Corbin Scholz, Seed Savers Exchange farm director, shares her best tips for harvesting and storing garden vegetables.
Want the highest yields from your vegetable garden? Keep reading to learn some tips for harvesting and storing vegetables to encourage your plants to keep producing fresh food all season long.
The key for increasing yields for many vegetables lies in harvesting.
Just like humans and other animals, plants have an instinct to reproduce. Plants reproduce by growing seeds. For plants, producing seeds takes a lot of energy. When a plant is ready to produce seed, it redirects its energy away from vegetative growth and towards seed maturity.
Harvesting fruit or removing flowers before the plant puts all its energy into creating seeds, causes the plant to “panic” and produce more—as a survival method.
These common garden vegetables are usually called “cut-and-come-again” crops, meaning the more you harvest, the more they produce. (Click on the links below to view growing and seed saving guides!)
Correctly harvesting cut-and-come-again vegetables can differ from crop to crop. Depending on the crop, it’s important to leave either the plant’s growth point (young leaves) or flowers (in need of pollination) on the plant.
Harvest the larger outer leaves and allow the center to continue producing young leaves. Don’t take more than 1/3 of the plant at a time so it stays strong and healthy.
Harvest kale, collards, and chard until the first major frost. Spinach is a cool-weather crop and can tolerate frost. However, spinach “bolts” (starts producing a seed stalk) in temperatures over 80 degrees F.
Unlike traditional broccoli heads, broccolini produces about a dozen smaller, tender florets that are good for fresh eating or cooking. Harvest broccolini until the plant stops producing shoots, about 4-6 weeks after the first harvest. Each plant can produce an average of six new shoots each week.
The more you pick tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers the more they produce! Pick the fruit when it has ripened to the color and size you prefer. Harvest these crops from the first ripe fruit until the first frost. Stop harvesting if the plant shows signs of disease.
Some lettuce varieties are able to continue to grow after harvest, particularly looseleaf types and some romaine varieties. Cut off the leaves about an inch or two above the base. The lettuce will eventually send up new growth.
These cool-weather crops start producing seed stalks when temperatures exceed 80 degrees. They can be grown in the spring and fall and, in some locations, overwintered!
Starting at the top of the plant and working down, pinch off the growing tip directly above a junction where two “shoulder” leaves are growing. Harvesting basil and other herbs this way will create bushier and more robust plants.
When growing basil, harvest frequently. Picking the flowers off if they form. Allowing the plant to produce flowers and seeds will cause the stems to become woody and the leaves to become tough. When this starts to happen, you can strip all the leaves from the plant and make a pesto!
When the asparagus plant gets to be 3 years old, you can start harvesting the spears. Harvest the spears when they reach around 8 inches tall.
Depending on your location, expect to harvest asparagus for 6-8 weeks from the time the first stalk shoots up from the ground. Stop harvesting if you see slowed growth or smaller diameter spears.
Hold the vine/plant with one hand and pull the bean or pea pod in an upward motion with the other hand. Take care not to damage the plant, so it will continue producing more pods.
Harvest pole beans when they start producing pods until the first frost. Bush beans have a shorter harvest window at 2-3 weeks.
Peas are a cool-weather crop that can be grown in most locations in the spring and fall. However, pea plants will stop growing and will not produce flowers or pods when temperatures get above 80 degrees.
When zucchini gets to your preferred size, cut the stem with a knife where the fruit is attached to the plant. Cut off one big stem and leaf each time you do this to increase airflow and allow pollinators to reach the flowers. Harvest frequently, as zucchini gets very large quickly.
Ideally, zucchini plants can continue to produce until the first frost. However, they will likely succumb to pest pressure, bacteria, or other illnesses after about five to six weeks of harvest.
As soon as the cucumbers are big enough, clip the fruits off the vine. Make sure not to damage any flowers that may be on the plant. One cucumber plant can produce anywhere from 10 to 20 cucumbers. Harvest cucumbers frequently as the fruit gets large quickly.
Cucumber plants could ideally produce fruit until the first frost. However, like zucchini, they will likely succumb to pest pressure, bacteria, or other illnesses after about five to six weeks of harvest.
To ensure rhubarb continuously produces, pull the stalk with a slight twist straight from the root; do not use sheers. You can harvest rhubarb from spring until the end of June. As the summer heats up, the stalks will get a woodier texture and may not be as tasty.
Most vegetables are best eaten right away. However, they will last for a short period of time fresh if properly stored.
Cut the stems of kale, collards, chard, asparagus, and broccolini down enough to fit into a glass jar or cup. Put about one cup of water in the jar and store it in the refrigerator. For even better storage, put a plastic bag over the top of the leaves.
Store tomatoes in a dry place with a temperature of around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If those conditions are not available, store tomatoes on the counter out of the sun. Tomatoes ripen from the blossom end. To prolong their shelf life, store tomatoes with the blossom end up. Tomatoes can also be picked slightly before they are ready to eat and will continue to ripen on the counter.
Store peppers unwrapped in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Eggplants don’t store well. Keep eggplants in a dry place with a temperature of around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. They can also go in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer, but will only last for a couple of days.
Process eggplants (freezing, making sauce, dip, etc.) every few days to get the most out of your harvest.
Place spinach and lettuce leaves in a sealed plastic bag and store in the refrigerator.
Cut basil stems down enough to fit into a glass jar or cup. Put about one to two inches of water in the jar and store on the counter, like a bouquet of flowers.
Beans prefer a dark and airtight space. Store them in a bag or container in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Store peas in a perforated bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Store zucchini in a paper bag in the refrigerator.
Store cucumbers unwashed in the humid crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Store rhubarb stalks in a bag or container in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer.
Keep Exploring!
Learn more about harvesting from our crop-by-crop growing guides, and shop vegetable seeds! When you make a purchase from Seed Savers Exchange, you help fulfill our nonprofit mission to protect our food and garden heritage. Do even more good by making a donation to help us preserve and share even more heirloom varieties!