Harvesting – According to Jeremy Clarkson
For those of you who also watched Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon, you will have realised a few things. One is that farming is not easy. The hours, the hard graft and so many variables that can make or kill your crops are vast. There is also a lot of hard labour and machinery needed to tend to the crops, although most farmers would not choose a Lamborghini tracker as a useful piece of farm equipment as we saw.
In many countries around the world harvesting is a celebration in the form of a festival. In the US, Thanksgiving Day was a mark of the 3rd day of the harvest feast thought to start back in colonial times although it first celebrated in 1621. It was Abraham Lincoln who first made it a public holiday on 3rd October 1863.
Timing of harvests vary between crops and as we saw on Clarkson’s Farm it sometimes can be very short time frames before bolting or rot sets in. Most vegetables can be harvested when they are just half-grown; this is when many in the brassicaceae family of vegetables (mustard, broccoli, cauliflower, brusels sprouts) are at their height of tenderness and flavour. Crops that mature in late summer and fall have a relatively lengthy harvest period–sometimes as long as two weeks or more. This year’s crops were highly affected by the cold damp Spring and many would have started too late to go full term.
On average a full head of cauliflower should reach 6-8 inches in diameter when it is ready to harvest.
Root vegetables will vary a bit in time to harvest but generally it is between 2-4 months from seed. The tops of the carrot roots, for example, will be about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter and likely starting to pop out of the soil depending on the depth the plant is able to reach under ground.
Potatoes, also known as tubers are native to South America. Hundreds of potato varieties exist, many of which boast distinct flavours, colours and textures we have come to love today. This was Jeremy’s most successful crop although, again time to harvest is very short before rot sets in.
The leaves are your best sign that the potato is ready to harvest. Once they start to turn yellow your crop is ready to pluck. If you’re not ready, the best thing to do is cut the leaves off and the potatoes will sit for a few more days. Best not to leave it too long to maximise the edible quantity of your crop for the best taste and nutritional value.