To save mature green tomatoes from an early frost, pick them and set them on top of the refrigerator to ripen at room temperature. Or wrap them individually in newspaper and store in a cool spot.
Keep bean weevils from ruining your kidney or butter beans when they are drying: just dip the freshly shelled beans in boiling water for 1 minute before you spread them out to dry.
Instead of rapping your melons to check for ripeness, look for brown tendrils on the stem near the fruit and a yellow area instead of white where the fruit touches the ground. Both are signs that the melon is ready to pick.
When you harvest courgettes and marrows leave a short stem on the vegetables to ensure that they stay succulent until cooking time.
Test potatoes before you store them by rubbing the skin; if it rubs off easily, the potato is probably too young for storage.
Don't wash or blanch freshly harvested peas before freezing them. Just shell them directly into a plastic freezer bag; they'll stay separated, allowing you to dip into them as you need them.
