I'm jealous of the golden raspberries too - heck, everything! I do have some squash ready, our raspberries are about done (except for fall ones blossoming now) and I think the blueberries are too. Tomatoes and peppers are just starting to flower.

I have found that green bell peppers have a very bitter taste to them until they are "ripe". When the peppers are smaller, they have a very glossy, shiny appearance and kind of a bright green and the skin is kind of textured. When they get bigger, they will lose that glossy appearance and get a duller, waxy look. The color also tends to darken somewhat and the skin smooths out and looks more solid. This is when I start picking. If the peppers are colored, I will pick them anytime after they show color. If you don't pick the peppers, the plants will stop producing once they get what they consider to be a full load. I really don't worry about that and pick peppers as I need them once they have matured enough to be thick and sweet. Then, when frost threatens, I will pick the lot of what is still out there, then get it cleaned and in the freezer as fast as I can.

One needs cultivars that set pods high on the plant and mature uniformly. It is a once over operation. The pods are combed off and vacumn to remove leaves and debris. Here is a link that might be useful: Pix -all bean harvester

balsam_girl- I never grew collards. The variety of kale I grow is Red Russian. Not quite as crinkly as some and yet still somewhat ornamental- a nice blue/green and a hint of red. Nice enough for me to plant them in my front yard (that also keeps my dogs away from them- they love 'em). Kale, like brussel's sprouts, only gets better after being hit by frost and one or two plants actually make it through the winter and go to seed the next year. As long as the temps get above freezing during the day, they revive and keep going and I keep harvesting. tj