How to harvest lettuce so it keeps growing?
Lettuce is a perennial crop. It is one of the easiest and fastest growing crop. The nutritional value is much as it contains potassium, calcium, folate, beta-carotene, lutein and vitamin A and K in it. It is low in fiber. The new additions made to lettuce family like purple leaf lettuce. It is one of the commercial crop. It is mainly popular as salad crop. Soil with pH 6 is most suitable for soil fertility of lettuce. Fertilizers applied according to the soil nature in lettuce. Some commercial harvest done via hydroponic technique. Seed of lettuce are very delicate and thin, there for planting seeds in bed recommended. When a plant reaches the suitable height and firmness, it is ready to harvest. Drip irrigation supported for lettuce growth as it increases the yield by 30%. Lettuce should be plant with a suitable distance as crowding lettuce may open the gates for diseases, viruses and pests. Lettuce do have defensive compound (phenolic and lactones) which helps them to safe guard themselves from pest.
However, the question is How to harvest lettuce to have good results. Well the answer to your questions is procure below:
Make a check on the tips. If they turned brown, it means your lettuce is being face with the tip burn (calcium deficiency) though the crop is still edible.
How to harvest lettuce seeds?
Make beds for seed 100cm width and 30cm height recommended. Almost ten seeds per foot recommended with distance in between about 12 inches. Depth should be in between ½ or ¼ inch. Planting seeds in early spring can be helpful. Try watering the plants and apply mulch (straw) to cover the soil. Soil should be coo adding a mulch can help you maintain the temperature of the soil.
How to harvest lettuce in the garden?
They can be harvest in small spaces even in container. Harvest it at least once – twice a week (after 3-4 days). It is better to let them grown in loose soil having upright drainage system.
How to harvest lettuce At home
Lettuce can be harvest from lettuce too. Install the head left behind after cutting the leaves. After a couple of days, you will notice roots.
Types of lettuce
Lettuce can be of following types based on their growth and habitat:
- Loose leaf
They are easiest to grow. It get matured n 40-45 days. They are not prone to bolting. Their leaves are reddish green in appearance and are ruffled.
- Butter head
It does not form tight heads. It is loose and soft. The leave and overall plant is stout. Some varieties can be pick in 35 days though some varieties can take 70 days to be mature. It is the sweetest of lettuce types.
- Romaine
It took 758 days to mature. Its outer side leaves are dark rich green in color while in the center pale green is present. In homegrown varieties, romaine is the common one. It is the most nutritional type of lettuce.
- Crisphead lettuce
It is one of the difficult lettuces to grow as compared to others having lowest nutritional facts. It took 80 days to develop the crop completely. They take a long time to get mature.
How long you harvest lettuce. Which month is best to harvest lettuce?
Cold weather based conditions can be withstanding by lettuce. As they are one of the hardy plants. In fact, they grow better when 7 – 26oC (45 – 80oF) Though lettuce can grow in summer in provided condition but their taste may be bitter than. It is better to harvest lettuce before the heat of summer. Make sure they are at proper distance. If heat or summers approached your crop, they may cause the bolting harvest immediately if this happens so.
Can you harvest lettuce early?
When they are 3 – 6 inches long or once the true leaves are form you can harvest at any time. (Tip: it is better to harvest early as if crop harvest being mature or over mature it may taste bitter)
How to grow lettuce faster?
It grows speedily in sun presence. Adding nitrogen fertilizers will help too.
How to protect the lettuce harvest?
It is better to spray the pesticide that are human friendly and can prove to be safe from snails, aphids, cabbageworms, adult flea beetles and slugs. For protection from gluts, it is appreciating to cut the lettuce before they are ready. It is better not to wait for them to row utterly. To protect lettuce from rotting a cover of sand can also have added so that leaves cannot encounter the soil directly. To provide shade and coolness to your lettuce planting shady pants (mostly heat loving plants are shady) nearby will also help. For example, tomatoes. (Tip: Plant a natural deterrent like basil, garlic). For pest spray, you can use monocrotopphos and copper oxychloride with 1ml: 2gm in per liter of water. It can be sprayed after 15 days’ pause.
CONCLUSION
Will you add lettuce to your yield this year? If yes, then make sure a little maintenance is there. They can be even harvest hydroponically but nutrients will be less as compared to the soil nutrients. Do not water a lot when they are in soil, as they may get diseased. Lettuce can be harvest between 15- 25oC. If you are seeking the question How to harvest lettuce, then you must know that roots of the lettuce are shallow or deep. Once you are picking weeds or cultivating anything else around them. If your lettuce is growing tall, you must know that weather conditions are hot for your lettuce which results in bitter taste of your lettuce. In case of vegetable flowering s not a good thing. It is better to harvest before the flowering, as it will make the inedible. Avoid plants that emit ethylene near lettuce e.g apples, bananas.
Read my other post on farm hacks and sustainable backyard farm.
