Growing lettuce provides you with a constant supply of fresh greens. After you have picked it, take care of it so it stays crisp and fresh until you’re ready to use it. Lettuce is divided into two types.
Cut lettuce leaves when 4-6 inches high. Keep watering so new leaves grow. Harvest head lettuce types when fully grown. To keep fresh, put lettuce in plastic bag with a piece of paper towel to soak up dampness. Place in the fridge, in the salad crisper drawer. Wash each lettuce leaf with clean cold water before using.
Step-By-Step Process on How to Harvest Lettuce So It Keeps Growing
You shouldn’t be concerned about picking lettuce because it’s one of the easiest veggies to harvest. Between 30- and 70-days following planting, the majority of lettuce can be harvested.
When to harvest lettuce is determined by the cultivar and intended usage. In reality, timing is a matter of personal preference. It’s ready when your lettuce reaches the desired size. The finest flavor comes from harvesting lettuce first thing in the morning.
It is simple to figure out how to harvest leaf lettuce. You have the option of cutting the entire bundle off at ground level or removing a few leaves at a time.
Cut romaine, butterhead, and cos lettuce close to the ground level. You give the remaining lettuce plants more room to flourish if you harvest every other lettuce plant.
Here’s A Detailed Guide On How To Harvest Lettuce:
1. Cut the leaves off the plant when they reach 4 to 6 inches in height to harvest leaf lettuce.
2. Continue to water the plants once a week with 1 inch of water, and the leaf lettuce will keep producing new leaves.
3. Harvest head lettuce kinds when the heads have reached their full size. After harvest, head lettuce varieties will stop producing.
4. Put the lettuce in a plastic bag that has not been cleaned. To assist absorb any excess moisture during storage, place a paper towel on top of the lettuce.
5. Keep the lettuce in the refrigerator’s vegetable crisper drawer at or near 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Lettuce keeps its freshness for around seven days.
6. Clean the lettuce in cold water right before using it. Then, before using it, blot it dry with a towel or spin it in a salad spinner to remove any excess water.
More Information On Harvesting Lettuce
Head lettuces grow edible leaves in ahead, which can be spherical, like butterhead kinds, or upright, like romaine and cos lettuces. Leaf lettuces generate individual leaves that do not form a head, and you should only harvest them as needed.
If you know how to harvest lettuce, it’s one of those gifts that keeps on giving. Varied cultivars have different tolerances for how they are harvested.
This means that if you pick it as you need it, some will go to seed faster than others.
When head lettuce has matured, it is best harvested as a full head. Simply take a sharp knife and chop off the head while holding the base securely.
Make sure to leave the roots and base in the ground because you will receive one or two additional minor harvests that way.
It will go to seed faster if you pluck the outer leaves of head lettuce rather than the full head.
Before we get to know how to properly harvest lettuce, we must know first how to grow it first.
Methods In Cutting Lettuce So It Keeps Growing
Leaf by Leaf Cutting
You can cut safe to eat leaves from the plant’s stem while keeping the tiny center untouched and thriving. Pinching leaves off by hand is an option, however, cutting leaves may cause less tissue damage than pinching.
To avoid spreading plant diseases, wipe the scissor blades clean between cuts with a 1:9 solution of bleach and water. To keep tools clean for cutting and other garden work, mix 1/3 cup bleach with 3 cups water.
Cut-and-Come-Again
The second way of cutting seems to be harsher, but it still permits the plant to develop. Cut the entire plant parallel to the ground and about 1 inch from the soil for cut-and-come-again.
The plant’s center will regenerate first, followed by new leaves that will develop to edible size. Before cutting each plant, make sure your equipment is clean.
Lettuces for Leaf-by-Leaf Cutting
Leaf-by-leaf cutting works well with loose-head or loose-leaf variations.
Broad, ruffled leaves characterize Grand Rapids types like “Red Sails” and “Black-Seeded Simpson.”
Lobed-leaf cultivars, sometimes known as “oakleaf,” have huge, loose clusters of leaves that make removing one or two leaves simple.
Planting a loose-head type in a large pot allows you to rotate the pot and collect leaves from all sides.
Because the stem lengthens as the lettuce grows closer to blooming and seeding, or “bolting,” your surviving plant may resemble a palm tree, but the leaves will stay sweet as long as the temperature stays below 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut-and-Come-Again
A huge harvest of loose-head leaves can be obtained by cutting the entire plant down to 1 inch. You can harvest like this two or three times before the leaf quality deteriorates.
Butterhead and Romaine lettuce kinds can also be cut to 1 inch, however, the stubs that remain often produce a less vigorous but edible second growth.
Cutting and Timing
These cutting techniques are most effective when they are precisely timed. Cutting leaves that are crisp and beginning to look ripe are suitable for cutting, however, it may take some practice from one variety to the next.
No matter how they are collected, old leaves will have a bad or harsh flavor.
The quality of lettuce leaves can be greatly influenced by the time of day.
Plant sugars are around twice as high in leaves harvested early in the morning, at 7 a.m., as they are in leaves harvested at 2 p.m. Early harvesting ensures a nice yield.
Plant wounds can also begin to heal earlier in the day before exposure to the scorching sun threatens to sear tissues.
How to Grow Lettuce
Lettuce is a simple annual vegetable to raise. Lettuce is a spring and fall crop that thrives in temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Many kinds mature in as little as 30 days, and some can be harvested as microgreens even sooner.
These simple techniques will provide you with a plentiful supply of crisp salad greens over various seasons, from your garden beds to patio pots.
When to Plant Lettuce
Lettuce thrives at cooler temperatures. As soon as the soil can be worked in the spring, you can start planting leaf, romaine, and butterhead lettuce.
Lettuce germinates in temperatures ranging from 40 to 85 degrees F, depending on the cultivar.
You can have a longer crop if you grow lettuce in successive plantings with 10 to 14 days between them. Stop planting one month before the start of the hot summer months to avoid summer bolt.
During late in the summer, you should plant fall lettuce since it matures when the weather cools in the fall.
Head lettuce is often grown indoors or in a cold frame, then transplanted after the last frost date in the spring.
Growing lettuce from seedlings for transplant in the early spring is a great method to get a head start on the growing season.
Where to Plant Lettuce
In the spring and fall, a place that receives full sun is perfect for producing lettuce. If you are growing lettuce in the summer or a hot climate, some shade can help to keep the heat at bay.
Growing lettuce from seed in the late summer may necessitate a lot of artificial shade to keep the soil cool enough to germinate.
When the days turn cooler, the shade can be removed to allow young lettuce plants to receive plenty of sunlight.
Lettuce thrives in soft, cold soil that drains well. Organic materials, such as compost or manure, will enhance your lettuce growth environment, through increasing drainage, providing critical nutrients, and improving your lettuce growth conditions.
Consider buying a soil test kit if you are having problems growing lettuce. Low pH causes lettuce to wilt. Lime can be used to raise the pH level to at least 6.0.
How to Plant Lettuce
Growing lettuce from seeds is a simple process. Lettuce seeds are typically tiny, requiring only a 14-to-12-inch planting depth.
The look of your garden will be more convenient if you grow lettuce in rows. For a quirky touch, alternate rows of green and red lettuce.
The sort of lettuce you are planting determines how far apart you should space your lettuce plants. Plant roughly 10 seeds per foot when putting seeds directly into the soil.
It is important to keep each row at 12 to 18 inches apart from each other and leaf lettuce seedlings should be spaced 4 inches apart.
Seedlings of Romaine and Butterhead lettuce should be spaced 6 to 8 inches apart. Seedlings that have been plucked can be replanted or eaten as tasty soft vegetables and herbs.
For a fall garden, head lettuce is normally produced from seeds planted indoors throughout the warm season. Head lettuce should be planted in rows 12 to 18 inches apart, with 10 to 12 inches between plants.
Final Thoughts
The only information we haven’t given you is how to eat your lettuce.
We’re certain you know all about that.
So we’ll leave you to enjoy the ‘fruits of your labors’!!!
Jenny Marie
Tribal Writer
Edited By
Patricia Godwin
