To Pick A Peck Of ...

When mid-summer veggies start maturing in Connecticut gardens, keep them producing by picking often.

Pick tomatoes when they've reached full color and are
still firm. If vines are heavy with fruit and near breaking, pick the tomatoes showing some color, then ripen them on a kitchen counter or windowsill.

Pole and bush beans are most tender before seeds begin to
bulge in their pods.

Pick summer squash and cucumbers when smaller in size. Larger
summer squash and cucumbers are often drier and seed-filled.

Peppers are tasty at about any size but will be sweeter—and
more fiery if a hot variety—when left to mature "on the vine."

Waiting too long to pick signals plants to slow flowering
and send energy to seeds. So pick early and often to get more tasty veggies to table.

Read additional gardening tips and hints at http://www.joenesgarden.com.