• Have a look on your seed packet for approximate harvest times. As different varieties will take different amounts of time, it can be useful to have a guide. 
   
• Leafy greens like lettuce, rocket, bok choi & spinach can really be harvested ongoing by removing the outer leaves and pinching them off at the base. Harvesting gradually like this will extend your harvests. It is best to do this while the plants are still crisp and young as older plants that have begun to flower can take on a bitter flavour. Some people prefer to harvest plants whole once they have reached the desired size, this will yield similar results to what you would find in the supermarket, however you won’t get a second crop once you remove the whole plant. 
   
• Fruiting crops like tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini & capsicum are quite easy to gauge. Tomatoes will have the best flavour vine ripened, harvesting when the skin turns fully red or yellow depending on variety. For cucumber and zucchini the fruits grow in size very quickly, for the best texture try to pick them between 15-20cm long - this can vary based on variety but have a play around with what you enjoy best. Capsicum can be enjoyed really at any stage, the green fruits are first to come, later ripening to red fruits that have a sweeter flavour. 
   
• Root crops like carrot, radish & beetroot can be harvested at a ‘’baby’’ stage if desired or left to mature. You may need to dig down into the soil a bit to expose the tops of the roots to see how large they have gotten to decide if you are ready to harvest. Be sure to pick anything before it starts to flower and set seed too as that will create bitter and tough roots. 
   
• Harvesting herbs is quite simple and there are two main types, stem growing herbs like basil, mint and rosemary and ground shooting herbs including chives, coriander and parsley. Depending on the type of herb you are growing will determine which method is best for harvesting. For more detailed harvesting tips on these visit our harvesting herbs blog. 
   

Harvesting is otherwise quite intuitive, and most vegetables can be enjoyed at various stages depending on what you and your family prefer. Don’t worry if your produce doesn’t look picturesque either, some of the best tasting veggies have a bit of character to them! Just remember to remove any fallen fruits or old dead foliage off of your plants, they can harbour pests and diseases and will take energy away from your crop producing more delicious goodies.