should be harvested in the morning, as they can lose their aroma with the midday heat.

Tip: You can keep the nitrate content of vegetables low with appropriate and coordinated fertilization.

Harvesting vegetables in winter: What is being harvested now?

Some vegetables, such as chard, spinach, winter cress or postelein, can be harvested late into the winter. Other vegetables such as leeks, Jerusalem artichokes, Brussels sprouts or kale can also be left to overwinter in the field and harvested fresh from the garden throughout the winter. Find out more about growing vegetables in winter in our article.

Harvest time for the most important fruit and vegetables

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