Cut-and-come-again salad question

[veggiewomble]

I just planted a batch of cut-and-come-again lettuce plug plants outside and they are perking up and doing quite well. I've never grown these before, so I don't really know what to expect! How tall/big do they have to be before I can start harvesting some leaves, and how long do these plants live, i.e how many times can I expect to harvest before the plants give up? Or do they just go on and on indefinitely, given enough light/warmth? Can I move the trough indoors during the winter months and expect it to keep on going?

vegwomble

[shaza114]

Cut and come again lettuce

My first batch of oak leaf lettuce has come up, I wait until its a fair sized leaf then pick 2/3 leaves off each plant. It tends to keep going for quite a while, depends how much lettuce you eat! But once the first batch has come through I tend to sow another to make sure we have enough to last.

[Cutecumber]

You can cut it at whatever size you like as long as you don't cut the growing tips where the next leaves are coming from. It's likely that you'll get at least three goes, but, the leaves will get tougher over time. You won't want to keep them going forever, believe me.

[Vegmonkey]

I've found that if you pick off any leaves as and when you need them, then when you cut the plant, cut it a cm from the ground as a rule, you can't go far wrong as it leaves a nice healthy stump to regrow from. My spinach is on it's second regrowth as we speak, and still tasting lovely