If you have been an avid reader of my blog, you might have noticed that I have posted about a lot of different lettuce operations! I definitely noticed that too, but I was so excited to share each operation with you because the work that is done to harvest, pack and process different types of lettuce is really incredible, and no two operations are the same. To be even more honest with you, a lettuce harvest was the first harvest that I ever saw in person while in college and it really blew me away that people could work that hard and that efficiently, and then when I first started this blog, I really wanted to showcase lettuce and was turned down multiple times because nobody wanted to share their processes (even though most of them are very similar). So, now I am very happy to share this vast library of lettuce harvesting, packing and processing operations that I have collected, all in one place!
Although some of the processes seem similar, there are a few different categories that they fall under:
Table of Contents
Lettuce Harvesting by Hand
For this type of harvesting, the leafy greens are hand harvested and then are bundled and packed into boxes. Out of all of the different types of leafy green harvesting operations that I have featured, this is the only operation that does not use a harvesting rig (harvesting machine) that moves along with the harvest crew.
This particular operation is a kale harvesting crew, and if you are interested in learning more about the process, you can read the full post HERE.
Lettuce Harvesting with Harvesting Tools and a Harvesting Rig
This is the most common lettuce harvesting method. There is a harvest crew in the field that removes the lettuce from the ground using a knife, then throws the harvested heads onto the packing table or conveyor line of the harvesting rig (harvesting machine), who (washes and) packs the product and then sends it over to the adjacent trailer to be palletized. Those trailers go back and forth to the cooler once they are filled to maintain the shelf-life of the lettuce for as long as possible.
When I write it like that, it seems like it is just a simple procedure. However, this is very labor intensive. The harvesting rig (harvesting machine) is attached to a tractor that progresses the harvesting rig forward and the harvesting crew needs to be able to select out the heads of lettuce that are of proper quality to harvest, harvest them and do so at the speed in which the harvesting rig is moving.
In the first example below, you will see an example of a baby romaine lettuce harvest and packing. You can also read more about the process HERE.
In this example, you can see the endive lettuce harvesting and packing process. You can also read more about the process HERE.
This next example of escarole harvest and packing is very similar to the endive example above, since they were both filmed at the same field of the same company’s harvesting crews. You can read more about the escarole lettuce and packing process HERE.
This next example is one of my favorites, just because it is so different. I had never seen anything like this before, and have yet to see anything like this being done in the field since. Blonde Frisée is grown as Frisée lettuce, and the heads of Frisée are covered and tied with rubber bands to create the “blonde” portion. As such, part of the harvesting process includes removing the outer green leaves.
You can see the whole process in the video below, and can read more about it HERE.
In this example, radicchio is only being harvested in the field. There is no in-field packing process. So, you only see a portion of what you will see in the other examples because the product is only harvested and then packed into bins to be sent to the packinghouse. One really cool thing that I observed and have yet to see again is that this operation had six radicchio harvesting crews and harvesting rigs in the same field running at the same time.
You can see more in the video below or read more about the harvesting process HERE.
In this next video, we have another example of a kale harvesting operation. This footage is actually from Babé Farms as well, the same company whose kale harvesting crew was featured above working wihtout a harvesting rig (harvesting machine). You can read more about this specific kale harvesting process HERE.
Lettuce In-Field Processing
This romaine heart harvesting operation is classified as in-field processing because the heads of romaine are “processed” into romaine hearts, meaning that they are altered from their original form. It is not just the outer leaves being removed, like in the previous examples, but it is essentially the inner portion of the head of the romaine lettuce being removed and placed into bins to be sent to the processor.
You can see all of the romaine heart harvesting steps in the video below and can read more about the process HERE.
Lettuce Harvesting Machine
I was not sure whether I should include this as the first type of harvesting method or the last because it does require the least amount of time and hands, but there are also a lot more moving parts included in the machinery that need to be considered. Compared to all of the rest of the harvesting examples, this operation only uses four workers, which is at most 1/3 the amount of workers than the other examples.
You can see all of the lettuce harvesting machine steps in the video below and can read more about the process HERE.
Indoor Lettuce Harvesting & Packing
This process is really unlike anything I had ever heard of or seen before! It is a very unique process of growing the roots outdoors, and then growing indoors in the dark to create a specialty endive product (Belgian Endive). The harvesting and packing process all take place at the same time in the packinghouse.
You can see the Belgian Endive process below, and can read more about it HERE.
Lettuce Processing
Just the fact that I was able to capture this on video and in pictures, makes me so thrilled! Spring mix is something that people eat every day. It is such a common food item that people do not even think about, and yet, how many people really know how it gets to be mixed and ready for them to eat? To be honest, I had no idea how the mixing process worked before visiting this facility, and am still surprised at how the Spring Mix is mixed!
You can see all of the lettuce processing steps in the video below and can read more about the process HERE.
I would like to send a big thank you to all of the companies that allowed me to showcase their operations and how they produce their leafy green products, including Babé Farms, Sábor Farms, Fresh Avenue, California Endive, GreenGate Fresh, and J. Marchini Farms.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with someone else that you think would enjoy it! I am sure they would like to see where their lettuce comes from as well!
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This is so many things, so so fascinating, so important…thank you for doing what you do!!
Thank you, Erin! I really appreciate you saying that!
Hi !
Do you need a packing bag for fresh vegetables ?
Tell me what you need and we can meet your needs.
Hi. Who manufactured the processing equipment featured in the last video? Thank you!!!!
I was trying to find out why lettuce has such a bad taste to it nowadays seems like every bag of processed lettuce taste of chemicals
my question remains– how long is from the time iceberg head lettuce is harvested until it gets shipped to grocery store?