When to pick root vegetables

Question

rashishes, carrots, garlic, onions, etc. How do you know how big theyare without digging them up?

shazzbat · Accepted Answer

You can gently shift some of the soil from around the shoulder of them to see how big it is. Then put it back if it's not to your liking. Alternately you can pull the odd one, and if it's too small for you, leave it a while. In the case of radishes, they usually could do with a bit of thinning anyway, so pull the ones which need thinning, this will tell you how they're doing and give the rest a bit more room. And remeber that small ones are often the tastiest or tenderest, you don't really want massive ones unless it's for showing.

In the case of onions and garlic, the foliage will dry up and turn brown when it's had enough.

Steve

Saltspringer · Answer

Also, the ones with the biggest roots USUALLY (not always) have the biggesttops - tallest, most leaf mass, etc.

Tony · Answer

Onions shouldnt be buried, otherwise they wont bulb real well. Use them whenever you want onion. Small for scallions and anywhere inbetween that and when they fall over, which means you need to pull them and cure them. As for beets turnips and radishes. They will generally show the size of thier root by brushing away a little dirt. Combine this with a seed packet's "days to harvest".

When to pick root vegetables

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