Harvesting


Harvesting

Lettuce and greens harvesting tips that are simple and fun:

Harvest with kid-size scissors.  It’s hard to pick lettuce and greens without tearing up the roots.  It also makes them easier to wash, since you’re not pulling out soil.  Using scissors, cut lettuces and greens just above the soil.

Have plenty of bowls handy for harvested lettuce and greens.

Large plastic storage tubs are ideal for washing lettuce and greens.  Fill about half way with water, add a little lettuce and greens at a time, swish around and remove. Place lettuce and greens in colanders and shake to get rid of excess water.  Refill with water as it becomes dirty.

Become human salad spinners!  Gather a dozen or so clean pillowcases.  Add a couple handfuls of lettuce that has been washed and drained in colanders to the pillowcase.  Close, grip and start spinning.

Keep salad bowls separate from harvest bowls.  Keep a couple large bowls reserved for clean, dry lettuce and greens

Other harvesting tips:

Teach children what each veggie looks like when it’s ready to be harvested.

Teach how to properly pick, wash, and store each veggie.

Have plenty of containers, bowls, buckets, or boxes available for easy harvesting. Think REUSE and RECYCLE J

Have a Growing Gardeners Party!

One fun way to celebrate is to have a veggie party!  Teach children how to make a dish using their veggies from their gardens.  It can be as simple as a salad or as complex as one of your favorite veggie recipes!

–Jennifer Neureiter

Elementary school teacher in Morgan County IN and co-founder of WhyNotTodayIndiana.org.