Buzz
Long leaf lettuce is a type of leafy green resembling a healthy, common cabbage, and it is relatively easy to grow in your garden or pots. It can be harvested in one of two ways: either by pulling up the entire plant, including the leaves, roots, and stem, or by cutting it at the base. You can also harvest the outer leaves alternately, allowing the inner leaves to continue growing and maturing.
Steps
Harvesting Entire Lettuce Leaves
Harvest lettuce leaves around 65–70 days after planting the seeds. When grown from seeds, long leaf lettuce takes less than 3 months to fully mature. You can tell when the leaves are mature by their appearance: they will be dark green, thick, and will not curl up like others.
- Unlike head lettuce, long leaf lettuce leaves won't tightly curl when fully grown.
Cut the entire plant above the base if you want a second harvest. If you'd like to harvest the whole lettuce plant at once, use a sharp garden shear to trim the plant just above the base. Make the cut about 2.5 cm from the ground.
- Be careful not to cut through any rocks or soil, as this could dull your shears.
Allow the lettuce time to regrow after the first harvest. When you cut the entire plant at once, the roots often regenerate new leaves. Once these leaves grow and mature, you can harvest again. Wait another 55–60 days before your second harvest.
- However, the new leaves won't have the same 'curled' shape; they will grow more loosely and won't be as tightly curled as the original plant's leaves.
Maggie Moran
Gardener
Gardener
According to Maggie Moran, a gardening expert, you can also grow new lettuce from the cut stem. “Take the lettuce plant and cut about 2.5 cm above the ground. Place this stem in a shallow dish with 1.3 cm of water. In about 10-12 days, the lettuce will fully grow back.”
Pull the lettuce plant from the soil for a one-time harvest. If you don't want a second harvest, you can pull the entire plant up right away. No garden shears are needed for this. Simply grasp the base of the lettuce plant with one hand and pull firmly until it comes out of the ground.
- Pulling the entire plant up will also remove the roots from the soil.
Shake the soil off the roots. To prevent disturbing the garden and avoid bringing soil inside the house, remove any leftover soil from the lettuce roots. You can do this with one hand while pulling the lettuce plant out of the ground.
- After pulling up the lettuce, gently tap the soil back into place to avoid leaving holes in your garden.
- You can also dig around the area to remove any remaining roots. If left in the soil, they may sprout into new lettuce plants.
Separate the lettuce leaves and rinse them individually. Once you bring the lettuce plant inside, tear the leaves from the stem by hand. Then, rinse each leaf under cool running water.
- You can use the lettuce immediately in a garden salad or store the leaves in a sealed bag in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Harvesting the outer leaves
Harvest lettuce in the morning for fresh, crisp leaves. If you pick the lettuce leaves early in the day, they won’t dry out from the sun exposure. If you wait until the afternoon or evening, the lettuce will wilt.
- If you miss the morning time, it’s best to wait until the next morning to harvest.
- Fully mature lettuce leaves are typically dark green and 10–15 cm long.
Choose 6–8 outer leaves to extend your harvest. If you only want to pick mature leaves, select the 6–8 outermost leaves of the lettuce plant. The advantage of this harvesting method is that you can enjoy a prolonged harvest since each set of inner leaves will take another week to mature.
- The downside is that each harvest will yield a relatively small amount.
Pluck the lettuce leaves with a firm pull. To pick each lettuce leaf, grip it tightly near the base and pull it downwards until the leaf detaches.
- If you try to pull the leaf upwards, there's a chance you might pull out the entire plant.
Harvest the inner leaves once they reach about 10 cm in length. Pay attention to the inner leaves of the lettuce plant and allow them time to continue growing. Once they’re no longer tightly curled and have matured, they’ll be ready to harvest. This process can happen quickly, so it's a good idea to check your garden daily.
- You can get 3–4 additional harvests by selecting only the outermost mature leaves during each round of picking.
Wash the harvested leaves and store them in the fridge for up to 10 days. After picking the outer leaves from each lettuce plant, wash off the dirt by rinsing them under cool running water. Pat them dry and place them in a plastic bag to store in the refrigerator.
- If kept dry in the fridge, lettuce leaves can last for up to 10 days.
Tips
- Remember to clean any cutting tools you use both before and after harvesting the lettuce.
- Always wash the lettuce leaves with warm water before eating, especially if you've used any pesticides or fungicides during the growing period.
- If left too long, the lettuce leaves will become tough and woody, making them hard to eat.
