Page 36 - Bringing out the Potential In Our Children - Gardeners - Food Producers

Chapter 7: Bringing In the Harvest and Preserving It

At the beginning it was all just a wish and a hope for all that delicious food

that would be produced but now all the fruits of your labor are ready to
harvest and bring in to enjoy.

Note: Include the amount of harvesting as part of your garden planning,
keeping the garden manageable for your kids. When planning what you will

be planting also pick out some favorite recipes your kids would want to use
their produce from the garden in or different ways of preserving they might
like to try (try small batch canning). How much of their harvest will

realistically be eaten.

Make harvesting a routine you can do daily, your daily harvest walk. Add to

your checklist in chapter 6 - checking for ripe and ready to harvest crops.
Give your child a harvesting basket making sure to always keep it handy
(perhaps by the door) ready to fill with vegetables. Try to schedule your

“harvest walks” before the heat of the day.

Knowing when your crops are ripe and ready to harvest and also knowing
the best way to store them has been made easy by the Weekend Gardener
Monthly Web Magazine, who published a wonderful harvesting guide to
help you with just that.

Apples Harvest season ranges from midsummer to late fall, depending
upon the variety.

Most apples are ready to pick when they separate easily from
the tree and the fruit comes off when you give it a gentle lift
and twist. Another indicator is the color of the seeds in the
core. When apples are ripe, the seeds turn dark brown.

If you're still in doubt, take a sample bite. An underripe apple
will taste green or starchy, while ripe apples are sweet and
juicy. Overripe apples get mealy.

To avoid pulling out the stem when you harvest, don't yank
the apple to pick it; instead hold the apple in your hand, tilt it
upward, and twist to separate it from the branch with a
rotating motion.