How to Grow and Harvest Cut and Come Again Lettuce

Gardenfork Cut and come again lettuce www.gardenfork.tv Eric: So we talked about the lettuce and we get some close-ups from where I cut. Hello, how are you? Female: What? Eric: Hello, how are you? So this is the lettuce bed. This is what we call the cut and come again kind of lettuce. These are loose leaves, long leaves; there are couples of different names. But this is a kind of lettuce I like. I do not really like heading lettuce because it just seems like too much work. This kind of thing, we just plow in a bunch of lines and seed of different varieties that we like. And you can cut it down to with an inch of its life and it will grow back again. So we are going to have dinner with somebody. We cut a bunch of these down. We have dinner, it is a great way. In a week later, this has grown up again and it is ready to cut again. You can do this in succession. Bring the scissors back here. So we just lay this in by the packetful. You know the packet said, it will do 15 feet a row or something and you know, we do not really measure. We put it in pretty thick because sometimes it is not where germination is which is not really good. But it is great! I mean look at these. This is giant slough stuff like we put in some kale, we put in some arugula. Arugula likes to bolt at a moments notice. It is already bolting here. And it is getting some bugs. But you can see how kind of long and thin it gets. But it is still good. So what we do here, is time for dinner. You just get your scissors, and your bowl. Ouch! That is really peppery arugula. Now, we feed the dogs—so that is the problem. So again, not a Martha Stewart bowl, but an Eric bowl. So you just cut this stuff. You are not killing it. You just cut it down at the bottom here, and throw it in. Really, it looks great. Did I tell you it is called cut and come again? Female: Yes. Eric: All right! You just grab that, and cut it. That is a bowl of lettuce right there. You can be systematic about it. You can cut one row down; you will let the other row grow. I mean afterwards, it looks like a clear cut forest but it will come back, do not worry. You can see over here, where I cut some the other day. And these guys are already growing back already. So, you get the occasional weed, this is actually michet (Inaudible) or corn salad but it is kind of stringy in the way. But because you sow this stuff so thick, weeds have a hard time growing up. Because the lettuce just does not give them a chance in their life. So, in addition to your cut and come again plantings eventually those plants are going to pewter out. And you are not going to be able to cut from them again. Also, there are some lettuces that are more heat tolerant than other lettuces. A lot of the spring lettuces, they just cannot handle the heat of the summer. So we can also plant some more rows of more heat tolerant lettuces. So what I have got here, is a couple of different things but from Fed Co. seeds, they have one called the summer lettuce mix, which is a mixture of lettuces that are more heat tolerant than some of the other more tender lettuces. Because I use the soaker hoses, I just run this right along the edge of the soaker hose, that way the seeds get watered. So I am not going to put all of these. I am not going to put this whole pack just in the short rows. But this is how thick I put them in. and then I just push the dirt over. Very unscientific in the world of Eric here. And I just tap it down lightly. The seeds have the contact with soil and also have to get some moisture to know that it is time to grow basically. My neighbor gave me some head lettuce and those are Romaine. They are actually looking pretty good. I was skeptical as usually I am and I have been proven wrong. Lettuces do not really like the heat of summer. So you can plant them in spring and early summer. And then you can plant them in the fall again. You can try different things to prolong your harvest. I have seen people put little shading, little shade netting over their lettuces but just the heat. It is just they do not like it.