What to pick and harvest for the start of fall

SUMMER SQUASH
Harvest: Gather summer squash when they are young and tender, about 4 to 5 inches in length. Old, large fruits with tough skins should be removed from the vine and thrown away. This will encourage more flowers and fruit. Pattypan squash is ready when it is 3 to 4 inches in diameter and the skin is still soft enough to puncture. With the exception of Hubbard, squash should be cut with about 1 inch of stem.

Store: Squash will keep in a loose plastic bag in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days. Do not wash before storing because water droplets will cause decay.

Varieties growing at the Garden Home Retreat: Early Prolific Straightneck, Early White Bush Scallop, Gold Rush Hybrid, Dixie Hybrid

SNAP BEANS
Harvest: Pick snap beans while they are young, before the beans become visible inside the pod. All beans, including snaps, should be harvested continually to promote more bean production. Harvest early in the day after dew has dried on the leaves.

Store: Beans will keep for 3 days in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Do not wash before storing because wet beans will decay quickly. You can also freeze snap beans. Blanch before freezing.

Varieties growing at the Garden Home Retreat:  Gold Wax Bush, Royal Burgundy, Blue Lake, Asparagus Yard Long (Dow Gauk)

TOMATOES
Harvest: Tomatoes should be uniform in color and firm. During hot weather tomatoes soften quickly, so pick them often even if they are slightly immature. If a killing frost is predicted, go ahead and bring in the green tomatoes. Those that have started to lose their chlorophyll will ripen off the vine. They will be light green to yellow in color. Immature green tomatoes can be used for relishes and chowchow.

Store: Store ripe tomatoes unrefrigerated. Green tomatoes can be kept in a paper bag with an apple to ripen. The apple produces ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening process.

Varieties growing at the Garden Home Retreat:  Celebrity, Yellow Pear, Beefsteak

WATERMELON
Harvest: When the curly tendril opposite where the melon is attached to the vine turns brown and shrivels, that’s the sign it’s time to harvest the melon. The underside may also turn a cream color and the skin will be dull and tough.

Store: Store uncut watermelons at room temperature. They will keep for about 2 weeks. Cut pieces will keep, tightly wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days.

Varieties growing at the Garden Home Retreat: Mickeylee Bush

WINTER SQUASH
Harvest: The rind of winter and autumn squash should be hard and deep in color. You should be able to press into the skin with your fingernail and not leave an indention. Harvest in early to mid-autumn, before the first hard freeze.

Store: Gently remove any dirt and set the squash in a warm, sunny location to cure. It usually takes just a few days for the skin to harden and any scratches to seal. Store them in a cool, dry location in a single layer with a bit of space between each squash.

Varieties growing at the Garden Home Retreat: Hi Beta Gold Spaghetti, Table King Bush Acorn, Waltham Butternut, Sweet Meat, Improved Green Hubbard, Vegetable Spaghetti

ZUCCHINI
Harvest: Like summer squash, zucchini should be harvested while young and tender, although the fruits should be about 6 to 8 inches long. Old, large fruits with tough skins should be removed from the vine and thrown away. This will encourage more flowers and fruit.

Store: Place unwashed, in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Use in 2 to 3 days.

Varieties growing at the Garden Home Retreat:  Cocozelle, Black Beauty

P. Allen Smith is the CEO of Hortus Ltd., a media production company responsible for two nationally syndicated half-hour television programs, numerous magazine columns, a popular Web site, a best-selling series of garden-design-lifestyle books, lecture series and news reports that air on stations around the country as well as on The Weather Channel. He is also the principle in P. Allen Smith and Associates, a landscape design firm.

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