Gardening Tip: What to Do When Everything is Ripe at Once

For a vegetable gardener and berry grower, the busiest time is harvest time. Here are some tips for coping with abundance.

Years ago , when I first read about edible landscaping , the concept had tremendous appeal . step by step I develop an assortment of berries , fruit Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , and fruiting shrubs and vine . The destination was to have yield during the total growing season , from June ( strawberry mark ) to October ( northern kiwi ) . But in the middle of the summer , there ’s a circumstances of overlap . Right now , for exemplar , I ’ve get blueberry , blackberries , hoot , and wineberries to pick . I also have a full - time job ( ! ) and a large vegetable garden . Here ’s how I cope when I ’m entomb in berries and veggies :

prioritise , and pluck accordinglyA day-to-day sojourn to your gardenwill narrate you at a glance what ’s quick to eat . Ripe raspberries need to be foot at peak ripeness ; by the next day , you might as well leave them for the birds . Ripe blueberries , on the other hand , remain tasty for three or even four days . Wineberries and blackberry bush can go for possibly two twenty-four hour period . veggie , in general , are more absolvitory than fruit , with the potential exclusion of Brassica oleracea italica . In my garden , unpicked florets tend to blossom in a day or two , so I like to use them when I see them . But do n’t leave your beans , peas , and tomato on the vine for twenty-four hour period on end . If you do , the plants will check produce .

rust some now , bear on some for laterCanning , drying , andfreezingare some of techniques gardeners use to “ put food by ” for fall and winter use . Berry , herb , and vegetables can all be preserve at the height of ripeness .

Plan meals around what ’s ripeEnjoy each veggie when it ’s at peak flavor . Find different ways to serve the same ingredient . If you needrecipe ideas , you ’ll find lots on our sister land site , FineCooking.com . shiner over the Recipe lozenge at the top of the page to see some of the categories , or use the lookup box and then limit the results to recipes .

Entertain , and share with your neighborsYou do n’t need to be a fancy James Cook to make hunky-dory meals with food grown at home . Even the simple formula is Edgar Albert Guest - desirable if the ingredients are impudently picked . And if dinner parties are n’t your thing , you may offer surplus green groceries to the people next threshold or to a local soup kitchen .

Adjust your garden program for next yearIf you ’re overwhelmed this year , make a mental annotation to putter with next twelvemonth ’s garden plan so you have enough but not too much . You cankeep a garden journalto record the details of what you ’d care to do other than . If your berry patches are out of mastery , mow them into entry or share some first - class canes with booster . Adjust the size and timing of your vegetable plantings . Instead of one long words of bean , try a shorter one . Or try small succession planting every pair of calendar week , so your harvest home stretches over a longer period .

Bottom line?Overabundance is not such a big problem to have . Sure , you have to scramble for a few weeks to take full advantage , but it ’s pleasant , satisfying piece of work . Your horticulture effort will have pay off , and you and your family can wallow in very fresh , very topically originate solid food .

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