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Old 05-04-2003, 07:33 AM
Chookie
 
Posts: n/a
Default When are they ready to pick?

In article , "Paul"
wrote:

We are Very New to vegie gardens and have put in our little plot in deepest
Bexley North NSW. There are signs things are happening, but how do I know
when things such as Carrots, Onions, Potatoes etc are ready to dig up?


You can eat these at any size. With the carrots, you will have to thin them,
so you get baby carrots to eat while waiting for the rest to reach maturity.
The only way to tell if a carrot is ready to pull is by looking at how big it
is across the "shoulders". You can pull out young onions to have as green
onions in salads, or use the leaves like shallots. You can also bandicoot
potatoes (feel around under the plant for spuds) if you want little ones.

Here are the official weeks to harvest:
Carrots -- 16-20 weeks
Onions -- 24-32 weeks (once the leaves wither and necks shrivel)
Spuds -- 16--20 weeks (after the top has died down)

Can I also suggest that you put in plants that are expensive at the
greengrocer's, like asparagus (or artichokes, or whatever you like). Then
there are the vegies that really repay with taste -- tomatoes are great,
because they taste so much better than the shop ones. Sweet corn is also much
better when freshly picked. Spuds are great for improving your soil texture,
but the problem is that they take up room in your garden for a loooong time,
while being cheap in the shops. Onions and carrots are also long-term crops.
You also might want to look for interesting and unusual plants, like unusual
squashes or heirloom varieties.

PIck up a general garden guide to get a feel for what can be grown in Sydney
-- Yates', for example.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

I don't regard myself as a fanatic. I just have handy milk dispensers.
-- Lee, misc.kids