GardenWhen to Harvest
A page about a plant problem almost always does two things: lists the causes, then names something to spray. On every problem below, one of those two is broken — and which one is the most useful thing we can tell you. Sometimes the list cannot work, because the three caterpillars people call cabbage worms are all green and no color chart separates them. Sometimes the spray cannot work, because the grub is sealed inside the leaf, or because calcium cannot cross into the fruit however you apply it. Each guide starts from what you are actually looking at, says plainly where two causes cannot be told apart by eye, and where the honest answer is nothing now, something earlier in the season, it says that instead of selling you a bottle. Timing question rather than a health one? The frost date lookup is the place to start.
When to Harvest Garlic: Two Signs, One Test
The leaves are the bulb's wrappers, which is why they tell you when to dig and why waiting too long costs you. Plus the test that settles it: pull one and cut it across.
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When to Harvest Potatoes: Two Crops, One Plant
New potatoes come at seven or eight weeks. Storage potatoes need the tops to die back and then two more weeks in the ground, which is the step that thickens the skin.
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