|
 As
fall harvest season begins, many gardeners find themselves with
bushels of tomatoes, baskets of cucumbers and armfuls of lettuce.
So when your garden is overflowing with produce, how do you make
the most of your harvest?
 Gardeners
know that the best way to experience fruit and vegetables at
their prime is to grow them in their own backyards or in community
gardens. Some of the most popular veggies grown in the United
States include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, beans, lettuce,
corn and carrots, while the most popular homegrown fruits include
apples, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.
The experts at ScottsMiracle-Gro
offer some top tips to help you take advantage of your fresh
produce:
- Harvest your food the same day
you plan on using it. This ensures it will stay fresh and won't
dry out or wilt.
- Do your picking in the morning
when fruit and vegetables are most fresh.
- Once you've picked your produce,
store in a cool place and don't wash until you're ready to use
it.
How do you know when your
produce is ready to be pulled from the ground or plucked from
the plant or tree?
- Tomatoes are ready to pick when
they're smooth, heavy, glossy and red or orange.
- When sweet peppers are between
3 and 4 inches wide and are firm, they're ready to pick. The
longer you leave them on the vine; they'll turn red, yellow or
orange and become sweeter.
- When your cucumbers are ready
to come out of the garden, they'll be firm and the spikes will
easily rub off.
- When lettuce leaves are young
and tender they're ready for a tasty salad.
- Tasting apples is often the
best way to know if they're ready to pick, but you can also grab
one and lightly tug. If it easily comes off the branch, there's
a good chance it would make a great snack.
One of the biggest challenges
for gardeners this time of the year is having too much produce
at the same time. In many cases, it's simply too much to eat
on your own. So this harvest season, ScottsMiracle-Gro is asking
Americans to donate their extra produce to a local Feeding America
food bank for their neighbors in need. One in eight people is
at risk for hunger and, with record numbers of people turning
to food banks, it's more important than ever to contribute fresh,
delicious and healthy produce.
To make sure your extra harvest
doesn't go to waste, visit GroGood.com to find and donate to your local
Feeding America food bank.
"I believe that everyone
should have access to fresh produce and the GroGood campaign
allows Americans to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their
gardens and share their extra harvest with others," says
celebrity cookbook author Katie Lee Joel. Inspired by her mom's
vegetable soup, Joel created this recipe for GroGood
Garden Vegetable Soup to use produce fresh from the garden.
Courtesy of ARAcontent.
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