 Hello, this is Bethany O'Rear, Regional Agent for Alabama Extension. Thank you for joining me today to learn more about harvesting and storage fall and winter, a part of our series for home vegetable gardeners called Grow More, Give More. At the end of this presentation, you'll see a list of several publications that you might find useful at our website, ASUS.edu. Harvesting is such a pleasure because it means a plant has made it from a seedling to full ripeness with a little care from the gardener. And storage means the added benefit of knowing you've grown something to feed your family in a few weeks or a few months time. Of course, it's important to know what you're picking. Some vegetables can be picked for almost a whole month, but others are one and done. We'll talk about these specifically as we walk through these slides. Leafy greens like lettuce and arugula are best harvested at 4 to 6 inches tall. Harvest by snipping or cutting them off at the soil level and leave the roots in the remainder of the plant to keep producing. Use leafy greens within a few days of picking. Beet greens and beets are one of the prettiest vegetables that we can grow. Beet greens should be harvested when 4 to 6 inches tall. If you favor the red beet root, harvest it when the root crown is 2 to 4 inches in diameter. When I say root crown, I mean the part where the leaves which grow above ground meet the vegetable which grows underground. Often the root crown is just visible above the soil line. Vegetables that we grow for roots like beets, carrots, radishes or turnips will often be visible with their mature color right at that soil line. Broccoli can be harvested by cutting the main flower with a few inches of stalk. And yes, that's what those heads are, flower stalks. So if they burst into little yellow flowers, the vegetable is past its prime. If you cut off the main stalk and allow the plant to keep growing, it will often send out smaller but equally tasty heads from side shoots. Next time you're in the store and you see broccoli florets for sale, you'll know that floret is just another word for tiny flower. Brussels sprouts grow on a single stalk and the sprouts or buds look like miniature cabbages. They're harvested with a sharp knife at 1 to 2 inches in size and the stalk can be allowed to continue growing through a light frost. We treat cauliflower just like broccoli. Cut the stalk 6 inches below the head. Cauliflower can be stored for a week or so in the refrigerator. Cabbage is formed a solid head like an iceberg lettuce. Mature head size will vary depending on which variety you choose. Cabbage is a great storage vegetable and can stay fresh in the refrigerator up to a month. Carrots are harvested at 6 to 8 inches in length, which means the root crown is less than 1 inch in diameter. If we're having a dry cool autumn or early winter, they can be stored in the ground for a few weeks like nature's own root cellar. If it's a wet season, however, pull the carrot so they don't rot from wet soil. Radishes are a fun crop to grow with children or grandchildren as they grow quickly. That also means you need to check them often so they don't become woody. Woody is a term we use with a lot of vegetables that grow too big to be tasty like okra. So with radishes, you're harvesting when the root crown is 1 inch or less or less. Fall and winter squash can be eaten fresh before the skin thickens to a hard shell, but is most typically allowed to dry and cure so it can be stored for several months. Check the seed packet for cooking and storage options. If you've never tried spaghetti squash as an alternative to wheat-based pasta, I highly recommend it. Sweet potatoes are a great southern crop. They're full of vitamins, super sweet, and they can be stored for months at a time. The trick is to make sure that they're harvested very carefully so the protective skin is not nicked or blemished. They then need to be dried or cured for at least two weeks. And by the way, that's not a typo. Sweet potatoes is all one word in the horticulture world. Turnip greens and turnips are harvested in much the same way as beet greens and beets. You always want to pick the greens when they are fresh, upright, and with little insect or disease damage. As a practical matter, the greens will be better earlier in the plant's life cycle rather than later when the root vegetable is fully matured. It's a little bit of a trade-off, but you can accommodate that by planting a little extra with that in mind. In this presentation, I've talked about the most common forms that our fall and winter vegetable crops take, but I hope you'll explore some of the more unusual types too. You can grow radishes as long as carrots, or carrots as round and stout as a golf ball. Once you find a taste you like, you can look to modern hybrids and seed catalogs or heirloom varieties from your neighbors. With sun, soil, and water, the harvest is yours for the picking. For more information, check out our resources at asus.edu. If you have gardening questions, we have answers. Call the Master Gardener Helpline at 877-252-4769. Thank you for watching this presentation. Until next time, happy gardening.