Best Times To Harvest 
Beans should be tender, from half to three 
fourths of the mature size. They should 
snap easily with no fibers or strings. 
Lima Beans are at their best just as the 
lower end of the pod shows a faint tinge of 
yellow. 
Beets can be used at any time. The young 
plants are fine for greens. When the roots 
are large enough to handle they may be 
used separately. Beets are best when less 
than 2 inches thru. 
Carrots can be used from finger size up. 
Flavor and tenderness begin to deteriorate 
in most varieties when they grow larger 
than 11% inches across. 
Corn is sweetest when in the milk stage. 
This can be recognized by the silk turning 
brown and dry and the cob leaning away 
from the stalk. When lightly squeezed 
there is a springy feel to the ear. 
Cucumbers make the best salads when the 
seeds are still immature. The fruits are 
best if they are about % of the mature 
length. 
Melons should be vine ripened for real 
flavor. This can be told when the stalk 
starts to separate from the fruit. The blos- 
som end should have a soft, springy feel 
when pressed, 
Peas are sweetest just as the seeds reach 
mature size. This can be learned by press- 
ing the pods lightly. If the seeds feel about 
the same size as the ones you planted, and 
the pod is a bright green it is ready for 
picking. Pods do not always develop every 
BROCCOLI, Italian 
Green Sprouting 
BEETS, Detroit Dark Red 
PEPPER, Pimento 
KOHLRABI 
White Vienna 
seed so pick the pods when the largest 
seeds are ready. 
Leaf crops for salads are best harvested in 
the cool of the day. They should be pro- 
tected from drying immediately. Salad 
crops picked when slightly wilted do not 
regain the same crispness and flavor as 
when picked moist with dew. 
Radishes may be used as soon as they are 
big enough to handle. They become quite 
hot when fully mature or if grown in hot 
weather. Pithiness is an indication of over- 
maturity. 
VEGETABLE STORAGE 
Many vegetables can be kept for use 
during winter by proper storage. It is often 
cheaper and easier to store than to can them 
and, with some varieties, the stored quality 
is better than that of the canned product. 
Successful storage depends upon (1) se- 
lecting vegetables of good quality; (2) pick- 
ing them at the proper stage of maturity; 
(3) having the proper temperature and the 
right degree of humidity in the storeroom. 
The desirable stage of maturity varies with 
the crop. Cabbage, onions, squashes and 
pumpkins will not keep well unless fully 
matured. Beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips 
and salsify should not be allowed to be- 
come fully matured, as they are likely to 
become woody. 
Best storage conditions can be summarized 
thus: cool and moist—beets, carrots, salsify, 
turnips, winter radishes and celery; cool 
and moderately moist—cabbage and po- 
tatoes; cool and dry—onions and dry beans; 
warm and dry—squashes, pumpkins and 
sweet potatoes. 
CUCUMBER, Straight Eight 
All these except dry beans, onions, 
squashes, pumpkins and sweet potatoes 
may be kept in the same storage room if 
the cabbages are on shelves and the po- 
tatoes are in slatted crates or bins. The 
best temperature for most vegetable crops 
is just above freezing, i.e., 32° F. If po- 
tatoes are included, the temperature should 
not go below 34°. A basement without a 
furnace is ideal. If the house has a concrete 
basement with a furnace, then a room pro- 
tected from the furnace heat is necessary. 
Temperature can be maintained in a storage 
cellar by opening and closing windows. 
A dirt floor is best and, if humidity is low, 
water can be sprinkled on the floor. Root 
crops can be stored in boxes of sand or 
soil in the basement and kept just moist, 
Small quantities of vegetables can be stored 
outdoors. A handy way is to sink a box 
or barrel about half its depth in the ground. 
Put the vegetables in and put on top of 
them a mattress cover made of burlap bags 
stuffed with straw. Cover over with a 6-inch 
layer of clean straw or leaves and then 
cover this with dirt to hold in place. 
CARROTS 
Chantenay 
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