Granny’s Garden School
Harvesting the Early
Spring Garden
Kids can help in the harvest preparation by
cleaning their own food. To clean leafy foods: The leaves above ground have
been mostly cleaned by rain and watering. By harvesting with the correct method
(below), soil stays in the ground and not on the leaves. Set up a cleaning
station of a series of four small clean buckets filled with water. Form a line
of students at one end. Each student rinses the leaves in the first bucket,
then the second, third, and fourth. Drain in a colander. To clean root
vegetables: Set up a separate cleaning station of small buckets filled with
water. Designate buckets used to scrub off soil (bring scrub brushes) and
buckets used to rinse.
Listed
below are the seeds you received for the early spring garden and suggestions for
harvesting. Some plants will be ready to harvest before the end of the school
year. Others may not have reached their full maturity before the students leave
for summer break.
Plants that are not ready to harvest should
be left in the garden.
Some foods will be used during
Granny’s Victory Garden
summer camps, and others will be donated to the local food pantry.
Beets
-
Beets are ready to harvest when the root
is 1 ½ inches in diameter.
-
If you have beets ready to harvest,
harvest every other one.
-
If your beets are not ready to harvest,
harvest some of the young greens. Be sure to leave 2 to 3 leaves for the
plant to keep growing.
Carrot
-
Carrots are ready to harvest when the
orange top starts to become visible or when the root is about ½ in diameter.
-
If you have carrots ready to harvest,
harvest every other plant.
Harvesting Kohlrabi
-
Kohlrabi is ready to harvest when the
stems are 1 to 3 inches in diameter. The kohlrabi bulb develops above
ground.
-
Do not harvest all of the kohlrabi if
the size is too small. Instead, you may decide to sample the young leaves
from a few of your plants. Be sure to leave 2 to 3 leaves for the plant to
keep growing.
-
If you have a lot of kohlrabi ready to
harvest for your class to sample, harvest every other plant.
Harvesting Lettuce
-
Do not pull the plant out by the root.
-
Pick individual leaves to keep the plant
in place and producing.
-
If harvesting the entire plant, cut at
ground level, and harvest every other plant if you have enough for your
class to sample with this method.
Harvesting Onion
-
Harvest green onions after the tops are
six inches tall.
-
If you have many onions, harvest every
other onion.
Harvesting
Peas
-
Peas are meant to be harvested as flat,
tender pods before the peas inside develop at all, about 1 week after
flowering.
-
Harvest all ripe pods, but do not pull
out the plant. Show students how to harvest using two hands method. Hold a
pea pod between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and the stem where the
pea pod is attached to the plant with the thumb and forefinger of your other
hand and pull to separate the pod from the stem. The plant will keep
producing pods.
Harvesting
Potatoes
-
Potatoes will need the summer to fully
develop. Potatoes are not ready to harvest until the plant above ground has
turned brown, and this will not happen until late summer. Now, the plants
are green and growing, and will set flowers in early summer.
-
To show the students the progress, test
one plant. If your potato plants have reached 8 to 10 inches in height, use
a pitchfork to clear some soil to look at any developing tubers
underground. Start your search at least 12 inches from the plant to avoid
piercing a potato. Be sure to cover the potatoes after peeking.
Harvesting Spinach
-
Harvest spinach by cutting the entire
plant off at soil level when the outer leaves are 6 to 8 inches long.
-
If you have a lot of spinach, harvest
every other plant.
Harvesting
Radish
-
Harvest radishes when they are about 1
inch in diameter.
-
If you have a lot of radishes, harvest
every other plant.
Sources:
“Watch Your Garden Grow: A Guide to
Growing, Storing, and PreparingVegetables”, University of Illinois Extension.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/index.html |
