Making the Most of Your Harvest

When it comes to harvesting vegetables, gardeners may take a more traditional approach with their plants regarding what is ultimately harvested, prepared, and consumed. With root crops, you eat the roots. With fruiting crops, the fruits. Leafy crops, the leaves --- You get it. However, these gardeners may not be aware that harvests from their garden’s plants can be stretched simply by expanding to non-traditional parts of their plants. When intending to stretch the bounty from vegetable gardens, saving money and grocery store trips can be especially beneficial. So, where are these “stretches” actually conceivable?
The possibilities are plentiful.
With broccoli, many people focus on the florets, harvesting the main heads and the successive side shoots. However, they may not be aware that the stems are equally edible –especially when cooked down and tenderized a bit. With carrots and beets, gardeners often discard or only temporarily keep their tops. Still, the leafy carrot extremities can make for an excellent herby additive, and beet tops can be cooked down like greens. Squash, pumpkin, and sweet potato leaves can also be cooked like greens, with the caveat that you’ll want to aim for younger leaves with any type of squash. Elsewhere, corn husks can be dried and utilized for steaming, cucumber and melon rinds can be pickled or candied, peppery nasturtium leaves can be eaten in salads, and even young sunflower stalks can be eaten like celery if properly prepared.
Altogether, this makes for ample extra food that can potentially come from your garden.
To fully realize this extra harvest, however, gardeners need to be committed to protecting the entirety of their plants. It's not just about the parts we traditionally harvest but also the stems, leaves, and other potential food sources. This means safeguarding them from pests, disease, and environmental damage. It's a responsibility we must take seriously to ensure the overall health of our garden.
Regular soil moisture, mulched ground, and a diligently adhered to pest control program are crucial. Monitoring for signs of plant stress should be consistent and frequent to remediate problems before they degrade plant quality. Special attention should be paid to plant spacing as well, as it increases airflow, thereby reducing disease and competition between plants for light, water, and nutrients.
Finally, don’t forget to do your due diligence in research before utilizing non-traditional parts of crops because not all crop edibility is alike. While rhubarb stalks are edible, the leaves are toxic and should never be consumed. Knowing which parts of a plant are safe and how to prepare them properly ensures you can make the most of your harvest without risk.
To explore the interconnected world of food growing, harvesting, preparation, and nutrition, check out the monthly webinar series “Dig Your Dinner.” I co-host this series with Chelsea Reinberg, Johnson County (Kansas) Nutrition, Food Safety, and Health Agent. We delve into a different horticultural crop each month, providing insights and practical tips. Registration details can be found on the Johnson County K-State Extension website.

by Anthony Reardon, Horticulture Small Farms, 2024