Knowing when to harvest fruits and vegetables is as important as knowing when to plant them. While I pick berries in Florida in March, they are not ripe until June or July in most states. Nor would northern folks be harvesting fresh broccoli and peas in Feburary as I do. They are reading seed catalogs that time of year. But right now, many of you are harvesting the "fruits" of your labors.
In my book "What's in the Garden?" Cris Arbo's glorious illustrations show plants before they are harvested, so the reader can turn the page and guess what fruit or veggie I wrote about in a rhyme. It was fun to do, which included cooking all the kid-friendly recipes I put in the book, which can be downloaded on recipe cards at Dawn Publications' website.
I remember when we lived in New York, having more tomatoes ripen in September than I knew what to do with (there is a fun recipe for Easy Tomato Sauce in the book) and having giant zucchinis that were too tough to eat. Many good ones though went into zucchini bread, muffins and even pancakes.
Cornell Cooperative Extension tells how some vegetables have a " long harvest window while others can go from tender and tasty to tough and bitter overnight."
See: http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/vegetables/harvestguide.pdf
Not sure when to plant and when to harvest in your state? See:
http://www.pickyourown.org/NYharvestcalendar.htm
Having kids eat what they've grown at home or in a school garden project is a great way for them to learn about growing a garden and healthy eating.
See: http://jmgkids.us/
I've gotten some wonderful emails from parents and teachers who are "growing good kids by eating healthy." And what terrific reviews and awards "What's in the Garden?" has received over the past year and a half. Kirkus reviews calls it a "celebration of growing and eating"
See: http://www.dawnpub.com/our-books/whats-in-the-garden/
If you haven't yet read my gardening book, I hope you will give it a look on Amazon.com or at the Dawn Publications website.
HAPPY HEALTHY EATING!
In my book "What's in the Garden?" Cris Arbo's glorious illustrations show plants before they are harvested, so the reader can turn the page and guess what fruit or veggie I wrote about in a rhyme. It was fun to do, which included cooking all the kid-friendly recipes I put in the book, which can be downloaded on recipe cards at Dawn Publications' website.
I remember when we lived in New York, having more tomatoes ripen in September than I knew what to do with (there is a fun recipe for Easy Tomato Sauce in the book) and having giant zucchinis that were too tough to eat. Many good ones though went into zucchini bread, muffins and even pancakes.
Cornell Cooperative Extension tells how some vegetables have a " long harvest window while others can go from tender and tasty to tough and bitter overnight."
See: http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/vegetables/harvestguide.pdf
Not sure when to plant and when to harvest in your state? See:
http://www.pickyourown.org/NYharvestcalendar.htm
Having kids eat what they've grown at home or in a school garden project is a great way for them to learn about growing a garden and healthy eating.
See: http://jmgkids.us/
I've gotten some wonderful emails from parents and teachers who are "growing good kids by eating healthy." And what terrific reviews and awards "What's in the Garden?" has received over the past year and a half. Kirkus reviews calls it a "celebration of growing and eating"
See: http://www.dawnpub.com/our-books/whats-in-the-garden/
If you haven't yet read my gardening book, I hope you will give it a look on Amazon.com or at the Dawn Publications website.
HAPPY HEALTHY EATING!