How to Harvest & Prepare Lettuce Seeds

All lettuces produce flowering seed stalks.

Lettuce plants produce seeds as they approach the end of their growing season. The plant sends up a long flowering stalk from the center of the lettuce head, which makes locating the seeds for harvest simple. Once you have properly harvested the seeds, you must prepare the seeds for planting next season by drying them thoroughly. This prevents them from rotting. Always use fresh seed that is no more than one season old as older seed does not germinate well.

Things You'll Need

• Paper bag
• Garden shears
• Airtight container

Instructions

1. Wait for the lettuce to send up flowering stalks. Once the lettuce flowers, wait an additional two to three weeks for the seed pods to fully form and become pollinated.

2. Monitor the seed pods on the flowering stalk each day. Wait for half of the seed pods to open.

3. Lower a paper bag over the entire flowering stalk. Hold the opening of the bag closed on the stalk and cut the stalk just below the bag's opening with garden shears.

4. Place the bag in a cool, dry spot with the seed pods upside down in the bag. Let the seed pods dry until they loosely rattle when you shake the bag.

5. Shake the stalk to knock loose the seeds.

6. Pour the seeds into an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator until planting time.

References

• International Seed Saving Institute: Lettuce
• University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow - Lettuce