Cut and Come Again Romaine Lettuce

March 18, 2022 Post a Comment

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Romaine lettuce is a good for you, popular variety of head lettuce, which is relatively like shooting fish in a barrel to grow in a home garden or planter. Romaine can be harvested in 1 of two ways: y'all can harvest the entire head of lettuce at once, whether by pulling up the head, roots and all, or past cutting off the head at the base. Alternately, y'all tin harvest the outer leaves of the head and permit the inner leaves continue to grow and mature.

one
Harvest the romaine heads almost 65–seventy days subsequently planting the seeds. When grown from seeds, romaine lettuce takes only a little less than iii months to fully mature. Yous can tell when the heads are mature by their visual appearance: they'll take a dark green color and look leafy and open up.^[1]
- Unlike iceberg lettuce, the romaine heads will non be densely closed in upon themselves when mature.
2
Cut the entire head off in a higher place the base of operations if you lot want a second harvest. If you'd like to harvest the entire romaine head at once, use a sharp pair of gardening shears to snip through the base of operations of the romaine. Make the cut about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the surface of the soil.^[2]
- Exist careful not to cut through any rocks or soil, or you'll end upwards dulling the blades of your shears.
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three
Give the lettuce time to re-sprout leaves afterward the commencement harvest. When you cut off the entire head at once, the roots of the romaine will often produce additional lettuce leaves. After they grow and mature, you'll exist able to glean a second harvest. You lot can expect to expect another 55–60 days for the second harvest.^[iii]
- However, these leaves will not form some other "caput" shape, and will be looser and less numerous than the lettuce leaves on the initial romaine head.
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Maggie Moran is a Professional person Gardener in Pennsylvania.

Maggie Moran
Abode & Garden Specialist

You tin as well abound new lettuce from a cut stem. Horticulturalist Maggie Moran explains, "Accept the lettuce and cut it most ane inch (2.five cm) from the bottom. Put this stalk in a shallow dish filled with nearly ⁱ⁄₂ inch (i.3 cm) of water. In near 10-12 days, the lettuce volition be fully grown."
4
Pull the romaine head out of the footing to ensure a unmarried harvest. If you'd rather not have a second harvest of lettuce, you can harvest the entire head of lettuce at one time. Yous won't demand gardening shears for this. Merely grasp the base of the lettuce caput with i hand, and firmly pull upward until it dislodges from the ground.^[4]
- Pulling up the full romaine head will bring the roots out of the footing too.
five
Interruption any clumps of dirt off of the roots. In social club to leave the garden patch relatively undisturbed, and to avoid bringing dirt indoors, remove excess dirt from the romaine's roots. You tin do this with either mitt while you're pulling the lettuce head up from the ground.^[5]
- One time the lettuce is uprooted, pat the clay back in place so there isn't a hole left in the garden patch.
- You can also dig around in the soil a scrap to remove any leftover roots that may be stuck in the soil. If left in the soil, these leaves may re-sprout and grow more romaine.
6
Suspension apart the lettuce caput and rinse the individual leaves. Once you've brought the lettuce head inside, break it autonomously by pulling each individual foliage away from the head's base. Then rinse the individual leaves under absurd tap h2o.
- You tin serve the lettuce immediately in a garden salad, or keep the leaves for up to ten days in an airtight purse in your fridge.
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1
Harvest the lettuce in the morning for fresh, crisp leaves. If you choice lettuce leaves early in the twenty-four hour period, they won't have been stale out past the sun. If you expect too long and pick your lettuce in the afternoon or evening, you may stop upwards with slightly withered leaves.^[six]
- If you lose track of time and forget to harvest in the morning, it's best merely to wait until the next forenoon and harvest and so.
- Mature romaine leaves are typically dark light-green and 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) in height.
2
Pick the 6–viii outer leaves first to prolong the harvest. If you'd like to have a harvest of only mature leaves, cull the outermost six–8 leaves from the lettuce head.^[vii] The advantage to this method of harvesting romaine is that y'all'll be able to enjoy a prolonged harvest, equally each set of inner leaves takes some other week or so to mature.
- The disadvantage is that each harvest volition be relatively minor.
3
Snap off romaine leaves with a abrupt twist. To pluck private romaine leaves, grasp each leaf firmly at its base, and tweak it sharply downwardly until the leaf snaps off.
- If you try to pull upwards on the leaves, you may start to uproot the whole constitute.
iv
Harvest the inner leaves in one case they've reached most 4 inches (10 cm). Keep an center on the inner leaves of the romaine head and give them time to continue growing. In one case they've opened up and matured, they're set to harvest. This process tin can happen quickly, so check on your garden daily.^[8]
- You'll be able to go 3–iv additional harvests by picking only the mature, outermost leaves each time.
5
Rinse the harvested leaves and shop them in the fridge for up to ten days. Once yous've harvested the outer leaves from each of your romaine plants, rinse dirt off of the leaves by running them under cool tap water. Pat them dry and store them in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.^[9]
- If kept dry in the refrigerator, the romaine leaves should go on for about 10 days.
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How much h2o does a lettuce plant need per day?

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How do you cut romaine lettuce from the garden?

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Can you lot regrow lettuce?

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Aye! To regrow lettuce, get-go past taking the lettuce and cutting it nigh 1 inch from the bottom. Put this stem in a shallow dish filled with about 1/ii inch of water. In about x-12 days, the lettuce will exist fully grown.
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How frequently do you h2o romaine lettuce?

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Be sure to sanitize any cutting tools you use both before and after you harvest your lettuce.
E'er be sure to rinse your lettuce thoroughly with warm water before eating information technology, particularly if you used any insecticide or fungicide while it was growing.
If left to mature for also long, lettuce leaves will over-ripen and take on an unpleasant woody texture.^[10]

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Article Summary X

Before yous harvest your romaine lettuce, sentry for open up, dark greenish leaves, which means it'south gear up to exist harvested. When it's ready, apply a sharp pair of garden pair of scissors to cut off the head of lettuce but in a higher place the base, or about 1 inch above the soil. This will ensure that the lettuce tin can grow again for a 2nd harvest, roughly 55-sixty days after the first 1. If you lot'd rather harvest the entire lettuce head at once, simply grasp the base of the lettuce head and pull upward until the roots dislodge from the basis. To larn how to harvest the individual lettuce leaves, read on!

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