Best summer harvests

Start the harvest season as you mean to go on! Bob looks at how to best coordinate your efforts so nothing goes to waste

- Bob

JULY is when our real harvest begins. Oh sure, we will have had the first pickings – but now, everything comes in a rush.

With the long days pushing growth, some crops can go over before we even notice, and then all our work is wasted. Garlic is a classic example: it looks great today, but it can be gone tomorrow. Dig your garlic up before the leaves detach themselves, or you won’t find them all. Lift just as leaves start to wither, then dry more thoroughly undercover.

Likewise, harvest onions and shallots once their leaves wither and fall naturally – never try to ‘help’ by impatiently bending these down, as that may initiate rot at the necks during storage.