GARDENERS harvest plants at different stages, depending on how the harvested plants or plant parts are to be used. Crops grown for their fruit, such as tomatoes and boulangers, are harvested when the fruit is ripe. Some plants are harvested before they flower; lettuce and spinach, for example, are grown for their tender leaves, and develop a bitter flavour if allowed to flower. Plants grown for their roots, such as carrots and radishes, are harvested when the roots are sufficiently large, but before they get tough or too fibrous and lose their sweetness. In flower gardens, the sign of maturity is the formation of seeds.
Many plants stop flowering once they set seed; so, to make plants produce flowers longer, gardeners can remove the faded flowers before they produce seed.
Gardeners may attempt to control the shape of woody plants, such as trees and shrubs, by removing, or pruning, branches growing in the wrong direction. They also prune to remove damaged, diseased, or dead branches.
Some shrubs, such as the ixora, bear the most flowers in young wood, so gardeners remove the oldest branches to make them continue producing flowers. Gardeners prune plants at different times of the year, depending on how they hope to affect the plant’s growth. 

Learning about gardening
Gardeners should have access to a wealth of gardening information. Local institutions should have specialized departments, with the mission of one of those departments being to help educate the public about gardening. There should also be vibrant regional cooperative extension services, with agriculture or horticulture agents available to answer questions and provide expert gardening information about regional growing conditions. In some countries’ cooperative extension offices, trained volunteers often host information sessions at public places, such as libraries or gardening stores.
Botanical gardens and biological parks also hold classes and tours. Gardening and environmental clubs in many communities are valuable sources of information, particularly about local growing conditions. And there is an array of gardening books, magazines, and Internet sites that cater to almost every gardening interest. (Courtesy of Erin Haynes of the Evergreen Nature Study Club www.evergreenstudy.org)

EDITOR’S NOTE:  The Evergreen Nature Study Club is a non-profit organization geared at educating and re-educating persons on environmental literacy, coupled with nature tours. As the Club observes its fifteenth anniversary this year, readers are reminded that it offers nature-based goods and services, including technical advice.