What to look for to harvest vegetables at their best?

You’ve worked hard preparing your garden, planting seeds, pulling weeds, watering, fertilizing, and waiting. When can you finally enjoy your garden’s bounty? Each crop has its own peak ripeness and best time to be picked.

Here are some general guidelines and specifics for vegetables I grow in my garden. Generally, it’s best to harvest early in the morning. One exception might be corn on the cob, as corn sugar turns to starch quickly after picking. In my family, we boil water first, then pick the corn.

Some vegetables are best left on the plant until fully ripe, while others should be picked before they reach full maturity.

Black-eyed Peas: Pick slightly before maturity. Bend the pod a bit; when they become flexible, they’re easy to shell and taste delicious. Pick often to encourage continued production. Hold the vine and pull the peas off gently to avoid breaking the vine.
Cantaloupe: Look for the flesh between the netting to turn from green to tan. If the stem separates easily from the melon, it is ripe.
Corn: Pick just before use or at a cooler time of day. It’s more tender and sweet if picked before fully mature. Look for silks that have turned dark brown and firm ears. To test ripeness, make a small slit in the ear and pierce a kernel with your fingernail. If the liquid is clear, wait a few more days. If it’s milky, pick and eat. Pasty liquid means the corn is past its prime but still usable for canning.
Cucumbers: Avoid picking when the vines are wet to prevent disease spread. Yellow cucumbers are past their prime but should be picked and disposed of to keep the vine producing. Use a sharp knife or pruning shears to remove cucumbers from the vine. Check daily as cucumbers grow rapidly.
Green Beans: Harvest every two to three days as they mature quickly. Look for beans that snap easily when folded. Remove any overripe beans to encourage continued production.
Green Peas: Pick after the pods begin to swell but before they become tough and starchy. Test daily to find the right size for picking. Hold the vine and pull the peas off gently to avoid breaking the vine.
Kale: Pull leaves from the plant when they’re about the size of your hand. Removing lower leaves allows the plant to continue producing. As winter approaches, mulch the plants with hay. The taste may improve after the first frost. Kale grows slower in cold weather but may produce all winter.
Lima Beans: Pick when pods are well-filled and still green. Pods turning yellow can be left on the plant to harvest later as dried beans.
Peppers: Sweet peppers can be picked while green and not fully ripe. Use a knife or pruning shears to remove them from the plants. If left on the plant until red, they become sweeter and have more vitamins.
Spinach: Instead of cutting the entire plant, pick off the lower, larger leaves to extend the season. Pick bright green leaves and discard yellow ones.
Summer Squash: Pick while still immature. The flesh should be soft and tender. We prefer zucchini no more than about one inch in diameter to avoid large seeds. If they grow larger, use them for stuffed zucchini.
Tomatoes: Even green tomatoes will eventually ripen, but the best flavors come from those left on the vine until red. Tomatoes lose flavor below 55°F, so avoid storing them in the refrigerator.
Winter Squash: Look for stems that have turned light yellow-green. Cut rather than pull the squash from the plant, leaving about two to three inches of stem for better storage.