When fresh garden lettuce starts to wilt, it’s usually a sign that the plant is hungry for nutrients and needs a little extra water to rehydrate. If you’re experiencing this problem, try drenching the soil around the lettuce with compost tea or fish or seaweed emulsion fertilizer to boost its nutrition. Then, sprinkle it with water throughout the day to give the lettuce a boost of moisture.

How to preserve lettuce from the garden common method to preserve lettuce is storing it like you would store a head of lettuce from the grocery store. The best way to do this is to wash the leaves thoroughly and then spin them dry in a salad spinner. Once you’ve drained the excess water from the leaves, you can wrap them in paper towel and place them in a resealable plastic bag in your fridge’s crisper drawer. This method typically preserves iceberg lettuce for about two weeks, while romaine can last up to a week.

Keeping It Crisp: Techniques and Tips for Preserving Garden-Fresh Lettuce

If you want to try something a little different, you can also freeze the lettuce for a few months. This isn’t ideal because the lettuce tends to lose its crisp texture when frozen, but it’s a good alternative if you have a lot of produce and are looking for a way to use it up before it spoils.

If you’re worried about slimy snails and slugs damaging your lettuce, spread some granular bait around the patch to distract them. Or, half-bury a container of old beer in your garden to lure the pests and drown them.