Help a newbie re harvesting leafy greens, please

[Anonymous]

I've planted vegetable gardens before but this is the first year I've tried leafy greens. My spinach and lettuce are growing nicely! How do I know when to harvest them? I assume the lettuce should be picked as a head. How about the spinach? And after I pick them, the plant is done, right? I know, these are stupid questions. Thanks for any help you can offer!

[Anonymous]

You should start picking them as soon as they're big enough to be worth picking. They're not going to get any better in this heat!

[Anonymous]

These are cool weather plants, so if they look good you can go ahead and pick them. Lettuce can bolt when it gets really hot.

[Anonymous]

Re lettuce. I pick the outside leafs, which allows the inner ones to grow and mature and extend the harvest time. I never pick a whole head, but I have romaine, not iceberg.

[Anonymous]

I pick spinich small. It keep reproducing. Not sure of any thing scientific but it seems to last longer into the season when I do this.

[Anonymous]

As it gets hotter the lettuce will become more bitter. I prefer the small greens to letting it form a head. Just pick as you need it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all! The head of lettuce thing was throwing me off. We picked leaves of spinach and romaine today and they were tasty!