How do you harvest cut lettuce and pick lettuce correctly? When is the right time to harvest cut and pick lettuce? We answer your questions.
Cut and pick lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. crispa) provide fresh, crisp lettuce leaves throughout the growing season. They are not only suitable for growing in the garden - cut lettuce can also be easily cultivated in pots on the balcony or terrace. If you have the right harvesting technique, you have a seemingly endless supply of home-grown lettuce. In this article, we will tell you everything about the right time to harvest, the best way to harvest lettuce for cutting and picking, as well as tips for storing it correctly.
What is meant by cut and pick lettuce?
Cut and pick lettuce do not belong to a specific type of lettuce, but a wide variety of lettuce forms can be cultivated as pick or cut lettuce. Lollo lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. crispa), Batavia lettuce
(Lactuca sativa var. capitata) or oak leaf lettuce (Lactus sativa var. crispa).But also chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) or spinach (Spinacia oleracea) are used as cut and pick lettuce. The decisive factor here is how the lettuce is harvested: when cutting and picking lettuce, you don’t harvest the whole lettuce, but only individual leaves. So you can only harvest as much lettuce as you need. Nothing goes bad and you always have fresh salad in the house. Another advantage is that cut and picked lettuce keeps growing back and produces new lettuce leaves for you over several weeks. However, this only works if you proceed correctly with the harvest. If you cut or pick the lettuce incorrectly, you will not have a harvest for weeks.The right time to harvest cut and pick lettuce
You can harvest the first leaves of your pick or cut lettuce just six to seven weeks after sowing. The leaves should only be big enough. As a rule of thumb: If the leaves are more than ten to twelve centimeters long, they can be harvested. If you wish, you can harvest your cut and pick lettuce on a daily basis. Harvest as needed and only as much as you can process directly. Harvesting right before consumption is best, because then the lettuce is uniquely fresh and crunchy. If you do the right thing when harvesting, your pick or cut lettuce will give you delicious, constantly growing lettuce leaves for four to six weeks.
Expert tip: When the lettuce begins to shoot, i.e. inflorescences form, the leaves become very bitter and no longer edible. If this happens to you, it is advisable to cut off the entire lettuce plant. We'll give you tips on how to do that Lettuce Shoots can prevent.
When is the right time to harvest lettuce or cut lettuce?
- 6-7 weeks after sowing
- When the first leaves are 10-12 cm long
- Harvest as needed
- Harvest as soon as possible before consumption
- Harvest time can last 4-6 weeks
This is how you proceed when harvesting lettuce
As the name suggests, lettuce is not cut, but picked by hand. To do this, select the outermost and largest leaves of your lettuce plants and always harvest from the outside inwards of the plant. You can now easily pick off the selected leaves by hand just above the ground. It is important that the heart of lettuce remains undamaged in the middle and is left standing. In this way, the leaves continue to grow and you can gradually harvest the lettuce again.
How is lettuce harvested?
- Harvest the largest, outer leaves
- Harvest from the outside in
- Simply pick off the leaves by hand
- Leave the heart of lettuce
This is how you go about harvesting cut lettuce
Not only individual leaves are cut off from the lettuce, but all lettuce leaves above the small heart leaves. Use a knife that is as sharp and clean as possible. There are tiny heart leaves in the center of the plant - these must remain undamaged and left where they are, because they form new lettuce leaves. Therefore, cut off the entire lettuce plant above the heart leaves. The cut lettuce then sprout again and can be harvested again up to three times.
How is cut lettuce harvested?
- Lettuce is harvested whole
- Use a sharp and clean knife
- Cut off the entire plant above the small heart leaves
- Cut lettuce will then sprout again
- Can be harvested up to three times
Store cut and pick lettuce properly
The good thing about cut and plucked lettuce is that it can always be harvested fresh. The disadvantage, however, is that it is actually not storable. You should use your picking or Therefore, always use cut lettuce as fresh as possible and immediately after harvesting. Only ever harvest as many lettuce leaves as you can use. Then you won't even get into the situation of having to store it. If this cannot be avoided, picking or Lettuce is best wrapped in a damp tea towel and stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. This way the salad can be kept fresh until the next day. Then at the latest you should use it.
How to properly store picking/cut lettuce?
- Process as fresh as possible
- Harvest only as much as you use
- Wrap in a damp kitchen towel to store
- Store in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator
Tip: Wilted lettuce leaves become crisp again with a 15-minute soak in cool water.
Even more about the right one harvest of lettuce find out here.
