This technique maximizes the yield of leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, and kale over a prolonged season. Instead of pulling the entire head or severing the main stem, the grower snips the mature outer leaves. The apical meristem remains intact, continually pushing out new foliage for subsequent harvests until the plant eventually bolts or succumbs to frost.
Heard on the job
Seed that bed heavily with the mesclun mix so we can treat it as cut and come again for the farmers market all month.
Insider tip
Always cut above the basal growing point; cutting too low kills the plant and ruins the next flush.