Vegetables to Lift, Harvest and Store in September

Posted on 05. Sep, 2009 by Tracey in Grow Veg

September is the month for lifting summer growing vegetables to store for the winter. Its all quite exciting really, collecting your (hopefully) bountiful harvest and deciding what to do with it. This must be the best month for a vegetable grower, harvesting a wide range of vegetables that you have nurtured all summer long. This is going to be a true vegetable harvest festival!

Vegetables which will require lifting or harvesting this month are:

1. Maincrop or latecrop potatoes

After digging up, leave to dry for a few hours spread out so the air can get round them.
Check each of your potatoes for blemishes, disease, cracks in the skin/flesh and put them in piles for storage, eat immediately and diseased in the bin.
Store potatoes in hessian sacks or strong paper bags in a dark place otherwise they will produce shoots.
Got a Glut? Store them, make potato gratin, keep jacket spuds for bonfire night, Sunday roast potatoes.

2. Tomatoes

Tomatoes grown outdoors should be picked by the end of the month.
If they are still green, put them in a drawer or box with a banana close by or put them on the windowsill to ripen.
Tomatoes can be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks before they go past their best.
Got a glut? Try tomato sauce, chutney, adding to salads, lunches, pasta etc.

3. Runner, French or climbing beans

Pick your beans regularly as it will encourage more beans to grow.
They can be frozen for the winter by spreading the beans out on a baking tray or plate and putting them into the freezer. After a few days, put the individually frozen beans into freezer bags or boxes in the freezer.
If you prefer beans can be blanched before freezing to retain their flavor, texture and colour. To blanch beans boil a pan of water, add beans and bring to the boil for 2-3 mins. Then plunge into ice cube cold water for a few seconds. Dry off with an old towel and put into freezer bags/boxes for the freezer.
Got a Glut? Freeze, pickle, make chutney, give to friends and family, add to stews, casseroles and sunday roasts.

4. Onions and Shallots

Lift the bulbs once the foliage dies back naturally and the foliage is brown and papery.
Dry them by leaving them on top of the soil, if rain is forecast put in a well ventilated and moisture free area like a shed or garage to dry.
Check the onions and shallots regularly to sort out the rotten bulbs otherwise this could affect the other bulbs.
Store in nets.
Got a glut? Try Onion recipes like onion flan, cheese and onion pasties, onion soup, add to casseroles, stews, salad, BBQ’s etc.

5. Pumpkins and Squashes

If you haven’t already raised up your pumpkin and squashes off the soil surface, raise them up now to harden the skins for storage by putting straw down or raising them up onto a slatted or mesh covered boxes to allow air flow.
Make sure the sunlight can get to the pumpkins and squashes otherwise move or tie back some of the leaves.
Store when the skin has hardened in a dry, cool but dark place.
Got a Glut? Roast pumpkin and Squash always goes down a treat and of course Halloween is just round the corner!

Other vegetables to be harvested this month are:

Sweetcorn,
Aubergine,
Peppers,
Cucumbers,
Carrots,
Beetroot,
Summer Cabbage,
Spinach,
Turnip,
Broccoli,
Globe Artichokes,
Radishes and more.

If you need more information on blanching and freezing vegetables, I can highly recommend this great informative post with vegetable blanching times chart from Allotment Growing.
Storing the Surplus – Freezing Vegetables and Blanching Chart.