Happy harvests

Knowing when to gather crops makes all the difference to taste. Here's to harvests with a smile, says Bob

- Bob Flowerdew

THERE'S tremendous joy anticipating something we've grown, especially when it's also our first time. Of course, there is also a tiny worry when pondering the optimum time to pick said gems. Is it better tomorrow, or maybe next week, or last week?

Familiarity is the best arbiter, and even if we've never grown something before but have bought it, then we know what to expect. But if it's completely novel to us, it makes sense to re-check the seed packet or the catalogue, especially when there are many sorts available.

Generally, we want fruits to ripen to their sweetest, which means picking them as late as possible (before the birds and wasps steal them all). The exception is if you want something more acidic, say, for making jam, in which case you pick earlier. A dead give-away that we've waited a tad too long is if the fruits start to drop off the branches! (Singularly, melons are actually at their very finest only when they drop off).