These affiliate links help support this site. Romaine can be harvested in 1 of 2 ways: you can harvest the entire head of lettuce at once, whether by pulling up the head, roots and all, or by cutting off the head at … I did two plantings. It’s better to harvest Romaine lettuce early rather than late. If you are growing organically, a good compost tea is totally fine. Last year my wife pleaded for me to plant some of the beautiful green with red tipped New Red Fire when she was reviewing the seed catalog. As long as you keep up with snapping off the outer leaves, the lettuce won’t go to seed until it gets too hot {which in a nice shady area, might mean you can have fresh salad spring, summer, and fall}. Romaine lettuce is typically ready to harvest 60 days after planting. How to harvest your lettuce so it keeps growing? This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Treated this way, some lettuce plants can produce a steady supply of leaves for weeks at a time. Romaine is low in carbs. Place the last stem in shallow dishwater about ½ inch. 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. Harvest from different rows each time you pick lettuce to allow those that have been picked to regrow, about two weeks post-harvest for most varieties. This post may contain affiliate links. You can tell when the heads are mature by their visual appearance: they’ll have a dark green color and look leafy and open. Top a spicy soup. Different varieties have different tolerances for how they are harvested {meaning, some will go to seed faster than others if you pick it as you need it}. Thurinus (56 days) – A full-sized upright red Romaine lettuce. For a continuous supply of leafy lettuce throughout the growing season, try planting romaine lettuce every couple weeks. When I’ve harvested my head lettuce and let it grow a second head the new lettuce always seems to come in bitter. Mark the planting date on your calendar. Feeding your lettuce plants. Romaine Lettuce Calories. It will not produce another head. It’s a good idea to practice successive planting with lettuce to extend your harvest. How to Harvest Romaine Lettuce For Romaine and leaf varieties, you could also choose to pick the big outer leaves and let the inner leaves continue to develop for a surprisingly long time. Thick leaves with a crisp texture, this variety pairs well with red Romaines. Have others had this problem? Plus you're planting two crops in one space, which is a big win. How to Harvest Leaf Lettuce So It Keeps Growing? But don’t let your lettuce brown up in the lights either. When grown from seeds, romaine lettuce takes only a little less than 3 months to fully mature. Plant lettuce every two weeks but keep an eye on the temperature. If you want the whole stalk, let it grow up to the desired height and cut if off or pull it up. If you pick the outer leaves of head lettuce, instead of harvesting the whole head, it will go to seed faster. Before maturity, you can harvest leaf lettuce by simply removing outer leaves so that the center leaves can continue to grow. Unlike regrowing green onions or regrowing celery, you won’t be able to regrow a full head of lettuce.You’ll just regrow a few leaves 2-4 inches long. The best temperature for growing lettuce is from 55 up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (12.8 to 21.1 degrees Celsius). In conclusion, don’t expect a full head of romaine lettuce to fill your salad bowl. It is planted in spring so that it matures before any hot weather. To do this, as the plant matures and the outer leaves look good for picking, snap them off and leave the inner crown intact. It will not produce another head. How and When to Harvest Regrown Lettuce? It grows well in pots and is a popular choice for container and vertical gardening. We have found that with our new LED lights, plants grow much more quickly! … Well, here is my story: As a first timer, I thought that once you pick your loose leaf lettuce, that’s it. You can harvest the outside leaves as needed, or you can harvest the entire head. So, keep the soil moist enough. Here are some common varieties and their features: There are multiple ways to harvest Romaine lettuce. Romaine can also be harvested leaf by leaf to extend the harvest. Learn how your comment data is processed. If you leave about an inch of plant above ground and don’t disturb the root, you will probably see the plant grow back. Don’t let the leaves get too big, or they will start to get tough and bitter tasting. Romaine Lettuce Carbs. I grew red lettuce last year. Homegrown lettuce makes store bought seem like punishment, so might as well make the most of your harvest. Look at seed packets for specific information on varieties. Some of the more popular varieties of romaine lettuce include Green Towers, Valley Heart and Red Eyes Cos. Romaine lettuce has low calories. Harvesting Romaine Lettuce. If you are growing organically, a good compost tea is totally fine. Butterhead and Romaine lettuce varieties can also be cut down to 1 inch, but the remaining stubs often generate a … I am looking forward to real spring and early summer. Romaine lettuce takes about 20-25 days from the day of planting to come for harvest. Many gardeners will combine two or three in order to have a variety of greens. Head lettuce is really best harvested as a whole head when it has matured. If you leave 2-3 inches of stem above the ground the plant will still send out new leaves.   One involves holding a paper bag near the plant and shaking the flower head over it daily until most of the ripened seed is gone. If you leave 2-3 inches of stem above the ground the plant will still send out new leaves. What ever your system is the growing times shouldn’t change much. If you are growing hydroponically, then there are multiple options to choose … Container gardening tips are also included. By harvesting leaf lettuce through trimming it a few inches above the soil, you can get two to three harvests from one planting. Look for firm heads that stand tall and don’t collapse under a slight squeeze. Lettuce grows best in cooler temperatures (55-70 degrees fahrenheit). Calculate the estimated maturity date, which is typically about 55 to 65 days for romaine lettuce. I’m happy to read that if I move it to the shade it should still grow without bolting. How to Cut Lettuce So It Keeps Growing. When romaine lettuce is mature, you can harvest the whole head at once by cutting the leafy head off from the stem at its base, or you can harvest individual leaves from the outer layer of the head as you need them, leaving the inner leaves to grow and mature. This guide on how to grow romaine lettuce includes tips on planting romaine lettuce, caring for romaine lettuce plants, and harvesting romaine lettuce. Just be sure to work from the outside in — those tender, tiny, inner leaves are still full of potential growth. Make sure to leave the base and roots IN THE GROUND, because you will get one more {maybe two} smaller harvest off of them that way. Garnish a sandwich. Regrown lettuce will bolt (send out a seed stalk) before it grows a full head of lettuce. Lettuce is one of those gifts that keeps on giving if you know how to harvest it correctly. For leaf lettuce {and lettuce like Romaine}, you can just pick the outer leaves as they are needed. Often touted as one of the more difficult lettuces to grow, Romaine does take a bit longer to mature when compared to loose leaf or butter lettuces. You can use a general purpose fertilizer for feeding your romaine lettuce plants. And what is nice is the base is wider than last year. QUESTION: Why is my lettuce growing so tall? Romaine Lettuce. I’ve never tried new red fire but I’ll keep an eye out for it. You can use a general purpose fertilizer for feeding your romaine lettuce plants. Romaine lettuce forms tight bundles of thick, sweet leaves and can reach up to 20” in height. This refers to harvesting the outer leaves while allowing the plant to continue to grow. Much like other salad greens, Romaine does well in soils with neutral pH ranging between 6.0 and 6.5. Forms compact deep red heads with a high resistance to downy mildew. There are a couple of ways to complete this process properly. To harvest Romaine heads, use a sharp knife to cut the stem off at ground level. Pinch off outer leaves of the romaine plants at any time during growth for baby lettuce leaves. Any tips to avoid it? Dragoon (55-68 days to harvest) – A dense headed, mini green Romaine. The leaves have thick, crispy ribs that give that familiar crunch to a Caesar salad. Harvest your lettuce when it takes on a blue-green color and the center leaves get less dense. To harvest them, just snap each leaf off at the base of the plant, being careful not to uproot the whole plant {it’s best to snap off the leave about a 1″ above the base of the plant}. While this is great for most plants, lettuce can ‘bolt’ and can taste bitter if they grow … Slice the leaves at about 1 inch from the bottom. It grows fast (they say 29 days), is tender AND best of all, it does not get bitter. To harvest Romaine heads, use a sharp knife to cut the stem off at ground level. One of the most popular varieties for salads, it is slow to bolt and resistant to tip burn. Just grab a sharp knife and holding the base firmly, cut off the head. Romaine stems are around 3 inches thick when harvested. If you keep lettuce leaves cropped short, the plants will continue to … Unfortunately lettuce doesn’t produce forever, so it will eventually stop growing after producing new leaves for a while. This refers to harvesting the outer leaves while allowing the plant to continue to grow. In comparison to other types of lettuce, romaine is considered more heat tolerant and bolt resistant. The second was in mid-July which we ate until the end of September. Head lettuces like romaine and butter lettuce will keep growing if you only harvest the outer leaves. All lettuces produce leaves out of a central crown in the middle of the plant. The plant will keep growing new leaves. For year-round … Mature Romaine leaves will have a snap to them while immature plants will be pliable. 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