Planting is the first part of ensuring a successful garden harvest. The second is the harvesting itself! Knowing when and how to harvest is the key to enjoying ripe and healthy produce.

Every garden plant has its own unique signs that it is ready to be harvested, and each needs to be harvested in a different way. Harvesting a plant when it has reached proper maturity will ensure peak nutritional content and flavour. Here is a quick guide for when and how to harvest some of the most common garden plants.

Herbs

Herb plants can be harvested whenever you need fresh herbs. Regular harvesting actually encourages herbs to grow, but just make sure you’re not cutting more than one-third of an herb stem at once. Some exceptions to this rule include lavender and chives, which should be harvested in their entirety after they’ve bloomed.

Tomatoes

A ripe tomato will be almost entirely red in colour with perhaps some yellow left around the stem. It will also be quite firm to the touch. Harvest tomatoes by pulling them cleanly from the vine. If any tomatoes fall off the vine before fully ripening, place them in a paper bag and store in a cool, dark place.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are usually ready to harvest about eight to 10 days after the opening of the first female flowers. A ripe cucumber will be firm and green. Try not to harvest too late or the cucumber will have a bitter rather than sweet taste. Cucumbers are best harvested by cutting the vine near the stem with pruners or garden shears to prevent the vine from pulling or twisting.

Carrots

Baby carrots are usually ready to harvest between 50 to 60 days after planting while mature carrots usually require around 75 days. When harvesting a carrot, it can help to first loosen the soil around it with a garden fork. Pulling the foliage without loosening the soil first might cause the foliage to break away from the carrot, leaving it in the ground.

Lettuce

Leaf lettuce can be harvested by simply removing the outer, more mature leaves from the plant whenever you need them. Head lettuce, on the other hand, should be harvested at full size, though ideally just before full maturity, by digging the entire plant out of the ground. Mature lettuce can take on a bitter and woody taste, so you want to harvest quickly for maximum tenderness and freshness.

Green beans

Green beans are best harvested before they are fully developed, while still in the immature stage. Look for pods that are firm and sizeable but with small seeds. A fresh green bean should easily snap when broken. To harvest, either cut or cleanly snap the pod off the plant so as not to damage the vine.

Peas

Unlike green beans, you’ll want to harvest peas when the peas inside the pod have grown large enough to nicely fill the pod out. Look for pods that are firm and plump and pluck them from the vine. Make sure to check back daily once you begin harvesting, as new pods will likely be ready to pick every day. Keep harvesting until you have removed all the pods from the vine.

Getting to enjoy the produce that you have grown with your own two hands is easily one of the best parts of gardening. Make sure that you harvest your plants at the right time, and you’ll have an abundance of fresh and delicious ingredients to use in a variety of dishes.