Using your harvest: easy ways to use every Gardyn crop

The easiest way to use a Gardyn harvest is to follow each crop’s own use notes in the Plant Book and on its plant page: greens go into salads, bowls and sautés, herbs finish pasta, pizza and roasts, and fruiting crops go straight from the plant to snacks, salads and sauces. Gardyn recommends harvesting a little at least once a week, so the supply stays steady and you use what you pick while it is fresh.

Key takeaways

• Gardyn’s three harvest rules apply to every crop: leave at least 1/3 of the plant, harvest at least once a week, and take a little from several plants.
• Kale, Swiss chard and bok choy work raw or cooked; Gardyn notes that chard turns smoother and sweeter when cooked.
• Gardyn’s herb guides suggest drying woody herbs, freezing tender herbs in oil, and keeping fresh basil at room temperature in water.
• Purple kohlrabi bulbs keep for several weeks in the refrigerator, while Mini Strawberries do not store well and are best eaten soon after picking.
• With a membership, Kelby sends tasks for harvesting leafy greens, and Ask Kelby answers questions about your own plants in the app.

What is the best way to use each Gardyn crop?

Each crop has its own best uses, and Gardyn lists them on every plant page and Plant Book entry. The table below brings together Gardyn’s suggested uses and the harvest cue for common crops.

Should you wash Gardyn produce before eating it?

Rinsing is up to you, according to the help center. Because yCubes contain no dirt, there is no soil to splash onto the leaves, though things like dust or pet hair in your home might affect your choice, and the help center notes that a quick cold-water rinse never hurts. The full answer is in should I wash my plants before eating them.

How do you use homegrown leafy greens?

Use leafy greens raw in salads and wraps or cooked in sautés, soups and bowls, picking the largest outer leaves first. The help center’s guide to knowing when to harvest explains when each crop is ready. Gardyn’s lettuce guides say to snip outer leaves once they reach 4 inches tall; for kale, chard and bok choy, start with the largest outer leaves and follow each plant’s guide or, with a membership, Kelby’s harvest task.

• Lettuces are usually the first crop ready on a new Gardyn. Gardyn suggests them for salads, sandwiches, wraps and burgers.
• Kale can be eaten tender as baby greens or as mature leaves. Gardyn suggests gently massaging fresh leaves for salads, adding raw, steamed or sautéed leaves to rice bowls, soups and smoothies, or baking them into kale chips.
• Red Swiss chard has a mild, earthy flavor that becomes smoother and sweeter when cooked. Use both the leaves and the stalks, and treat the stems like celery.
• Bok choy works raw as an accent green in salads, or steamed and added to soups and stir-fries.

How do you use and keep fresh herbs?

Use leafy herbs fresh in everyday cooking and stemmed herbs fresh, cooked or dried, harvesting leafy herbs from the outside in and stemmed herbs from the top. The help center’s harvesting herbs article explains how to cut each type.

Basil and other leafy herbs

Harvesting basil often helps prolong the plant’s life, according to the help center, so plan regular uses for it. Gardyn suggests it for pasta, pizza, salads and pesto, and its edible flowers make a finishing touch on any plate. The pesto formula in how to make pesto is green plus nut, cheese, fat, acid, salt and garlic, so basil and other herbs and greens all fit. The Herb Cutter in the Gardyn Harvest Kit strips leaves from stems when you pull them through the matching hole.

Rosemary, thyme and other stemmed herbs

Stemmed herbs have thicker, woodier stems that are typically not eaten. Because they tend to grow more slowly, the help center recommends letting them establish before harvesting, then removing the top half of one or more branches and separating the leaves; each plant’s guide gives its own size cue. Gardyn suggests rosemary for roasted vegetables, meats and broths, or steeped into an herbal tea, thyme for soups, stews and roasted vegetables, and oregano for sauces, pizza and marinades.

Keeping, drying and freezing herbs

Gardyn’s kitchen guides cover each method in detail:

• How to store fresh herbs recommends keeping basil out of the refrigerator, at room temperature in water like cut flowers, and wrapping most other herbs in a barely damp paper towel inside a sealed container.
• How to dry herbs at home recommends drying woody herbs such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage, with air drying as the simplest method, and freezing tender herbs like basil in oil instead.
• The freezer-first harvest guide walks through freezing herbs, cherry tomatoes, peppers and cooked bases like pesto and chimichurri.

How do you cook kohlrabi and fairytale eggplant?

Gardyn suggests shaving purple kohlrabi into slaws and salads or roasting and stir-frying it, and marinating fairytale eggplant and grilling it whole.

Purple kohlrabi

Purple kohlrabi is entirely edible, including its purple-veined leaves, with white, crunchy flesh under the purple skin. The help center’s Purple Kohlrabi guide says to wait until the bulb is 3 to 4 inches across for a one-time harvest. You can take some leaves first if you leave 1/3 of them so the bulb keeps growing. Enjoy the leaves within 1 to 3 days of harvest; the bulb keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator, so you can use it over time.

Fairytale eggplant

Fairytale eggplant is ready once fruits reach 2 to 4 inches long and about 1 inch across with glossy skin; the Fairytale Eggplant guide notes that dull skin can mean overripe fruit. Gardyn suggests a quick marinade and grilling them whole. You can enjoy them small, at an ounce or two, or let them double in size, and the help center says they stay tender and keep their flavor. Stems and leaves can grow small thorns, so handle the plant with care or wear thicker gloves.

What can you make with cherry tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries?

Gardyn suggests eating fruiting crops fresh as snacks and in salads, and cooking extras into sauces, stir-fries and soups.

• Cherry tomatoes go into salads, stir-fries, pasta and pizza. Pick them promptly once ripe, since fruit left too long may crack. Gardyn’s fresh cherry tomato sauce post has a no-cook sauce, a 20-minute cooked sauce and a freezer batch.
• Sweet peppers keep ripening, changing color and turning sweeter the longer they stay on the plant. Use them in fajitas, stir-fries, salads, pastas, curries and soups.
• Banana peppers are mild and crunchy for salads, sandwiches, fresh salsas or snacking, and they turn sweeter as they ripen from yellowish-green to red.
• Cucumbers are for snacking, salads and quick pickles, or sliced into water. The help center says cucumbers left to mature too long can taste bitter, so pick them at 3 to 6 inches.
• Mini Strawberries do not store well, so eat them soon after harvest on greens, granola or desserts, or muddled into drinks. Their white blossoms are edible too.

How do you keep up with a big harvest?

Harvest a little often and across the whole Gardyn, as the help center recommends. A full Gardyn Home grows up to 10 lbs of produce a month and a Gardyn Studio up to 5 lbs, so a weekly routine keeps it manageable.

1. Harvest at least once a week, taking a small amount from several plants.
2. Always leave at least 1/3 of each plant so it can regrow.
3. Pick fruit once it is ripe.
4. Use or store what you picked using the crop’s plant page and Gardyn’s kitchen guides.

With a membership, Kelby sends tasks for harvesting your leafy greens and may guide you through major milestones, including your first leafy and herb harvests. If herbs or greens start to taste tougher or more bitter, check for bolting: the help center’s bolting herbs and leafy greens article shows the signs and how to delay it. For anything else about flavor or texture, use Ask Kelby in the app or contact Gardyn support.

What should you grow next for your kitchen?

Grow more of what you cook most, whether that is basil for pesto, greens for daily salads, or kohlrabi, eggplant and peppers for roasting. Gardyn Home holds 30 plants and suits frequent cooks, while Gardyn Studio holds 16 for one or two people. A Gardyn membership adds monthly yCube credits (10 for Gardyn Home, 5 for Gardyn Studio) and members-only plants, and the Gardyn comparison quiz helps you choose the right size for how you eat.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know when Gardyn crops are ready to eat?

Gardyn lists the harvest cue for each variety on its Plant Book page. Lettuces can be picked once outer leaves reach about 4 inches tall, while other leafy greens and stemmed herbs such as rosemary and oregano have their own cues in each plant’s guide. Fruiting crops take the longest: cherry tomatoes are ready when evenly red to the stem, and Mini Strawberries when red all the way to the stem.

Where can I find recipes for my Gardyn crops?

Start with each plant’s page on the Gardyn website and its Plant Book entry in the app, which list suggested uses. The Gardyn blog adds kitchen guides, including a pesto formula with variations, a fresh cherry tomato sauce with three versions, and guides to storing, drying and freezing herbs. Ask Kelby in the app can also answer questions about your own plants.

Should I keep fresh basil in the refrigerator?

Gardyn’s guide to storing fresh herbs recommends keeping basil out of the refrigerator. Stand cut stems in a glass of water at room temperature, the way you would keep cut flowers. Most other herbs keep best wrapped in a barely damp paper towel inside a sealed container. To keep basil plants producing longer, harvest often and cut stems just above the growth nodes.

Which herbs should I dry and which should I freeze?

Gardyn’s drying guide recommends drying woody herbs such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage, with air drying as the simplest method. For tender herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley and mint, the guide suggests freezing them in oil instead. The freezer-first harvest guide covers freezing herbs and cooked bases like pesto and chimichurri in more detail.

Is all of a kohlrabi plant edible?

Yes. The help center says Purple Kohlrabi is entirely edible, including its purple-veined leaves. Enjoy the bulb in crudités, salads and slaws, or stir-fried and roasted. The leaves are best within 1 to 3 days of harvest, while the bulb keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator. Harvest the whole plant once the bulb is 3 to 4 inches across.

Why do some of my greens or cucumbers taste bitter?

Gardyn sources point to timing. Herbs and leafy greens that bolt, growing tall with flower buds, develop tougher, more bitter leaves, and cucumbers left to mature too long can taste bitter. Harvest weekly and pick cucumbers at 3 to 6 inches. If bitterness continues without those signs, ask Kelby in the app or contact Gardyn support for help with your plants.