Question: How will I know when produce is ready to harvest? I want to get as much as I can, of course, but I don’t want my crops to go past their prime.

Answer: As a general rule, you want to harvest produce when it’s about two-thirds its full mature size. Letting carrots grow longer, or cucumbers longer and fatter, will merely diminish their quality. Large beans develop strings and are chewy to eat, and overly mature radishes can be woody and hot. In two words, “harvest early.”