Harvest Swoon: Harvesting Techniques for Your Garden Crops

It’s that lovely time of year when we are all rolling around in some beautiful summer harvests from our gardens. Tomatoes are ripe, peppers are popping, sunflowers are in bloom, and we are enjoying picking lots of basil, corn, and cucumbers. After all your hard work of turning soil, planting seeds, maintaining irrigation, and keeping pests and plant diseases at bay, your garden is now rewarding you with bountiful harvests of all your favorite crops! While the process of harvesting plants such as tomatoes, peppers, beans, and peas is very straightforward, there are a few tried and true harvesting methods that are important to follow. By intentionally harvesting your crops, your plants will remain healthy and happy and continue to produce more harvests until the end of the season. There are a select few harvesting methods I would like to share with you that are very helpful in the garden.

The first method I use is the “cut and come again” technique. This method mainly applies to lettuces, some leafy greens (arugula, spinach, chard, etc.), herbs, and some flowers. The goal of this method is to harvest what you need, and leave the roots and base of the plant alone so it can regrow. In practice, use a clean pair of pruners or garden scissors and cut as many leaves or sprigs of the plant as you like. For lettuces and leafy greens, make sure to cut right above the base of each leaf, leaving about a 1/2 inch or more so it can regrow new leaves. For herbs, harvest as much as desired making sure to leave the roots and base of the plant intact. Edible flowers like violas, marigolds, and nasturtium can be harvested in large amounts and continue to bloom throughout the season. When harvesting edible flowers, remove the flower heads and leave the foliage. The beauty of this method is how quickly your plants will regrow after you have harvested. I often have experienced lettuces and flowers regrowing within a week of doing a harvest.

Harvesting lettuce leaves by hand using cut and come again method

The next method I want to share is referred to by farmers as “side-cropping.” Side-cropping means to harvest only the outer leaves or stalks of a plant. This method is for plants such as kale, bok choy, lettuce heads (if you want to only harvest a few leaves at a time rather than the entire head), and herbs like parsley, cilantro, basil, and dill. The idea is to harvest outer leaves to allow the central stalk of the plant to remain intact, therefore giving the plant a chance to continue growth. If you remove the central stalks of a plant, then the plant will not regrow, or be stunted in attempting to do so. Make sure to use clean pruners or garden scissors, lightly grab the leaf or stalk, and cut it close to the base of the plant without cutting into other leaves or the central stalks. By side-cropping these plants, you will get multiple harvests from them throughout the season instead of a one-time harvest.

A woman farmer harvesting dinosaur kale by side-cropping

Harvesting curly kale with the side-cropping method of outer leaves only

Another essential harvesting practice is being gentle with your crops. Regardless of the type of plant you are harvesting, be patient, and maintain a gentle touch when handling your crops. If you try ripping blackberries from a bush, they will get squished; if you try roughly pulling a bean off a vine, it will snap. Remember to take your time and always harvest with intention and love. Using clean pruners or garden scissors can assist you with being kind to your crops, and will ensure that you do not pull off any foliage along with a fruit or vegetable.

Lastly, I will say that if you are at all unsure about how to harvest from a plant in your garden, research it! There are many useful practices to use in your garden, and it will keep your garden happy, healthy, and productive all season long.