How to Harvest Romaine Lettuce the Right Way

Romaine is a cold hardy crop that can be harvested about 65 to 70 days after planting—the leaves will be dark green and 6” high. Different harvesting techniques can extend the life of romaine plants and keep them growing a bit longer, so it’s important to know the best way to do it.

Once you learn the basics of how to harvest romaine lettuce, you can experiment with harvesting romaine in different ways for baby greens, larger leaves, and entire heads of lettuce.

With all the different harvesting techniques, knowing how to pick romaine lettuce can feel a bit tricky at first. The simple steps below will walk you through harvesting baby romaine and larger lettuce leaves the right way for healthy plants that keep growing.

About Growing Romaine Lettuce

As with many other types of lettuce, romaine grows best in cool weather and it starts to bolt during summer heat. Planting seeds early is the best way to ward against early bolting, but frequent harvesting can slow bolting too, and romaine can also be planted in succession for an extended harvest.

Just remember, baby greens and larger leaves can be harvested little by little, and larger lettuce heads can typically be harvested twice. It’s best to harvest the entire romaine plant before hot weather sets in to avoid bolted and bitter greens.

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How to Harvest Romaine the Right Way

Romaine is a versatile plant that can be grown just for baby greens or larger heads of lettuce. But if you want to get the most out of your romaine plants, try harvesting in different ways using the following tips.

1. Know when to harvest. Check your seed packet for specific harvesting timelines. Baby romaine leaves are usually ready to pick after 21 to 30 days. Unlike iceberg lettuce, romaine doesn’t form tight heads of leaves when mature. Loose, open romaine heads can be harvested about 65 days after planting when the leaves are a dark green and between 6 and 12” high.
2. Pick baby greens first. Baby romaine greens can be picked when they reach a usable size by gently pinching or cutting the leaves away just above the plant’s base with your fingers or a sharp pair of scissors. Romaine produces new growth towards the center of the plant, so harvest only the outer leaves and pick only a few baby leaves from each plant at a time.
3. Gather larger leaves if needed. Small harvests of baby romaine can be taken about once a week, but if you want larger romaine leaves, allow your plants to grow a bit longer. Pinch or cut the outer leaves at the base, but only take a few leaves from each plant and don’t harvest from the plant’s center. Give plants a week or so to recover and then harvest again.
4. Harvest the entire head. Baby greens and larger leaves can be harvested little by little, but you can also harvest an entire romaine head all at once. Let plants grow until a loose lettuce head forms and then use a sharp, serrated knife or pair of kitchen shears to cut the lettuce head off about 2” above the soil line. When the plant’s roots and lower stem are left intact, romaine will often continue to grow new leaves and perhaps even a second, partial head of lettuce.
5. Take the final harvest. After harvesting the first head of romaine leaves, you can pick the leaves that sprout from the plant’s base as needed for recipes or wait for a second, partial head of lettuce to form. However, romaine will bolt when hot weather arrives, so it’s best to harvest the entire plant before temperatures soar above 80F.
6. Adjust to rising temperatures. Once temperatures start to climb, harvest the remainder of your romaine crop by pulling the plants up by their roots with your fingers and then clip away the roots for a tidier harvest.

7 Best Tips for Harvesting Romaine Lettuce

• Use floating row covers or grow tunnels to extend your growing season and protect romaine leaves from frost damage in chilly spring and autumn gardens.
• Sheltering romaine with shade cloth and watering often can slow down bolting and extend harvesting into summer.
• Pick romaine leaves regularly to encourage plants to produce new growth.
• To avoid overharvesting, go slow and never harvest more than 1/3 of a plant’s leaves at once.
• To harvest romaine by hand, pull down and twist each leaf at the base, taking care not to accidentally uproot the entire plant.
• When romaine stems start to stretch, the plants are about to bolt and they should be harvested roots and all.
• For the best flavor, harvest romaine in the morning when temperatures are cool.