NEW MARKET, Va. - Few things will ruin a season's worth of expectations faster than dining on fresh-picked fruits or vegetables whose time hasn't come. Or, for that matter, whose time has come and gone.

Guess wrong about when to shift produce from plot to plate and you've wasted weeks of effort. That's what home gardening is all about, isn't it: trying to capture that unmatched moment of peak flavor? Growing better quality food at less cost?

Determining when that moment has arrived, however, is not simple.

"The only sure way to tell if something is ready for harvest is to sample it," said Cynthia Haynes, an extension horticulturist with Iowa State University.

"Size and color usually are good indicators, but even veteran gardeners can be fooled," Haynes said. "Colors will change first, although that doesn't mean they're ripe. Fruits and vegetables have to reach full size before flavors can develop. Eat a few first to be certain."

Pick too early and flavor will be lacking. Wait too long and you'll have starchy, bitter-tasting produce.

"It often will be moldy and insect-damaged, too," said Lauren Devine, a spokeswoman for Jarden Home Brands in Daleville, Ind., which manufactures the classic Ball home-canning Mason jars. "Definitely not top quality. You'd be smart to toss it."

Here are some guidelines for deciding when to harvest the most popular homegrown fruits and vegetables:

Asparagus: Start when the spears are 6 or more inches long and as thick as your little finger. Snap them off at ground level and stop harvesting after several weeks so the plants have time to recharge for next season.

Beans (Lima): Pick when the pods are bright green and filled out. The beans are more tender if taken before they've fully matured. You'll know they're beyond prime when the pods begin to yellow.

Beans (Snap): Best eaten when beans inside the pod are about one-quarter of full size. Pick frequently because they are quick to turn tough and starchy.

Beets: Ready for eating when the roots reach an inch or more in diameter. Start your harvest with the tops, which make excellent greens.

Cabbage: Begin bringing them in if the heads feel solid when pressure is gradually applied. The heads often split if allowed to grow overripe.

Carrots: Depends on variety and size preference. Pull one from the ground to check its length and then give it a raw taste test.

Cauliflower (and broccoli): Harvest when the heads are full and smooth and before the color starts to turn.

Corn (Sweet): Wait until the silks are dry and the ears completely filled out. "Shuck an ear and use a fingernail to pierce a kernel," said Haynes. "You want to see a milky juice coming out. That tells you it's ready for harvest."

Cucumbers (and zucchini): Inspect daily and pick early and often. "Zucchini can be troublesome," Haynes said. "If it gets too big, it can get too soft. But the more you harvest, the more the plants fruit for you."

Eggplant: Cut the fruit from the plant when it has grown firm and shiny. An eggplant is beyond prime when its color dulls and the seeds turn brown.

Lettuce (head): Like cabbage, harvest when the heads become firm and full.

Lettuce (leaf): "Clip the outer leaves with a knife or scissors just above the ground," Haynes said. "It fills out again quickly and you can make many return visits before the plant is done. You'll know when because the leaves will start tasting bitter."

Melons: "Of all the crops one can grow, melons keep the best secrets about their own ripeness, but there are ways of cracking the code," said Roger Doiron, founding director of Kitchen Gardeners International, a nonprofit network of organic cooks and gardeners based in Scarborough, Maine. "Muskmelons, for example, ripen on the vine but not off, so they don't get any sweeter after picking. Gardeners should be looking to harvest when their muskmelons 'slip' from the vines when gentle pressure is applied to the stem."

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