How to Cut Red Leaf Lettuce Off of the Plant

Red lettuce can be green streaked with green to deep red depending on cultivar.

Red leaf lettuce not only adds color to your salad, but it also contains strong antioxidants, which is what gives it its red color. Red leaf lettuce also offers loads of vitamin A and K, fiber, calcium, magnesium and selenium. Lettuce in general is a crop that requires little maintenance and grows back fairly quickly. The best time to harvest red leaf lettuce is early in the morning after the dew has evaporated from the leaf.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors

Instructions

1. Find red lettuce leaves that are large enough to consume, or about 7 or 8 inches long.

2. Hold the top of the red leaf lettuce plant with one hand.

3. Cut the red leaf lettuce an inch above the lowest leaves with a pair of scissors. Don't cut into the growing point just above the roots.

4. Wash the lettuce in cool water. Allow it to drip dry. Then store it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

References

• University of Illinois Extension; Watch Your Garden Grow -- Harvesting; Ron Wolford and Drusilla Banks
• SunnyFortuna: Lettuce, One of the Easiest Garden Crops to Grow in Fortuna
• USAGardener: How To Grow Leaf Lettuce -- Harvesting Leaf Lettuce
• Self: Nutrition Data -- Red Leaf Lettuce