How to Harvest Boston or Bibb Lettuce

Store head lettuce in the refrigerator to maintain crispness and flavor.

Butterhead lettuces, which include the Boston and Bibb varieties, grow well for beginning and advanced gardeners whether working in the ground, raised beds or containers on a deck or patio. While curvy and soft leaves form the outer edges of the lettuce, a head will form inside at the base and steadily grow larger until the outer leaves begin to wrap around it. As with many vegetables, timing your harvest is key to collecting crisp, fresh lettuce with a sweet taste.

Things You'll Need

• Sharp knife

Instructions

1. Leave the lettuce to grow from the time of planting until it begins to form a head rather than have the look of a loose collection of curvy leaves. This can take from 50 to 75 days after planting.

2. Look over the top of each head to note that the inner leaves are beginning to cup inward. When the outer leaves wrap the head, the inside body of the lettuce is filling out.

3. Feel the lettuce by giving it a slight squeeze. Rather than crushing inward like a sponge, the head should be firm and resistant to pressure, but not hard. If the head is hard to squeeze, then it may be close to bolting to form flowers and the taste might be too bitter to eat.

4. Harvest the ready heads from the garden by holding the blade of your knife horizontally. Position the knife just below the base of the head and slice clean across in one motion, if possible, to pull the full and intact head from the ground, leaving the remainder of the plant behind.

5. Collect any other heads that are ready in the same manner, but leave behind loose heads that haven't firmed up. Check the remaining lettuce every two to three days and collect newly finished heads as you find them to keep yourself in steady supply of fresh lettuce.

Tips & Warnings

• Lettuce thrives in cooler temperatures and grows quickly. Succession planting, such as planting a new row of seeds every two to three weeks, can keep harvests coming until temperatures become too hot.

• Hot temperatures will encourage the plants to bolt. Check your lettuce heads daily if they are close to being ready during summer, or collect them early if a temperature above 80 F is expected.

References

• "Vegetable Gardening: Your Ultimate Guide"; Robert J. Dolezal; 2000
• "Growing Fruit and Vegetables"; Richard Bird; 2003