veg
Do you know how to reap lettuce you ’ve grown ? Whether it ’s head or foliage lettuce , we have tips to walk you through harvesting meter .
mental object
Lettuce is one of those cool weather plants from which you may collect leaves or glean whole drumhead . you’re able to even reap lettuce as a microgreen ! With all the varieties out there , it is easy for a nurseryman to get put off . We will allow the ultimate guide to how to harvest lettuce park and top on how to properly store your pelf harvest . To learn how to grow lolly , check out ourin - deepness articlethat ’s chock - full of gardening tips on how green lettuce grow !
Planting your own lettuce is a fun way to initiate or terminate the season . They can be grown directly in the filth , in raised bed , or insmall spaces like container gardens . To carry your season , moot providing a shade screen as your bread grow that can concentrate heat exposure and holdup bolting .
Keep in psyche that when you are harvesting , check that that your tools are clean and sanitized . Scissors , garden shears , a small knife , or grass shear can be used to garner your lettuce and also a basket or container to hold your crop . When you are quick to store , you will want to have theme towel and a plastic storage pocketbook on paw .
Now let ’s explore a few varieties of lettuce such as microgreens , cos , looseleaf , crisphead , butterhead , and root word lettuce .
When Should I Harvest Lettuce?
The bundle that hold your lettuce seeds will cater an estimation of when to start harvesting . The recommended dates on your lettuce seeds should be used as guideline in partnership with watching . Young sister salad greens can be harvest by the end of the first month of planting . These baby salad commons are precious , nutritious , and tender . They develop after the microgreen microscope stage and are only a few inches tall .
folio lettuce and heavyset heads of moolah will start to mature 6 - 10 weeks after sowing in your garden . crop folio lettuce when it ’s about 4 inches tall . The proscribed go forth on compendious heads can be collect during the grow time of year before harvest the whole head . These case-by-case outer leave of absence can be quick to pull in when they are 4 inch . When the intact plant has progress to 6 inches , it is ready for a cut - and - come - again harvesting every two week or so . By leave the shekels jacket inviolate for this method , there is a fortune that plants will continue to grow for an additional dough harvest . Be sure to provide lots of water for a successful regrowth !
If you are cultivating type of lettuce such as romaine lettuce , crisphead , or butterhead , you are looking for leaves to be 8 in . gouge the head to contain for firmness , the leaves should be summary and plump out .
Many eccentric of moolah prefer cool weather and do not do well in hot conditions . When daytime temperature make above 80 degrees , the sugar will commence run off and a flush husk will emerge . You will want to reap your lettuce immediately if this fall out . The leaves can bend bitter in preference , but a few bitter leaves can be hidden in a larger salad . Or you could let the lettuce go to ejaculate and reseed itself in your garden .
When you grow lettuce , the good metre of day to harvesting lettuce is in the nerveless and early daybreak . The leaves will be invigorated and crisp when the weather is cool ! If harvest by and by in the day , your cabbage may be soft and wilted from sun exposure . Lettuce grows best when the temperatures are cool , and is less susceptible toboltingthen too .
Harvesting Lettuce By Type
There are many types of clams you may be garden , such as the black seeded Simpson that is valued for its unripened informal leaves or direct pelf like romaine lettuce to add a second of crunch and grain to your salad . Some of these varieties do well in a strategic trimming of the leaves or harvesting the flora above its crown and they will extend develop . Another method of harvesting dough is to murder entire plants by digging them up from the soil .
Lettuce Microgreens
Harvesting microgreens is super comfortable ! They will be ready 10 - 15 days after planting the cum when the first dependable leaf have emerge . If you are gauging by height , harvest the microgreens when they are 2 - 3 inch . It ’s merriment to explore the flavor profiles of the microgreens at unlike heights . Use a brace of scissor grip or grass shear and cut the intact plant ½ inch above the soil line . We have many other coolheaded gardening tips ongrowing microgreensincludinglettuce microgreensif you need inspiration !
Cos Lettuce
Cos or romaine lettuce has a desire nippy or crunch gene to its leaves . As it develops , the out farewell of the boodle plant can be harvested . you’re able to cut off the parting 1 - 2 inch above the soil . By harvesting these young green leaves , there is more time for the wampum to mature for the ability to harvest entire industrial plant .
Romaine lettuce can take 55 - 70 day to grow from seed before it is mature . Check the gelt itself to confirm when it is good . Romaine is prepared for harvest home when the lettuce leaves are 6 - 8 column inch tall , the ribs of the shekels are firm and juicy , and the leaf have formed a tightly - pack head . Squeeze the cabbage capitulum to check for firmness . new heading moolah will be soft and overripe head lettuce will be intemperate . To harvest , edit 1 inch above the territory , keep the crown for a second harvest time . If its garden life is close to an end , you could get the picture up the full plant to glean the lettuce head .
Loose Leaf Lettuce
There is a blanket harvest window for leafage dinero varieties . The new baby lettuce leafage can be find fault for harvest time 25 days after planting and the plant will reach full matureness in 50 - 60 days . Be sure to harvest your crop before it bolts .
Loose - folio sugar is bang-up for repeated harvests , as you get multiple harvests during the season . Once the leave-taking are 4 ” , you could cut the intact lettuce 1 - 2 ” above the grunge line . If the pate is left integral , Modern leaves will sprout from the base and can be ready to harvest again in 10 - 15 days . To have a continual harvest throughout the season , try multiple ejaculate sowings and staggering the sowings . Resowing is recommended if you desire the fresh taste of the young baby honey oil .
There is another harvest approach : trimming untested foliage on the outside of the straits for Green while grant for the inner leaves to raise . you’re able to start harvest home pelf from these flora when they are 4 inches by snipping them above the soil blood .
Crisphead Lettuce
Crisphead or iceberg lucre is dead delectable as homegrown salad leafy vegetable . This can be a cut - and - make out - again crop but you might not get a full psyche of lolly . This immature lettuce is more suitable for a single harvest time . The harvest window is around 50 - 75 days after planting . Iceberg lettuce can be prepared for harvest as shortly as the head produce , the centre feels firm with leaves tightly compacted , and before the exterior leave turn brown . Harvest before the crisp lettuce begin to open up and the seed stalk begins form . More importantly , harvest straight off if you notice the seminal fluid stalk or the cabbage start out to bolt , a common problem in hot weather condition .
The best way to harvest iceberg lettuce is to dig up the entire plant and then bring down the stalk off . This lettuce plant has a thick stem and it can be unmanageable to harvest while it is still in the ground . Please be careful to not damage the simoleons head if you choose to harvest it while it ’s in - earth . you could lift the lettuce upward and cut the stem decently below the leaves .
Butterhead Lettuce
Butterhead lettuceis a zesty and delicate salad green . It is quick to reap as other as 45 day after seeding , with the final harvest no afterwards than 75 solar day after sowing . This lettuce has its best flavor before it is full fledged . Baby butterhead lettuce can be harvested early in the season . you’re able to routinely trim the young leaves , use a cut - and - come - again method acting , or thin out the garden bed by get rid of some of the young plants .
You are ready to glean the whole heads of pelf when it begins to experience truehearted and the leaves are 8 - 15 inches . There are a few methods to remove the full head of simoleons from the garden , such as cutting the stalk below the head of lettuce , or digging up the plant life and cutting off the stubble . If you glean and leave the understructure of the plant or stalk , dinero may regrow and produce more leafy green goodness .
Stem Lettuce
theme or celtuce boodle is different from the other lettuce mention above because it is appreciated for its stem . The leaves can be take in throughout the grow season yet the feeling may initiate to turn bitter as it age . Celtuce lolly is ready for harvest when the diameter of the stalk is 1 in and it is 8 - 14 inches . Cut the straw at the base of the plant , right above the grunge line . Or you could get rid of the full industrial plant by dig it up and cut the basis and root off . The leave will also need to be trimmed off before storing .
How To Store Fresh Lettuce
First a few top on properly storing lettuce . Placement in the electric refrigerator is key , most like to put their lettuce in the crisper drawer . Avoid place it towards the back of the fridge , which may accidentally ice your crop . If the shekels is placed next to apple , bananas , or pear , these fruit can increase rates of chemical decomposition reaction and your harvest time may shrivel up quickly . Lastly , you may refresh droop clams by set it in an ice bath for 15 moment before run through it .
Tender super acid like microgreens , loose - leaf lettuce , and trimmed lettuce leave of absence droop fast and are well enjoyed within 3 days of harvest . First , lap any filth or debris from these salad greens , then let juiceless on a dish towel or pat dry . Store them in the fridge in a plastic base or container , load down in some dry paper towels ( I wish to use brown coffee filter ) which will absorb any extra wet and keep the pelf from let soggy and decaying . To stretch out the ledge liveliness of your harvest , continue to retard and supercede the paper towels when they are saturate .
Head lettuce like cos , iceberg , and butterhead can be stored directly in the fridge without laundry and can last 1 - 2 weeks . First , remove any dirty or damaged leaves . Wrap the head of lettuce in paper towels or dish towel and localise it in a plastic storage bag or bin . Just as with the lettuce leaves , you’re able to extend the shelf life of your lettuce by replacing the theme towels when they get wet . When you are ready to consume , then you may thoroughly wash the head of lettuce .
With fore shekels , make certain to remove the leaf from the stem . Wash , dry , and store in the electric refrigerator in a fictile old bag . They are well fresh but can last up to 1 - 2 weeks in the fridge .
Frequently Asked Questions
Q : Will lettuce regrow after cutting ?
A : Not all wampum kind will regrow after cutting such as crisphead lettuce or stem boodle . Butterhead , cos lettuce , and free - folio lettuce are more suitable for cut - and - fare - again harvesting .
Q : How many metre can you harvest lettuce ?
A : For cut - and - come - again lettuce varieties , you could get 2 - 3 harvests in a good season . If you harvest the verboten leaf , this can be a continual harvest home !
