Lettuce Help

[agardener2020]

Lettuce was doing fine but the stalk started to grow tall and leggy and the leaves are very small.  This garden started around late May and I've been giving it nutrients every two weeks.  Just wondering if I may have been harvesting it incorrectly and it grew like this or I had the lights too low and it started to bolt.

[Shawn]

Welcome @
agardener2020!

Let me start off by saying these are my opinions on lettuce.  I will plant and harvest three times, then start a new garden.  Why?  I find that after three my lettuce does get leggy, thin out, not as green and smaller.  Many here have kept lettuce growing for some time.

I would suggest first looking at the Lettuce, Tips and Tricks thread.   Also take a look in the AG Growing Guide.

Another great source as to what others are doing and how they are growing their lettuce is to look in the Members Garden Patches (Member Blogs).  

As you will read in several places, lettuce likes cool water so if it feels warms, add ice cubes.  It also stays fresher longer.  Another tip is to never harvest lettuce the day of or a couple days after giving nutrients.  Why?  The uptake of nutes will give them a mineral, bitter taste.

Lastly, harvesting lettuce can be done a couple of ways as well.  Some pick the outer leaves while others mow the lawn

I just think the project is too old. Like Shawn, I do 3 harvests max and replant. I also mainly do a haircut harvest which is to cut from near the base of the plant, but sometimes I snip partial plants. Mine are loose leaf types.

[agardener2020]

Thanks Shawn and Corinne!  We already have some new greens on the way so we will probably harvest these guys and start over.  I'm looking forward to reading the tips and tricks to see what I can try differently this time.