Gardeners harvest plants at different stages, depending on how the harvested plants or their parts are used.

Crops grown for their fruit, such as tomatoes and boulanger, 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 their roots are large enough, 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 ixora, bear the most flowers in young wood, so gardeners remove the oldest branches. Gardeners prune plants at different times of the year, depending on how they hope to affect the plant’s growth.
Locallly, gardeners have access to a wealth of gardening information.
Local institutions such as the National Agricultural and Extension Institute (NAREI) have specialized departments whose missions is to help educate the public about gardening and farming.
The Evergreen Nature Study Club headed by Mr. Ogle ( telephone # 664-5947) can be contacted for expert advice and assistance.
Apart from the Evergreen Nature Study Club, the Horticultural Society of Guyana provides members with expert gardening information.
Mc Garrell Farm and Plant Nursery at 16 Acme Housing Scheme Vergenoegen East Bank Essequibo  specialises in the production of vegetables and vegetable seedlings such as tomatoes, cabbages and pak choy, cucumbers, leaf lettuces and garden peas.
The owner, Mr. Forbes Mc Garrel, also operates from a stall at Bourda Market described as the third stall in Bourda from Alexander and North Road.
His contact number is 643-4057.
(Courtesy of EVERGREEN NATURE STUDY CLUB
See us at www.evergreenstudy.org)