Joan's Garden Tips

Because I sell my produce at farmer's markets, I want to pick my crops when they will be most flavorful and at their best. There's a best time to pick almost everything:

1. Pick lettuce the same day you eat it.

2. To have blueberries at the peak of flavor, pick them after the sun is off of them - in the evening or night, but before any dew settles.

3. Pick parsley and cilantro in the morning.

4. Pick basil in the evening, about 8 o'clock.

5. Thyme and other woodier plants, like oregano and rosemary, can be picked at any time. So can peas and beans.

6. Pick tomatoes at any time except when they're wet. That's mainly to prevent disease from spreading.

7. Pick squash in the morning, when both the squash and the plant will have more moisture in them.