Harvest Tools: Garden Shears and a Harvest Knife

Harvest tools are what you cut with at picking time: a pair of garden shears for stems and a small harvest knife for heads and pods.

Each grow guide says how its crop comes off the plant. Clemson Extension notes that pepper stems are brittle and cuts the fruit instead of pulling it. University of Maryland Extension suggests gloves and clippers or a knife for spiny okra. University of Illinois Extension harvests summer squash with a sharp knife or pruning shears, and leaves 3 to 4 inches of stem on pumpkins, which usually do not keep well without one. Kale can be sheared with sharp scissors, and arugula is cut about an inch above the soil so it regrows.

Keep the blades clean and sharp, and keep gloves nearby for prickly stems.