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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Vegetable, fruit ripeness guide

SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN-TIMES • June 27, 2009 12:15 AM

This time of year, vegetable gardens should be bursting with fresh produce. The Old Farmer's Almanac Web site, Almanac.com, tells how to recognize when fruits and vegetables are ready to harvest. Whether you're growing it or buying it at a tailgate market, here's what you need to know.

Beans: Taste one and decide. You many want to start harvesting French snap or string beans when they are about the diameter of a chopstick, maybe even thinner. Standard varieties are ready when they are as thick as a pencil and before the seeds swell and become visible through the pods. Lima beans are ready when their pods take on a green color and feel full. When bean pods turn white, feed them to the pigs or the compost pile.

Chives : Cut before the purple blossoms form and keep them cut back for the sweetest flavor.

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