Greene Acres

Community Garden, Inc

The Organic Community Garden
in Broadview Heights, Ohio
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August 2020: Fall Planting and Harvesting

August 5, 2020 by Jo Ann Bartsch Leave a Comment

When it comes to harvesting, it seems like a fairly easy task.  “Pick it when it’s ripe!!”  But we seem to have some trouble handling it.  Most of what I see in the garden is neglecting to harvest until it’s too late.  It may have nothing to do with not knowing when to do it, but rather finding the time and making the effort to get out to the Garden.  Remember, the Harvest Group will do it for you if we see that you’re neglecting your harvest. 

If you attended my “Seasons of Gardening” presentation that I gave last year, you know that there’s some math involved in calculating when to plant for successful fall crops.  (If you missed the presentation, or have short term memory loss, along with me, the presentation is on our website at https://www.greeneacres.org/2019/02/the-seasons-of-gardening/.  The Farmer’s Almanac has cleverly done the math for us and created a table based on our first and last frost dates.  You can find it here: https://www.greeneacres.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/almanac.com-Planting-Calendar-for-Broadview-Heights-OH.pdf.   Remember, fall planting is really a big experiment for many of us – we aren’t used to doing fall gardening. However, we’ve had some fairly good, long autumns in the past few years.  Try it!

Here are some harvesting guidelines and tips:

  • Ripeness is indicated by changes in size, color, or softness. 
    • Tomatoes turn from green to red (or yellow) and easily detach from the vine when they mature.
    • The skins of peas, eggplants, squash get glossy as they fully mature
    • Root vegetables tend to push up from ground…watch their shoulders as a clue to tell how big they are underground.
    • Garlic needs to be dug when the bottom five or so leaves begin to dry
  •  Vegetative crops (those grown for their leaves or stems or roots):  Pick while young and tender.
  • Fruit crops: most should be left on the plant until fully ripe.  However, beans, cucumbers, eggplants, summer squash all taste a bit better when they are slightly immature.  Tomatoes can be picked before full maturity especially if you’re in a harvest race with the critters.  They can ripen further on your kitchen window sill.
  • Potatoes or peppers can be harvested either immature or fully ripe and will taste differently depending on which you choose.
  • Some vegetables are forgiving – if you delay harvesting onions, winter squash or potatoes an extra week won’t matter that much.  Summer squash is not forgiving!  Waiting an extra day or two may result in overripeness (not to mention giant fruits!).
  • Some vegetables become sweeter after a frost.  Plan on harvesting brussels sprouts, kale, and parsnips later in the season.
  • Watch the weather with respect to harvesting:  a heavy rainfall can dilute flavor or crack the produce.  Drought can produce bitterness, especially in cucumbers.
  • Remember these harvesting how-to guidelines: 
    • Be gentle.  Any bruises or scrapes will reduce storage life
    • Don’t harvest when plants are wet to avoid disease spread.
    • Use shears or a knife with veggies that have tough or brittle stems
    • Leave tops on root crops (except for garlic)
    • Harvest before noon when sugar content is highest,
    • Cool the produce immediately (except for tomatoes, garlic, onions and basil)
    • Only wash produce right when you’re ready to use it.

I hope some of this helps reinforce how important it is to get to the end of the game:  THE HARVEST.  If you have any questions or need something else for your gardening experiment, please let me know.

Jo Ann

Gardening Library Tagged: Harvesting

The Seasons of Gardening

February 17, 2019 by Jo Ann Bartsch Leave a Comment

Yesterday I gave a presentation to about 20 Greene Acres gardeners about vegetable gardening in all four seasons.  You were a great audience….lots of good questions and information sharing.  Here are the slides – I’ll be watching to see how many of you explore gardening not only in the warm summer months, but in the spring, fall, and yes…even overwintering.

As always, if you have questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to ask or comment below.

Jo Ann Bartsch, OSU Master Gardener, Cuyahoga County

Greene Acres Mentor

Seasons-2019Download

Garden Update

Spring Soil Test Results

July 4, 2017 by Jo Ann Bartsch Leave a Comment

We have received soil test results for several plots in the Garden.  The results are very similar.  Here’s a summary:

  • pH levels are in the range recommended for vegetables. No amendments to correct pH are necessary.
  • Organic material in the soil (where tested) has increased to the recommended level. Good job with the compost!!
  • There are no deficiencies in any of the nutrients tested and needed for vegetable plant growth.
  • The levels of potassium and phosphorus are high (sometimes very high). Therefore, there is no need to add these two minerals to your soil.  Only nitrogen is necessary….carefully read the label on your fertilizer.  Buy one that only has nitrogen.  Use according to instructions; please don’t overfertilize.  (and potentially contribute to a Lake Erie algal blooms!).

Please ask if you have any questions regarding the soil in your plot.

Jo Ann Bartsch (jabartsch@att.net)

Garden Update

Upcoming Important Dates

Meetings and Work Days are currently canceled / postponed due to COVID-19 :(. We hope to see you all soon! The garden itself is still open though!

Registration Info

2021 Registration Packet (PDF)

Work Groups Information (PDF)

Plot Holder Information

If you're interested in a plot, please send an email to us by using the contact form on this website. Yearly fee for a plot is $30.00, Plots are 4ft x 10 ft.

Plot holders (current and future) must be either:
- A resident of Broadview Heights
- An employee of a business in Broadview Heights
- A member of the Chippewa Garden Club

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