Ripe Versus Mature

The discussion of when fruits and vegetables are ripe versus mature has gone on for ages. To keep this simple though let’s agree that when a fruit or vegetable is ripe it has gained a certain color, size and texture that makes it harvestable. However, when the same fruit or vegetable is harvested as “mature,” once picked the process of degradation begins and being past its peak isn’t far off. Most supermarket produce is picked “ripe,” but in our gardens we tend to wait until it’s just right for eating — or mature. On the other hand, ripe produce will store longer, and some will even continue to gain flavor.

Fruits and vegetables that are harvested as “mature” won’t last as long nor will they continue to flavor up, with a few exceptions. Some beans are purposely harvested as mature because they can be dried, and they store better in this state. But when you compare the taste of a freshly picked ripe string bean vs. one that’s been harvested at maturity from the vine the texture and flavor isn’t nearly as pleasant.

When deciding when to pick your home-grown vegetables one good guide is the seed packet or cell pack tag. These usually have an indication of “dates to maturity,” but keep in mind that the counting begins from the day you put a transplant into the ground for transplants. For direct-seeded veggies like peas, radishes, carrots, beets, spinach and beans the count starts from the date you sow the seed, but the date of germination is even better.

Plums, grapes and some melons are another example of needing to mature on the tree or vine. Plums are almost aways harvested ripe then refrigerated for storage. Left outside the refrigerator for a day or two, a hard “ripe” plum will develop a softer texture and sweeter flavor. Cantaloupes may sweeten a bit after they are harvested, but watermelons are often left to mature on the vine unless they are being shipped long distances, in which case they are harvested as “ripe.” Commercially grown apples are harvested ripe, and some will sweeten up when stored refrigerated, but this varies by variety. Bananas are harvests as “green ripe” then heated or exposed to ethylene gas to ripen them for sale.

While we’ve been harvesting from the garden for several months, now is really the prime harvesting time and if things go right it will continue for weeks to come. But there’s more to harvest than the truckloads of tomatoes and baseball bat-sized squash. There are eggplants, melons, potatoes, endless greens and shortly the second season of radishes, peas, Brussels sprouts, cabbages and so much more. But there are also the apples, pears and other fruits as well.

Just as there are crops that need to be harvested now there are some that need to wait for the cooler days of fall as the cooler air and soil make these crops even tastier as the coolness results in sugar build-ups in a chemical reaction. In this group we include beets, cauliflower, fennel, leeks, fall radishes, kohlrabi, turnips, collards, mustard greens, some of the radicchios and broccoli rabe. So, patience with these is the order of the day unless it’s a special “summer” or early-season variety.

As for the tomatoes, well, I don’t have the magic answer you’re looking for. Everyone wants to know where the great tasting tomatoes that we remember from years ago have gone. I have a very unscientific answer. Every once in a while, you get a good one. And just because tomato X is great this year there is no guarantee it will be next year. We experiment, we postulate, we hope but at the very least, in most years, we have lots of tomatoes and hopefully some will taste great.

Keep in mind that tomatoes fall into one of two groups, the determinates and indeterminates. The determinate types grow to a certain height, produce a crop, then stop. The indeterminates grow and grow and grow and grow on vines that can be 10 feet long. This type only stops producing when the plant gives in to disease or it just gets too cold. Always keep in mind though that if a tomato is ripe (not necessarily mature) it can ripen off the vine. This is done on a sunny window sill, in a paper bag with an apple which releases ethylene gas, a natural ripener. Your best bet though is to harvest a ’mater with a good hint of color and not totally green. These can take a week to 10 days to color up and develop some taste.

With tomatoes you can’t always go by looking for the ripe red ones. Some ripen off-red to pink, some yellow and the newly popular brown or black varieties past the green stage. The color can be very nuanced so it’s a learning curve.

Cucumbers are pretty simple. Each type of cucumber has a mature size, and the seed packet or tag that came with the plants will tell you this. The larger you let them get after this ripe size the worse they will taste or be totally tasteless. A telltale sign of an overripe cuke is when it goes from green to yellow — assuming it’s a green maturing type. If you’re looking for a handy rule, the slicer types should be about 2 3/8 inches in diameter and about 6 inches long. No yellow!

Pepper ripeness can be gauged by color. Green bells and hot types should be dark to light green with a uniform color. Red and colored peppers should be uniform in color, and just to confuse things, some green bells will also mature with some red tinges. The pepper should feel firm and heavy with the shape true to the variety.

Don’t rush the pumpkins. Color and rind hardness are the key indicators. With standard pumpkins, a deep orange rind color develops, and the rind should resist the pressure of a fingernail before it’s harvested. Harvest before a frost and leave a little bit of stem attached. Allowing it to cure for a week to 10 days at 80 degrees in a dry place will prolong the “shelf life.”

Watermelons give us clues in the color of the ground spot, the condition of the tendril at the joining of the fruit stem and the vine and the sound when the melon is thumped. The ground spot should be yellowish, the tendril withered, and the thump should resound as a dull thud.

Summer squashes are harvested by size and color. These are pretty simple, but as you know, blink twice and they can become baseball bats. Crookneck squash should be no longer than 8 inches, and Patty Pans less than 6 inches in diameter. Winter squashes are harvested when the rind develops the characteristic color and the skin resists the push of the fingernail. Cure as you would a pumpkin for storage.

In the fruit department keep in mind that depending on the apple variety harvesting can begin in mid-August and go all the way up to November with the Granny Smiths. There are scientific ways of determining ripeness (called a Brix measurement) but for the most part you are going to be guided by color and ease of separation of the fruit from the spur. Most of all, know your variety and when it should ripen in our area. Wrap your whole hand around the fruit when harvesting, and try not to use your fingers as this can damage the fruit.

This link will take you to a chart that shows when various fruits are ready for harvest or purchase at New York farm stands and pick-your-own farms and orchards: pickyourown.org/NYharvestcalendar.htm.

Keep in mind that the weather plays a major part on the taste scale from year to year, especially with apples.

Pears are a bit different, and they are the only temperate fruit that is harvested mature and ripened off the tree. The fruit should come off the spur without tearing or breaking the spur, so ease of separation from the branch is also a clue and if you know the variety try to keep track of days from full bloom as most pears will have a specific number of days to harvest from this point.

Now to the flower garden: A number of our perennials and biennials will drop seeds during the season, and if they don’t need winter vernalization they will germinate from midsummer through early fall. Keep in mind though that if you’re waiting for your expensive Heuchera and Echinacea to develop seeds, it won’t happen. These are mostly hybrids and don’t reproduce sexually, from seed. On the other hand if you are growing species such as the old-fashioned bleeding hearts (Dicentra), columbines like the native Aquilegia canadensis, Digitalis, nonhybrid primula and some of the Hostas, you may be in for a treat. These will all leave seedlings behind.

Columbine seedlings can look very similar to clover seedlings, and you need to be able to tell them apart. They are easily transplanted on cloudy days. Red clover will have a small yellow flower, columbine will have no flower and a more serrated leaf than the smooth clover leaf.

Dicentra seedlings will look just like the parent plants, and at this time of the year and be several inches tall. Primula seedlings will be small and are often found in tight clusters near the parent plant. Any of these seedlings can be gently dug and transplanted on a cloudy day and even better just before rain. Water them gently for a week to 10 days and next year to the year after you’ll get your reward.

Keep in mind that columbines will easily cross with other columbine species so there may be some surprises. Primulas are not as promiscuous. Even the shrub hibiscus, the rose of Sharon, will easily self-seed, but these don’t show up until the following spring.

Lastly, don’t forget to harvest seed. Trollius seed is ripe now. Purple coneflower seed (the species) will ripen in about three weeks as will the Rudbeckias like triloba and the biennials. These get stored in sealed containers in the fridge and are sown in the spring. No time for the weary. Keep growing