I’ve been studying learn how to protect homegrown lettuce from the backyard and have discovered the greatest approach to make it keep crisp and contemporary longer. Exterior of using the crisper drawer to retailer lettuce, I’ve discovered just a few suggestions and tips over time. Learn to preserve your lettuce crisp and contemporary longer so you possibly can develop your backyard and eat it, too.
Taking lettuce out of the crisper drawer to seek out it limp and curling on the edges (or discovering rotten lettuce) because it begins to show brown is a bummer. Particularly when it was in there for a really very long time.
You’re employed so arduous on rising stunning salad greens, simply to allow them to shrivel up a day after your harvest? Not anymore!
Excellent news! The times of losing your garden-fresh lettuce and contemporary greens are gone. Learn to preserve your homegrown lettuce contemporary as lengthy, or longer than, store-bought lettuce!
It’s essential to know the different varieties of lettuce when selecting which one to develop. Lettuce vegetation are lumped into classes decided by their lettuce leaves kind and the heads of lettuce. In relation to a dwelling backyard, you’ll primarily discover romaine, crisphead and butterhead lettuce so we are going to concentrate on these for the aim of this text. These are additionally essentially the most generally discovered within the grocery retailer and contemporary salads.
Romaine lettuces are a hard-leaf lettuce selection. Typically harvested as a complete head of lettuce, you may also harvest the leaves slowly as they develop as a substitute of ending the whole plant from one other lettuce harvest. When romaine is totally matured, the pinnacle of lettuce is formed like a protracted, slender soccer with layers of luscious crisp leaves with out a lot water content material.
You possibly can get pleasure from romaine’s eloquent tasting leaves in salads, on sandwiches, and so forth. Romaine is among the best lettuces to protect.
Butterhead lettuce is among the many soft-leaf lettuce varieties. This loose-leaf lettuce develops a sweeter-tasting crop. It develops a unfastened head, making it an ideal cut-and-come-again crop to develop in your backyard. Butterhead’s gentle, buttery palate and gentle leaves make it the right unfastened leaf lettuce for sandwiches.
Crisphead lettuce, also called iceberg lettuce, is a tougher lettuce with tight, crisp leaves and a excessive water content material.
Subsequent time you’re at your backyard heart, or are planting these tiny seeds, take into account which lettuce seeds yield which selection.
How do you retain backyard lettuce contemporary and crisp?
A few of these strategies will be just right for you and a few of them won’t. There is perhaps a greatest time in your space to make use of sure strategies within the early spring, and different strategies that might be greatest for an early fall harvest. There isn’t a best-by date on homegrown harvests, so simply use trial and error, take notes and keep watch over your crop.
Though your first motion after harvesting is perhaps to clean your goodies, attempt to withstand. Washing your hard-leafed lettuce can add moisture to the leaves main them to wilt a little bit faster.
For lettuces like romaine, it’s greatest to reap them as an entire head and add them to a high quality storage container. I wrap mine with a paper towel to soak any extra moisture.
Test the paper towel typically and change it out as soon as it’s saturated.
If you happen to’re utilizing soft-leaf lettuce, rinse your lettuce and both air-dry on a dish towel or gently spin them in a salad spinner. Flour sack towels and even fabric diaper inserts are a good way to air dry, additionally. Use no matter you are feeling will yield the greatest outcomes drying your pre-washed lettuce.
The important thing when sustaining the freshness of soft-leaf lettuce is to get rid of extra moisture. I retailer my unfastened, soft-leaf lettuce in both plastic baggies or reusable baggies.
You should definitely not overstuff the baggies and add a paper towel, or dry, clear towel to suck up the additional moisture!
Investing in high quality storage containers for any motive is a good suggestion. The identical applies to preserving your freshly harvested backyard lettuce, investing in high quality storage containers for any motive is a good suggestion.
I’ve been utilizing these produce storage containers for a few 12 months now and so they by no means disappoint. I retailer broccoli, peppers, beans, my lettuce and my extra in them.
I purchased a head of romaine lettuce over the summer season and, embarrassingly sufficient, I forgot about it. After I pulled the plastic container out about 2 weeks later, as a substitute of discovering a brown lettuce, I discovered a lettuce head with comparatively contemporary particular person leaves. The inside leaves and romaine coronary heart was even in fairly good condition! I might’ve misplaced a full head of lettuce, however didn’t.
It’s also possible to use mason jars for storage as effectively. I discovered this nice new store referred to as “Mason Jars Makerplace” the place you should buy several types of tops for the jars!
I’ve these great flip tops that work wonders if I wish to retailer a small quantity of long-stemmed herbs. Fill the jar with water, add the highest and slip your herbs proper in! This is among the best methods to extend the shelf life of your lot of lettuce after a profitable (or barely profitable!) rising season.
Every time I purchase hard-leafed lettuce like romaine, I don’t wash it. I wrap it with one paper towel earlier than placing them in my helpful storage containers for later use.
Be sure you test the paper towel each 3-6 days, changing the towel when it’s damp. Placing a paper towel in together with your lettuce pulls the moisture from the crop. Much less moisture means preserving lettuce to be contemporary longer. #Successful
If you happen to’re planning a big harvest day, be sure to keep watch over your produce after. It’s so unlucky while you harvest a pleasant crop and overlook about it for a little bit too lengthy.
Don’t fear an excessive amount of. There’s a fast tip for reviving lettuce that has began wilting!
It is perhaps greatest to go away your soft-leaf lettuce within the backyard till you’re able to get pleasure from it. A winner for the salad bowl and a favourite cool-season crop, Butterhead lettuces are nice for a sluggish harvest in all strategies of gardening, so long as it stays cool. Harvest the tender leaves (outer leaves) within the early morning so as to add to a spring combine of different leafy greens for lunch!
This manner you possibly can have your lettuce salads and eat it, too!
For hard-leaf lettuces (suppose romaine) contemplate training succession planting. Working towards succession planting with romaine lettuce gives an ongoing harvest of lettuce all season lengthy. You are able to do this with any crop, plus it’s so a lot enjoyable seeing crops within the backyard. Right here’s a visible instance:
Obtain the picture beneath (totally free)!
Relying on the number of lettuce, your harvest technique will range. Harvesting strategies can even range based on how you intend to get pleasure from your harvest.
For all varieties, harvest your lettuce simply earlier than maturity. The very best style is achieved with a younger and tender crop. As soon as lettuce reaches or passes maturity, it should flip begin tasting bitter and spoil faster.
Harvest early within the morning earlier than the solar is in full power because the leaves can be crisp and ‘well-rested’. For looseleaf varieties, use a pointy pair of small snips to softly clip the leaves away. For full-head varieties, use a sharp knife or harvest sickle to make one clear reduce, eradicating the total head.
Right here’s a helpful desk that can assist you decide when to reap your number of lettuce.
Did you harvest lettuce a few week in the past and overlook about it? Did you go to make your afternoon salad and understand you may have a case of limp lettuce that has began to develop brown spots?
I advised you there was a fast tip for in case your lettuce begins to wilt! Add ice to chilly water and submerge your lettuce for 10 minutes to 1 hour, relying on the hardiness of the range.
Butterhead lettuce is a first-rate candidate for this ice water trick. Iceberg isn’t, because the lettuce is much too fragile and received’t stand up to the ice crystals that may kind on the leaves.
Your lettuce ought to begin perking proper up! This trick works with virtually each vegetable, together with fragile salad greens. For thicker, stalkier greens like broccoli, asparagus, and so forth. simply put the stalk edge in a jar of water.
Don’t overlook to obtain the picture beneath (totally free!)
I’ve typically puzzled if it’s potential to freeze lettuce to maintain it contemporary. My preliminary response could be ‘no’ since lettuce is a extra tender vegetable.
It seems that you may freeze virtually something and, though I haven’t tried it, you possibly can read more about freezing lettuce here.
TL;DR? Listed here are an important factors from the above article:
It’s essential to notice you received’t be capable of make salads together with your frozen lettuce: high quality freezer bag or not. I promise you honesty on this weblog and honesty is what I’ll give ya.
It’s advised to make use of frozen lettuce inside six months of freezing. You received’t be capable of make salads, however frozen lettuce could be added to soups, quiches, stir fry dishes and casseroles. In case your lettuce is frozen accurately, you possibly can thaw out full leaves within the fridge and use them as lettuce wraps.
It’s also possible to puree lettuce and freeze them in luggage or ice dice trays. Dried lettuce can be an choice, and will definitely preserve for a a lot longer interval at no additional price. Creativity belongs within the backyard and the kitchen. Whether or not your lettuces grows in container gardens or deep, hugelkulter backyard beds there’s a approach to protect your contemporary lettuce harvest.
Preserving store-bought lettuce more energizing longer could be tougher than homegrown, contemporary harvested lettuce.
In case you are shopping for lettuce in a bag, you’ll want to select and discard, or use, any piece of lettuce that already appears wilty – you’ll want to test the backside of the bag! Add a paper towel, or a reusable towel, to your bag to absorb moisture. Test it commonly; take away and substitute moist towels. If you happen to depart the lettuce within the bag for just a few days, contemplate poking a small gap within the bag to launch moisture.
In case you are shopping for contemporary, unpackaged lettuce then you definitely’ll wish to deal with it like your homegrown lettuce, with the added step of washing your lettuce completely and ensuring it’s dry. Add to a container of alternative, and stick a towel in it. Ensure you take away any rubber bands.
A part of homesteading is usually studying learn how to eat regionally and seasonally. Pay shut consideration and, for instance, you’ll discover that merchandise equivalent to berries are extra inexpensive within the hotter months (relying on the place you’re).
When consuming lettuce, it should often need to be contemporary should you’re utilizing it for salads and such. However should you use the following pointers and tips, although, you possibly can prolong your harvest for weeks to months.
What’s your favourite kind of lettuce to develop? Drop a remark beneath!
Don’t forget to pin this for later!
The winner of the giveaway is Gail from Wisconsin! Thanks to all that participated.
How to Choose the Best Garden Space from The Self-Enough HomeAcre
Choosing the Best Garden Seeds from Homegrown Self-Reliance
How to Grow Food in Just 3-4 Weeks from Oak Hill Homestead
Theme Gardens – How to cultivate fun, flavor & ‘buzz’ by The Farm Spouse
How to establish a fantastic edible food forest easily by 15 Acre Homestead
Step-by-step plan on how to get your seeds started for a Spring garden by Bloom The place You’re Planted
Learn how to protect lettuce from the backyard longer, protecting it crisp and contemporary till used.
Taking lettuce out of the crisper drawer to seek out it limp and curling on the edges (or discovering rotten lettuce) because it begins to show brown is a bummer. Particularly when it was in there for a really very long time.
You’re employed so arduous on rising stunning salad greens, simply to allow them to shrivel up a day after your harvest? Not anymore!
Excellent news! The times of losing your garden-fresh lettuce and contemporary greens are gone. Learn to preserve your homegrown lettuce contemporary as lengthy, or longer than, store-bought lettuce!
Several types of lettuce
It’s essential to know the different varieties of lettuce when selecting which one to develop. Lettuce vegetation are lumped into classes decided by their lettuce leaves kind and the heads of lettuce. In relation to a dwelling backyard, you’ll primarily discover romaine, crisphead and butterhead lettuce so we are going to concentrate on these for the aim of this text. These are additionally essentially the most generally discovered within the grocery retailer and contemporary salads.
Romaine lettuces are a hard-leaf lettuce selection. Typically harvested as a complete head of lettuce, you may also harvest the leaves slowly as they develop as a substitute of ending the whole plant from one other lettuce harvest. When romaine is totally matured, the pinnacle of lettuce is formed like a protracted, slender soccer with layers of luscious crisp leaves with out a lot water content material.
You possibly can get pleasure from romaine’s eloquent tasting leaves in salads, on sandwiches, and so forth. Romaine is among the best lettuces to protect.
Butterhead lettuce is among the many soft-leaf lettuce varieties. This loose-leaf lettuce develops a sweeter-tasting crop. It develops a unfastened head, making it an ideal cut-and-come-again crop to develop in your backyard. Butterhead’s gentle, buttery palate and gentle leaves make it the right unfastened leaf lettuce for sandwiches.
Crisphead lettuce, also called iceberg lettuce, is a tougher lettuce with tight, crisp leaves and a excessive water content material.
Subsequent time you’re at your backyard heart, or are planting these tiny seeds, take into account which lettuce seeds yield which selection.
How do you retain backyard lettuce contemporary and crisp?
How do you retain backyard lettuce contemporary and crisp?
A few of these strategies will be just right for you and a few of them won’t. There is perhaps a greatest time in your space to make use of sure strategies within the early spring, and different strategies that might be greatest for an early fall harvest. There isn’t a best-by date on homegrown harvests, so simply use trial and error, take notes and keep watch over your crop.
Don’t wash it
Though your first motion after harvesting is perhaps to clean your goodies, attempt to withstand. Washing your hard-leafed lettuce can add moisture to the leaves main them to wilt a little bit faster.
For lettuces like romaine, it’s greatest to reap them as an entire head and add them to a high quality storage container. I wrap mine with a paper towel to soak any extra moisture.
Test the paper towel typically and change it out as soon as it’s saturated.
If you happen to wash your lettuce, dry it very effectively
If you happen to’re utilizing soft-leaf lettuce, rinse your lettuce and both air-dry on a dish towel or gently spin them in a salad spinner. Flour sack towels and even fabric diaper inserts are a good way to air dry, additionally. Use no matter you are feeling will yield the greatest outcomes drying your pre-washed lettuce.
The important thing when sustaining the freshness of soft-leaf lettuce is to get rid of extra moisture. I retailer my unfastened, soft-leaf lettuce in both plastic baggies or reusable baggies.
You should definitely not overstuff the baggies and add a paper towel, or dry, clear towel to suck up the additional moisture!
Put money into high quality storage containers
Investing in high quality storage containers for any motive is a good suggestion. The identical applies to preserving your freshly harvested backyard lettuce, investing in high quality storage containers for any motive is a good suggestion.
I’ve been utilizing these produce storage containers for a few 12 months now and so they by no means disappoint. I retailer broccoli, peppers, beans, my lettuce and my extra in them.
I purchased a head of romaine lettuce over the summer season and, embarrassingly sufficient, I forgot about it. After I pulled the plastic container out about 2 weeks later, as a substitute of discovering a brown lettuce, I discovered a lettuce head with comparatively contemporary particular person leaves. The inside leaves and romaine coronary heart was even in fairly good condition! I might’ve misplaced a full head of lettuce, however didn’t.
It’s also possible to use mason jars for storage as effectively. I discovered this nice new store referred to as “Mason Jars Makerplace” the place you should buy several types of tops for the jars!
I’ve these great flip tops that work wonders if I wish to retailer a small quantity of long-stemmed herbs. Fill the jar with water, add the highest and slip your herbs proper in! This is among the best methods to extend the shelf life of your lot of lettuce after a profitable (or barely profitable!) rising season.
Wrap it
Every time I purchase hard-leafed lettuce like romaine, I don’t wash it. I wrap it with one paper towel earlier than placing them in my helpful storage containers for later use.
Be sure you test the paper towel each 3-6 days, changing the towel when it’s damp. Placing a paper towel in together with your lettuce pulls the moisture from the crop. Much less moisture means preserving lettuce to be contemporary longer. #Successful
Keep watch over it
If you happen to’re planning a big harvest day, be sure to keep watch over your produce after. It’s so unlucky while you harvest a pleasant crop and overlook about it for a little bit too lengthy.
Don’t fear an excessive amount of. There’s a fast tip for reviving lettuce that has began wilting!
Depart it within the backyard
It is perhaps greatest to go away your soft-leaf lettuce within the backyard till you’re able to get pleasure from it. A winner for the salad bowl and a favourite cool-season crop, Butterhead lettuces are nice for a sluggish harvest in all strategies of gardening, so long as it stays cool. Harvest the tender leaves (outer leaves) within the early morning so as to add to a spring combine of different leafy greens for lunch!
This manner you possibly can have your lettuce salads and eat it, too!
For hard-leaf lettuces (suppose romaine) contemplate training succession planting. Working towards succession planting with romaine lettuce gives an ongoing harvest of lettuce all season lengthy. You are able to do this with any crop, plus it’s so a lot enjoyable seeing crops within the backyard. Right here’s a visible instance:
Obtain the picture beneath (totally free)!
Learn how to harvest lettuce
Relying on the number of lettuce, your harvest technique will range. Harvesting strategies can even range based on how you intend to get pleasure from your harvest.
For all varieties, harvest your lettuce simply earlier than maturity. The very best style is achieved with a younger and tender crop. As soon as lettuce reaches or passes maturity, it should flip begin tasting bitter and spoil faster.
Harvest early within the morning earlier than the solar is in full power because the leaves can be crisp and ‘well-rested’. For looseleaf varieties, use a pointy pair of small snips to softly clip the leaves away. For full-head varieties, use a sharp knife or harvest sickle to make one clear reduce, eradicating the total head.
- It’s greatest to reap lettuce within the morning earlier than leaves have been uncovered to the solar.
- As time passes and the plant loses vigor, planting a second spherical of seeds than ready for new leaves is really helpful.
- Hold lettuce within the fridge for as much as 10 days in a unfastened plastic bag
Right here’s a helpful desk that can assist you decide when to reap your number of lettuce.
| Sort | Looseleaf lettuce | Crisphead lettuce | Romaine lettuce | Butterhead lettuce |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selection | Ruby; Prizehead; Grand Rapids; Deer Tongue; Black Seeded Simpson; Inexperienced Ice; Lollo Rosso; Pink Sails | Iceberg; Crisphead Nice Lakes; Igloo; Webbs Fantastic | Cimarron; Forellenschluss; Vivian; EZ Serve; Little Caesar; Little Gem; Parris Island; Paris White | Boston; Bibb; Buttercrunch; 4 Seasons; Tom Thumb; Bronze Mignonette; Yugoslavian Pink |
| Learn how to harvest | Harvest as wanted/ongoing | Harvest full head with one clear reduce on the base | Harvest as wanted/ongoing or await full-head is fashioned | Harvest as wanted/ongoing |
Learn how to revive lettuce after it has began to wilt
Did you harvest lettuce a few week in the past and overlook about it? Did you go to make your afternoon salad and understand you may have a case of limp lettuce that has began to develop brown spots?
I advised you there was a fast tip for in case your lettuce begins to wilt! Add ice to chilly water and submerge your lettuce for 10 minutes to 1 hour, relying on the hardiness of the range.
Butterhead lettuce is a first-rate candidate for this ice water trick. Iceberg isn’t, because the lettuce is much too fragile and received’t stand up to the ice crystals that may kind on the leaves.
Your lettuce ought to begin perking proper up! This trick works with virtually each vegetable, together with fragile salad greens. For thicker, stalkier greens like broccoli, asparagus, and so forth. simply put the stalk edge in a jar of water.
Don’t overlook to obtain the picture beneath (totally free!)
Are you able to freeze lettuce?
I’ve typically puzzled if it’s potential to freeze lettuce to maintain it contemporary. My preliminary response could be ‘no’ since lettuce is a extra tender vegetable.
It seems that you may freeze virtually something and, though I haven’t tried it, you possibly can read more about freezing lettuce here.
TL;DR? Listed here are an important factors from the above article:
- A vacuum sealer is really helpful because it’s simpler to take away all of the air within the bag. This gives a greater probability that your lettuce will freeze effectively and sufficiently.
- High quality freezer luggage can even guarantee that you just get an ideal freeze. *An important goal is to take away all or as a lot air from the bag as you possibly can.
- Don’t overcrowd your freezer luggage.
- Be sure that your lettuce is totally dry earlier than placing it within the freezer bag. Lettuce can simply wilt and extra water and moisture will help in that course of.
- Heartier sorts of lettuce are the perfect candidates for freezing, equivalent to Butterhead (my favourite).
It’s essential to notice you received’t be capable of make salads together with your frozen lettuce: high quality freezer bag or not. I promise you honesty on this weblog and honesty is what I’ll give ya.
It’s advised to make use of frozen lettuce inside six months of freezing. You received’t be capable of make salads, however frozen lettuce could be added to soups, quiches, stir fry dishes and casseroles. In case your lettuce is frozen accurately, you possibly can thaw out full leaves within the fridge and use them as lettuce wraps.
It’s also possible to puree lettuce and freeze them in luggage or ice dice trays. Dried lettuce can be an choice, and will definitely preserve for a a lot longer interval at no additional price. Creativity belongs within the backyard and the kitchen. Whether or not your lettuces grows in container gardens or deep, hugelkulter backyard beds there’s a approach to protect your contemporary lettuce harvest.
How do you protect retailer purchased lettuce?
Preserving store-bought lettuce more energizing longer could be tougher than homegrown, contemporary harvested lettuce.
In case you are shopping for lettuce in a bag, you’ll want to select and discard, or use, any piece of lettuce that already appears wilty – you’ll want to test the backside of the bag! Add a paper towel, or a reusable towel, to your bag to absorb moisture. Test it commonly; take away and substitute moist towels. If you happen to depart the lettuce within the bag for just a few days, contemplate poking a small gap within the bag to launch moisture.
In case you are shopping for contemporary, unpackaged lettuce then you definitely’ll wish to deal with it like your homegrown lettuce, with the added step of washing your lettuce completely and ensuring it’s dry. Add to a container of alternative, and stick a towel in it. Ensure you take away any rubber bands.
Preserving lettuce: Conclusion
A part of homesteading is usually studying learn how to eat regionally and seasonally. Pay shut consideration and, for instance, you’ll discover that merchandise equivalent to berries are extra inexpensive within the hotter months (relying on the place you’re).
When consuming lettuce, it should often need to be contemporary should you’re utilizing it for salads and such. However should you use the following pointers and tips, although, you possibly can prolong your harvest for weeks to months.
What’s your favourite kind of lettuce to develop? Drop a remark beneath!
Don’t forget to pin this for later!
The winner of the giveaway is Gail from Wisconsin! Thanks to all that participated.
Try all of our cohosts’ nice backyard info:
How to Choose the Best Garden Space from The Self-Enough HomeAcre
Choosing the Best Garden Seeds from Homegrown Self-Reliance
How to Grow Food in Just 3-4 Weeks from Oak Hill Homestead
Theme Gardens – How to cultivate fun, flavor & ‘buzz’ by The Farm Spouse
How to establish a fantastic edible food forest easily by 15 Acre Homestead
Step-by-step plan on how to get your seeds started for a Spring garden by Bloom The place You’re Planted