Most crop plants need to be dried and not stratified. For the most part the plants people will be working with will produce seeds the first year. You need to make sure that the fruit is fully mature. For example, a cucumber is harvested when it's only a few days old, but when it's ripe a cucumber will be orange or yellow and many times the size. Beans and peas will be dry and brittle, but a tomato is ready when it's ready to be eaten.
