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# Harvesting and storing your produce

After all the sowing and growing, harvesting is the reward — and doing it well makes a real difference. Picking at the right moment gives the best flavour, and with many crops, the more you pick the more they produce.

The four rules: **pick often** (more picking, more crop), **in the morning** (freshest and crispest), **when ripe** (best flavour) and **handle gently** (bruise-free keeps longer).

## When

As a rule, pick young and pick often. Many crops — beans, courgettes, salad leaves, herbs — keep producing as long as you keep picking, and turn tough or run to seed if you let them sit.

Fruiting crops such as tomatoes are best left to ripen fully for flavour.

Harvest in the cool of the morning when produce is at its crispest.

## How

Use clean scissors or a knife for anything you cut, and pull gently for roots.

For leafy crops, the **cut-and-come-again** approach — taking outer leaves and leaving the centre — gives weeks of pickings from one plant. Little and often beats one big harvest for both flavour and yield.

## Storing

| What | How | How long |
| ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Leafy and soft produce | cool and dark, in the fridge | a few days |
| Beans, peas, soft fruit, chopped herbs | freeze | months |
| Herbs and chillies | dry | months |
| Onions, garlic, squash, pumpkins | cure first, then cool, dark and dry | months |

Onions, garlic, squash and pumpkins store for months if you **cure** them first: dry them in an airy, warm spot for a couple of weeks, then keep them cool, dark and dry.

## Saving seed for next year

Let a few of your best plants flower and set seed and you can collect your own for next season — free, and adapted to your garden. This works with open-pollinated and heirloom varieties; F1 hybrids will not come true.

See *Storing seed and how long it stays viable* for keeping it viable.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does picking more give me more?** For many crops yes. Regular picking keeps beans, courgettes, salad and herbs producing.

**When is the best time of day to harvest?** The cool of the morning, when produce is crisp and full of moisture.

**How do I store a glut?** Freeze or dry the surplus, and cure onions, garlic and squash for long keeping.

**Can I save my own seed?** Yes, from open-pollinated and heirloom varieties.

The full version of this guide is on [seedschoice.com](https://seedschoice.com/blogs/news/harvesting-and-storing-your-produce).
## For a healthy garden
* [Green manures for better soil](https://seedschoice.com/collections/annual-green-manures)
* [Organic green manures](https://seedschoice.com/collections/organic-green-manures)
* [Bee-friendly flowers](https://seedschoice.com/collections/bee-friendly-flowers)
* [Vegetables you can sow this month](https://seedschoice.com/collections/vegetables-sow-now)
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