Why does my homegrown veg go limp within hours of harvesting?

apprentice_tycoon

I've grown veg for a number of years but only looks fresh for a couple of hours after it's been harvested, it wilts and doesn't look like it's fresh out of the ground. Today it was runner beans, carrots and celery, they were picked this morning but by early afternoon they were going floppy and soft.

I guess that supermarkets chill their produce but I've never seen bendy carrots, beans and celery like mine on sale anywhere. What am I doing wrong?

wallbash

Pulled my first carrot yesterday, started off firm , then wilted .... keeled over .
To answer your question ........ haven't a clue .

So tonight , it was straight from the veggie patch to the kitchen .
I await some answers with anticipation

Davesnave

2 tabs of Viagra watered in an hour before harvest should see you right.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Davesnave wrote: »

2 tabs of Viagra watered in an hour before harvest should see you right.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::T:T:T:T:T

rhiwfield

Although Dave's answer is the best one :rotfl:, the real answer must lie in the amount of water in the veg and how quickly it loses that water.

Supermarkets often use gas filled bags for salad leaves and carrots from supermarkets will have been washed in chilled water then bagged.

Remedies for PYO veg include cutting off carrot leaves to reduce transpiration, putting veg in ziplock bags, placing veg like chard, lettuce carrots and asparagus in a jug of water.

The other thing I noticed a week ago was garden plants wilting slightly in the high temps and very dry weather. Digging up earlies even after the recent rain revealed dry soil a few inches down. It may be that veg has a bit less water content than usual due to dry weather and so wilts quicker?