How is lettuce harvested

Lettuce needs little introduction. Lettuces that form dense heads for harvesting whole include creamy butterhead types, upright romaine and cos lettuces and the classic, crunchy iceberg. Grow lettuce in any well-drained, fertile soil. Soil improved over time with plenty of compost is ideal.

Or grow lettuces in pots or tubs of potting soil. Lettuce prefers a bright, open position with good air circulation to promote strong, disease-free growth. Lettuce is a cool-season crop, so in hot climates you may get better results growing it in a cooler, shadier spot, especially as the young plants start out. Make the earliest sowings under cover from late winter to grow on in greenhouse or hoop house beds for a super-early harvest. You can use our Garden Planner to check exactly what months you can sow in your area because it uses your nearest weather station to ensure the accompanying Plant List is tailored to your location.

Sow in batches, about once a month, for a continuous harvest. The last sowing of the season, made at the end of summer, will be of winter lettuces. These hardy plants will happily sit out the winter, often with little or no protection in milder climates, to give the first outdoor harvests of spring. Or plant winter lettuces under cover for a reliable supply of leaves throughout the winter. Sowings may be made directly into prepared soil or into module trays of multipurpose potting soil.

To sow direct, remove any weeds then rake the soil level to a fine, crumbly texture. The photo on the right is after harvesting. Within a week, it will look like that first picture again. I snipped off those lovely outer leaves, made a beautiful salad from that loose leaf lettuce, and those same plants will feed us again soon.

This is a great method for harvesting lettuce for anyone who puts work into a garden might as well get the most bang for your buck, right? Make those container gardens work for you! While you can extend the life of each lettuce plant by harvesting in this manner, another way to be sure to have lettuce as long as possible is to embrace succession planting. That way, as one batch of plants comes to the end of their lives, new heads will be ready to harvest.

You can read more about the concept of succession planting here. Keep in mind that lettuce grows best in cool weather. Plan to grow salad greens during the spring and again in the fall if you live in a region with hot summers.

First time growing lettuce,so rewarding but I dont know one from the other but they all. Thank You!!! Harvesting lettuce information has been so helpful to us in our garden thank you again. I do the same thing when growing Romaine lettuce— works great!!

Thanks for your article! Friends gave ius perennial lettuce plants that are somewhere between a loose leaf and romaine-type head lettuce. The lettuce is sweet and crunchy, but tender. We have just left them go into seed and I am missing it already!

We also gave some plants to friends. Sorry, but I have no idea where you could get them or even what the variety is called. This is what I do also. Just snip it off and it will regrow. Easier and faster than choosing leaves. Last fall I started two planters with mixed lettuce. I seeded them two weeks apart. I had salad greens all winter from my kitchen window, and reseeded in late January. I have been able to have small lettuce leaves all winter, mostly for sandwiches. I use arugula in stir-fry adding them after I turn off the heat and just let them wilt slightly.

I also had red Swiss chard, basil, oregano, chives, and cilantro, but not as much. I can usually harvest all of them over two months by using only a few leaves at a time. I live in eastern Utah.

I used to do that as well, but there is a catch. After a few pickings, the lettuce will get bitter. I buy little 4 packs of seedlings from the nursery. About 2 weeks later I buy another, then another… When the first round gets big enough, I do as you do and pick the outside leaves, then move on to the next round. Your photos are worth ooh-ing over. I just love the salad plants grown in pots and used as you need them.

They are so happy on a sunny windowsill. Claudine Anne McCormack Jalajas: Have you tried growing your lettuce in containers or hanging baskets? It does deter some pests. Mommafrogg The cement block is a temporary raised bed and I figured it would be silly to waste the space inside the blocks! I place a sheet of plywood across two sawhorses and place bags of soil on top flat. Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Lettuce. By The Editors. When to Plant Lettuce Direct sowing in the garden is recommended as soon as the ground can be worked.

If you want an earlier crop, however, you can start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost date. Some lettuce seedlings will even tolerate a light frost. Seedlings will typically emerge in 7 to 10 days.

Nursery-bought transplants should be planted close to your last frost-free date. Transplants that were started indoors may be planted 2 to 3 weeks earlier after they are properly hardened off.

After your initial planting, sow additional seeds every 2 weeks in order to have a continuous supply of lettuce. See our Planting Calendar for planting dates. Tip: To plant a fall crop, create cool soil in late August by moistening the ground and covering it with a bale of straw.

Sow a three-foot row of lettuce seeds every couple of weeks—just rotate the straw bale around the garden. Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site Select a sunny spot for the best growth. Ideally, the plants should get at least 6 hours of sun per day, though lettuce will still grow if given less than that. To keep the soil fertile, work in composted organic matter about one week before you seed or transplant. Since the seed is so small, a well-tilled seedbed is essential.

Stones and large clods of dirt will inhibit germination. Lettuce does not compete well with weeds. Spacing lettuce close together will help to control weeds. Rotating locations from year to year helps to reduce the occurrence of most diseases. Read more about preparing soil for planting.

Seedlings can be thinned when they have 3 to 4 true leaves. Transplants should have 4 to 6 mature leaves and a well-developed root system before being planting into the garden. For either seeded or transplanted lettuce, leave 12 to 15 inches between each planting row. Here are guidelines for different lettuce types: Loose-leaf lettuce: Plant or thin to 4 inches apart.

Romaine cos and butterhead loose-head, Bibb, Boston lettuce: Plant or thin to 8 inches apart. Crisphead iceberg lettuce: Plant or thin to 16 inches apart. Water thoroughly at time of transplanting. Consider planting rows of chives or garlic between your lettuce to control aphids. Check out this video to learn how to plant lettuce.

How to Care for Lettuce Fertilize 3 weeks after transplanting. Lettuce prefers soil that is high in organic material, with plenty of compost and a steady supply of nitrogen to keep if growing fast.

Use organic alfalfa meal or a slow-release fertilizer. Make sure the soil remains moist but not overly wet. It should drain well. Lettuce will tell you when it needs water. Just look at it! Using row covers can also help to keep lettuce from drying out in the sun. An organic mulch will help conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and keep soil temperatures cool throughout the warmer months.

When a lettuce plant bolts, it starts to produce a central stem and seed stalk, and leaves take on a bitter flavor. To delay bolting, cover plants with a shade cloth so that they get filtered light. Be sure to maintain watering throughout the warmest parts of the growing season, too. Planning your garden so that lettuce will be in the shade of taller plants, such as tomatoes or sweet corn , may reduce bolting in the heat of the summer. How to Harvest Lettuce Lettuce should be harvested when full size, but just before maturity.

Before maturity, you can harvest leaf lettuce by simply removing outer leaves so that the center leaves can continue to grow. Butterhead, romaine, and loose-leaf types can be harvested by removing the outer leaves, digging up the whole plant, or cutting the plant about an inch above the soil surface. A second harvest is often possible when using the first or third methods. Crisphead lettuce is picked when the center is firm. Mature lettuce gets bitter and woody and will go bad quickly, so check your garden everyday for ready-to-harvest leaves.

As time passes and the plant loses vigor, you may be better off planting a second round of seeds than waiting for new leaves. Keep lettuce in the refrigerator for up to 10 days in a loose plastic bag. Lettuce leaves have wilted? Put the leaves in a bowl of cold water with ice cubes and soak for about 15 minutes.

Did you know that lettuce and sunflowers are relatives? Embrace your leafy greens! Learn more about the health benefits of going green and how to grow other salad greens in your garden! Vegetable Gardener's Handbook. What do you want to read next? Swiss Chard. Dear Sir or Madam I'm in a middle of a plight.