The whole family’sefforts have given

fruit…!Now it is time to

harvest.

Just three more steps and you

will be,

Expert Horticulturists!

Now we will see:

1- Harvest.

2- Storing.

3- Processing vegetables.

Most vegetables shrivel easily whenthey are harvested green.

The quality of vegetables is highestwhen they are ripe and ready to beharvested.

The vegetables have to beharvested at their exact point ofripening.

R i p e v e g e t a b l e s

Have the h ighes tnutritional content.

Ta s t e b e t t e r .

In the chart at the end ofthis Manual you will also findinformation on harvestingvegetables.

Some produce that is harvested too earlywill never have the flavor or nutritionalva lue that r ipe vegetab les have.

You should start getting to know everyvegetable. Practice will let you know theexact moment to harvest.

Some vegetables that are harvested toolate (overripe) will rot and are difficultto eat.

I am verysmall

- Harvest in the coolest hours of the day.Early in the morning or late afternoon,when it has cooled.

- Place everything you harvest in the shadeas you go.

- Handle the produce carefully. It shouldnot be bumped or ripped with your nails.

- Harvest when the plant is dry. In thecase of onions, garlic, pumpkins andpotatoes, you should harvest when theplant is dry. This means that the ediblepart is ready.

- Use a very sharp knife to cut leafyvegetables and to separate the ediblepart from the plant.

- You need to loosen the soil with a stronggarden-fork before you harvest root andbulb vegetables to avoid having to pullthe p lant , wh ich may damage i t .

- Leave a bit of stem (the peduncle)attached to the fruit . A piece of stem isleft on many fruits like melons, pumpkinand peppers so that diseases do not enterthrough the incision made when removingthe stem.

To always have fresh vegetables onthe table you should harvest themonly as needed.

Your garden is the best place tokeep vegetables fresh!

To always have vegetables ready toharvest plant them in relay planting.(See Chapter 2)

There are some vegetables that areharvested all one time, therefore,they need to be stored.

Some of these are: onions, garlic andpumpkins.

These kinds of vegetables are easyto store but they need some specialattention as we will see further on.

Nevertheless, most vegetables spoilquickly. You need to keep them incool places and only for short periods.

Precautions:

- Eliminate vegetables that are soft,damaged, and sick or infected with pests.

- When you cut the leaves on root vegetableslike carrots, beets and radishes, trim topsto 1 cm.

Every vegetable iss tored d i f fe rent lya c c o r d i n g t o i t sc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

There are vegetables that are storedat room temperature (20OC).

In any room that is not too hot or toocold. Furthermore they must always bekept in the shade.

Some vegetables l ike tomatoes andmelons can be harvested green andstored until they ripen.

Others like onions and garlic should tobe harvested when they are dry andthen stored in bags, netting or braided.

Most vegetables need to be storedin very cool places (10-15OC).

In the coolest room in the house. Thebasement is the best place.

There should always be room for air tocirculate.

You can store vegetables better and forlonger periods if you have a refrigerator.

You can use paper orcloth bags to protectthe vegetables.

To take better advantage of the gardenproduce you can make “preserves” andthis way consume vegetables throughoutthe year.

Home rec ipes wi l l le t you preservevegetables for long periods.

If the preserves are incorrectly preparedthey may get contaminated with organismsthat are dangerous to your health. It is agood idea to consult with the expert.

Whole tomatoes.

Tomato sauce.

Jams: tomato-strawberry orstrawberry-melon.

Dehydrated vegetables: You cansun dry green peppers-hotpeppers.

Pickling: cucumbers – hotpeppers – cauliflower –eggplants – carrots – cabbage– small onions

For pickling you need to get home recipesfrom the local expert or your neighbors.

Making jams and jellies is very easy.Start preparing preserves by trying thissimple recipe.

You can get organized in manyways to take better advantage ofyour garden produce.

For example:

- You can exchange products with yourneighbors.

- You can get together with friendsand neighbors and arrange to sellthe produce.

Harvesting and storingof the produce.

1- Harvest

2- Storing

3- Processing

Final TestPlace a “T” if the sentence is true and an “F”if it is false.1- Ripe vegetables have the highest nutritional

value.2- Most vegetables shrivel more easily if they

are harvested still green.3- Air circulation is not important for stored

vegetables.4- You should harvest in the coolest hours of

the day.5- Unripe tomatoes and melons are stored at

low temperatures.6- You can make “preserves” with leftover

produce and store for use throughout theyear.

7- It is good to get organized with friends andneighbors to sell the produce.

8- To make “preserves” you need to followrecipes properly and to take care that theydo not get contaminated.

In this chapterwe have seen:

Answers for theFinal test

1- T2- T3- F4- T5- F6- T7- T8- T

If two or more of youranswers were incorrect youshould review the materialin Chapter 7

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapte r 6

C h a p t e r 7

Expert horticulturists

We h a v e a c c o m p a n i e d y o uthroughout this Manual, now youknow how to make a garden.

With each year's experience youwill learn more and your producewill be; the best!

At the end of this Manual wehave a surprise….