Vegetable Gardening

[Brandi]

Does anyone know how to harvest lettuce when it is young to keep it producing? I just planted a mix of baby lettuce plants but I am not sure when I can start to harvest. It looks good enough to eat now! Also how about swiss chard? Can you eat baby swiss chard?

[Blueberry]

Also how about swiss chard? Can you eat baby swiss chard?

Definitely! I like it better when it's small. I usually take the outer leaf or 2, and leave the rest for the plant to use

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lots of blended or mesclun lettuce seed mixes are intended to be cut-and-come-again. Once it's over 2" tall just start giving it haircuts and using the longer tender leaf tops- it'll keep growing! Just don't cut it too close to the ground so that it can't recover.
Swiss chard is slightly different- don't give it a 'haircut' but rather cut and use the whole outer leaves as often as you like, even when small and tender.

[Brandi]

you don't pluck lettuce? You cut it?

[hebe]

I have potatoes, radishes, carrots and spring onions in tubs outside, all are coming through now except the spring onions. I have mint, basil, coriander and parsley inside on the kitchen windowsill. The Mister has promised me raissed beds if I can find someone to build them (he is open to the idea of less lawn to mow).

I love the vertical garden!

[Blueberry]

I have potatoes, radishes, carrots and spring onions in tubs outside, all are coming through now except the spring onions. I have mint, basil, coriander and parsley inside on the kitchen windowsill. The Mister has promised me raissed beds if I can find someone to build them (he is open to the idea of less lawn to mow).

I love the vertical garden!

You could also look at these. They may not be pretty, but they're fairly cost effective (when I priced them against lumber) and they definitely work. They're easy to put together - particularly the 3x3's.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

you don't pluck lettuce? You cut it?

You can't really cut head lettuce and have it grow a new head, so you harvest the whole head and that's it.
Leaf lettuce will continue putting up new leaves if you either cut off whole outer leaves or give the whole plant a little haircut and take maybe the top half.

All lettuce tends to get bitter as it gets older, so it;s good to keep planting seed at intervals and discard the older lettuce plants once they get spindly and send up flower stalks, if you haven't used them already. Lettuce is best when young, sweet, and tender. Never sow lettuce seeds all at once.

[Brandi]

You can't really cut head lettuce and have it grow a new head, so you harvest the whole head and that's it.
Leaf lettuce will continue putting up new leaves if you either cut off whole outer leaves or give the whole plant a little haircut and take maybe the top half.

All lettuce tends to get bitter as it gets older, so it;s good to keep planting seed at intervals and discard the older lettuce plants once they get spindly and send up flower stalks, if you haven't used them already. Lettuce is best when young, sweet, and tender. Never sow lettuce seeds all at once.

So head lettuce you mean like ice berg? Most of my little lettuce is red leaf, butter, romaine (I think) and a frilly green one. It was a 6 pack. I should try the seeds. I have them in containers because the snails are so bad here. right now they are all about 3 inches tall and looking very pretty.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My 10 little baby blueberry bushes that we planted last Spring are flowering for the first time, and I can see some baby blueberries forming! Our first blueberries, so exciting! Looks like we might get a few dozen. (And yes, I already bought some excellent bird netting that we'll put on just before the berries start turning blue)

Got the 13 tomato plants in. Planted the cucumbers and the bush beans too.

Salad-wise, we are already harvesting lots of lettuce, bok choy, kale, spinach, scallions, and radishes.