How Do You Know When Vegetables Are Ready to Harvest?

There’s nothing quite as rewarding as growing your own produce in your home garden. Seeing your plants flourish is one thing, but having the opportunity to harvest and cook your own vegetables makes the gardening experience all the better - and tastier! 

You’ve watched your plants grow from tiny vegetable seeds, caring for them every step along the way, so it’s essential to make sure that you get the harvesting process just right to secure the best results possible. When it comes to harvesting vegetables, timing is everything. Getting your veggies out of the ground or off the plant at the right time can affect the taste in many ways. 

But when is the best time to harvest vegetables, you ask? Here at Mr Fothergill’s, we’re breaking it down and getting you prepared for summertime harvests.

When Is the Best Time to Harvest Vegetables?

Whilst many vegetables tend to be ready for harvest during the summer months, this doesn’t necessarily apply to all of them. Certain plants thrive in cooler climates, while others are fully ripened in the middle of summer. There are a number of signs that you can look out for to indicate that your plant is ready for harvest, including:

• Ripeness
• Colour
• Size
• Scent

But, as you can imagine, every vegetable has its own very specific set of signs to keep an eye out for, so let’s get into the specifics, shall we?

When to harvest tomatoes

Depending on your region, tomato seeds are generally grown in the spring and summer months and tend to be ready for harvest around 10-12 weeks after being planted out into their final position. You’ll know that your tomatoes are fully ripe when they’re slightly firm and have achieved their full colour, whether red, orange, or yellow. 

For the best flavour, we suggest waiting to pick your tomatoes until any green patches have fully disappeared and harvesting during the cooler periods of the day. 

Take a look at our ‘How to Grow Tomatoes’ guide for more tips and tricks on harvesting. 

When to harvest potatoes

After planting potato tubers, early varieties are usually ready for harvest in 10 to 12 weeks when they come into flower. Keep an eye on their size by gently pulling back the soil.

When it comes to maincrop potatoes, however, we recommend waiting until all of the foliage has died back before lifting and harvesting. Leave your tubers for another two weeks and lift them gently with a fork on a dry day. This will likely be between June and August in warm climates, but in temperate and cool areas, you can expect a summer harvest between December and February.

For more information, check out our ‘How to Grow Potatoes’ guide.

When to harvest pumpkins

These plants go a very long way from being tiny pumpkin seeds, but what can you look out for to know exactly when they’re ready to be picked? Pumpkins are typically ready for harvest just in time for autumn when their vines die off. A great way to judge whether they’re ready is to scratch at their skin. If it is hard and resists your scratches, your pumpkin should be all good to go!

To find out more, read through our ‘How to Grow Pumpkins’ guide.

When to harvest carrots

Carrot seeds can take around 12 to 18 weeks to grow to a point where they’re ready to harvest. You’ll probably notice that their tops are jutting out of the soil with a vibrant orange colour. You can also tell that they’re ready for harvest when their green tops have reached around 30cm long. If you’re unsure, you can always just pull one carrot to test.

Carrots are easy to grow edibles and reward you with a tasty treat or the perfect cooking accomplice!

When to harvest garlic

It’s pretty easy to tell when your garlic bulbs are ready to be harvested. Pay attention to their foliage; once it dies down, your garlic is ready for digging up. If you’re going to be storing your garlic, however, we’d recommend waiting around two weeks after the foliage yellows to dig up your garlic for storage.

Find more information on ‘How to Grow Garlic’ with our detailed growing guide.

When to harvest asparagus

Spring is the peak growing season for asparagus - so much so that you should be able to harvest new spears every 2-3 days! We’d suggest harvesting your asparagus once they’re between 15-20cm tall, with the thickness of a pencil. It’s important to harvest before their buds begin to open, for the freshest and juiciest produce. 

Take a look at our ‘How to Grow Asparagus’ guide now for even more detail and information.

When to harvest peas

A popular choice amongst gardeners, you may be wondering, ‘When is the best time to harvest these vegetables?’ Once your pea seeds have grown into fully established pods, after about 8 weeks of growing, gently feel them to judge their size. Feel free to open up one or two peas to judge whether or not they’re ready to be enjoyed yet.

Shop Vegetable Seeds at Mr Fothergill’s

Now that we’ve answered some of your questions regarding ‘How do you know when vegetables are ready to harvest?’ it’s time to start your family’s growing adventure with Mr Fothergill’s. We offer a broad selection of premium seeds and are passionate about making gardening simple and accessible for everyone to enjoy! Why not also take a look at our high-quality range of gardening tools to make harvesting that much easier?

You can find our range of seeds online or at all good garden centres and major hardware stores. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us or take a dig deeper into our gardening advice blog.