Keeping Lettuce Fresh

Because the weather was changing (for the worse I might add...cold.....) I ended up picking the rest of the lettuce so that, if we did get a freeze (ugh!) I wouldn't lose the greens. But there was so much there, still. I had given lettuce away till everyone who wanted some, was fully stocked. I only have so much room in the fridge and you certainly can't freeze it like you can with collards or spinach. And, there is also the problem of keeping it fresh for an extended period of time.

I ended up cutting the roots off 1/2 of the lettuce, standing in a bowl, filling it with water so that the stems were submersed, then putting the entire thing in the fridge. With the second 1/2 of the lettuce, I left the roots on, stood the greens, roots and all, into a small, plastic bucket, filled with water and placed in a protected place on the porch where it can stay cool (as the lettuce is cold tolerant but not freeze tolerant). So far both methods are working well.

The reason why I cut the roots off of the lettuce that I keep in the fridge is for ease of use. Just grab from fridge without having to take the time to remove the roots. But keeping the roots on the bunch I still have outside is with the hopes that having the roots still attached will further prolong the life of the lettuce.