How to harvest?

[Jeff]

So I'm growing this Parris Island lettuce for about 70 days in a harvest slim.  I've been harvesting by removing the leaves from the bottom and letting grow vertically.  But now the leaves are touching the light.  I'm curious what others do around this time.   Continue to harvest leaves from the bottom, cut in the middle (this is what I'm thinking), or just take out the whole thing and call it a run?     

[scarfguy]

Everybody harvests lettuce differently.  Speaking for myself, I would have harvested the whole thing some time ago.

I usually, take a few leaves from the outside for a couple of sandwiches, and then harvest the rest for a nice salad.  Lettuce grows so fast, you can dedicate a couple of AGs for lettuce and by staggering the planting, you can have a constant supply.

[Clovis Sangrail]

 I usually harvest from the outside like you've been doing, but I let this one get out of hand.



So this morning, I harvested a whole plant from the Rouge d'Hiver on the left and made a salad.

There are two more of those on the left, and I'll harvest and eat them this week.

The three slots on the right are Parris Island, and I can probably do some trim harvesting and let it keep growing for a while.

Then, as scarfguy said, you can stagger a couple of AGs, so I have this waiting to grow up (also Rouge d'Hiver and Parris Island) --



And to the right, there are 2 more AGs that will get started in the next week or so.

It's hard to stagger lettuce in one machine because the early crop will overshadow the new plantings, hence multiple AGs.

Next planting will be some Merlot leaf and maybe some Bibb or some Jericho if it shows up in time. (Thanks for the tip, scarfguy .)

Finally, someone here posted about harvesting lettuce by taking some scissors and giving the lettuce a haircut across the top. I think it was LoveSalads , so hopefully she will come along and chime in.

Edited to add:  Yes, it was LoveSalads. She said she trims them like a hedge. Now I really hope she comes by and chimes in and maybe brings a picture.

[LoveSalads]

With some of my salad mixes that I buy 1/2 to 1 ounce packages I trim those like hedges. Flat on top and straight up and down on the sides. With the Merlot I pick large outside leaves and then if it gets out of hand then high and tight. Usually I follow Aergardens guidelines and do not remove more than 1/3 at a time. At 70 days sometimes the Lettuce starts getting bitter and I terminate and start over. As Clovis Sangrail and scarfguy and others have stated there are many ways to harvest your salads, whatever works for you is great. The plants look good.
The outdoor Garden is very time consuming at this point. I was hoping for cruise control but no luck yet. Apologies for the slow reply. 

[Jeff]

Thanks so much everyone for this great info and pics.  I decided to terminate and harvest both salads, which we enjoyed last night.  It makes a lot of sense to not stagger within a single garden but between gardens. I look forward to experimenting with other varieties such as Merlot and Rouge d'hiver.  My wife made a request for butterleaf, don't know if that works well in AG? 

[lynnee]

Jeff, you've solved your problem, but fyi I would have removed the top leaves that were touching the lights. The lettuce tastes fine if you just cut off the dried leaf tips.

I grow lettuce in a Bounty so I have a full 24" of growing height. That way the lettuce doesn't usually reach the lights until it bolts.

[Shawn]

When I harvest lettuce I cut straight across near the bottom and let it regrow.  No more then three harvests at a time.

Butterleaf is good.