FAQ: When do you harvest lettuce?

What month do you harvest lettuce?

About Lettuce



Lettuce is cool-season crop that grows best in the spring and fall in most regions. It’s a great leafy green to grow because it grows quickly, produces for a long time, and isn’t very demanding as long as you keep it sufficiently watered.

How many times can you harvest lettuce?

You can grow leaf lettuce in rows for nice bundles of loose leaf lettuce, or you can sow it thickly in a garden bed or container for harvest as young, tender lettuce. By harvesting leaf lettuce through trimming it a few inches above the soil, you can get two to three harvests from one planting.

How do you harvest leaf lettuce so it keeps growing?

Cut the outer lettuce leaves about 1 inch above the crown. This protects the crown so the lettuce can continue growing. Cut off the amount of lettuce needed when the leaves reach a length between 3 and 6 inches. Water the lettuce regularly to encourage continued growth even after you begin harvesting.

Will lettuce grow back after cutting?

Head lettuce will die back, but most leaf-lettuce plants renew efforts to produce leaves, if regularly watered after trimming. Results will often be smaller than the original plant, but you may be able to harvest a second, good-tasting crop within as little as two weeks.

Does lettuce need full sun?

Although lettuce grows fastest in full sun, it is one of the few vegetables that tolerates some shade. In fact, a spring crop often lasts longer if shaded from the afternoon sun as the season warms. Give lettuce fertile, well-drained, moist soil with plenty of rich organic matter and a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.

How often should Lettuce be watered?

Water your lettuce plants every day—and even more often if it is extremely hot and dry. The lettuce leaves are mostly water and will desiccate and wilt in strong sunlight and dry soil. Lettuce roots tend to be shallow, so frequent watering is more important than deep watering.

Is lettuce a perennial or annual?

Note: Lactuca sativa (garden lettuce) is an annual plant – there aren’t any perennial varieties. There is a member of the genus, Lactuca perennis, called “perennial lettuce” but it isn’t a true “lettuce” plant and it isn’t edible.

How do I stop my lettuce from bolting?

If you plant lettuce late and wish to avoid premature lettuce bolt, try using a shade cloth over the row to reduce the intensity of the light. Additionally, it is essential to fertilize new plants with a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Make sure the plants receive plenty of moisture.

What to do with lettuce that has bolted?

Here are five things to do with bolted lettuce.

1. Donate Bolted Lettuce to an Animal Shelter.
2. Cut Plants Back to the Ground; Let Them Resprout.
3. Let Plants Flower for Beneficial Insects and Pollinators.
4. Collect the Seeds for Next Year’s Garden.
5. Use Bolted Lettuce as a Trap Crop.

How do I preserve lettuce from my garden?

Carefully push out the air before sealing the bag and place the bag in the refrigerator. Always make sure that lettuce is dry prior to storing in the refrigerator. Also, keep lettuce away from fruit, which gives off ethylene gas. Lettuce will typically store this way with no ill effects for six to eight days.

Why does my lettuce grow tall?

Most lettuce varieties are cool season crops. When the hot weather comes, they send up tall stalks that will flower and set seed. You’ll notice that the leaves begin to taste bitter around the same time the stalks elongate. This is called bolting.

Does butter lettuce regrow?

Kemble: “The quick answer is yes, lettuce will re-grow, but it really comes down to having the patience to actually grow it. Lettuce can grow hydroponically, but water itself is not a good medium to grow things in. The types of roots that form in water are very different from the types of roots that form in soil.

Do you cut or pull lettuce?

If you cut into or below the crown, the plant will probably die, so be careful. Again, leaf lettuce may be picked any time after leaves form, but before the plant bolts (forms seed stalk). Older leaves are often stripped off the plants first, allowing the young leaves to continue to grow.