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I am growing lettuce for the first time in. I have harvested a few lettuce leaves and the plant is now flowering. The flowers have been for around 20 days now. I wanted to save he seeds from this plant. Could some one suggest the right time to harvest the seeds.

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saleem
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The fluffy stuff (puffs of white cotton) is ready for harvest, they are attached to the plant very mildly when ready. If you take the fluffy stuff and it lets go/ detaches they are ready. In nature they will be taken by the wind to find a new spot to grow next year, so be sure to be one step ahead of the wind.

After reading Giacomo's comment (thanks!), I want to add that the best way to harvest is to take the whole head off the plant. After a while the fluffy part will be detach from the seeds, see here for a good instruction about the harvest.

benn
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    Just to add: the seeds are attached on such fluffy stuffs on the other end. So keep the seeds, but later you can discard the fluffy stuff (when it detaches naturally). I've seen people who detach the fluffy stuffs from the "dirt" and keep the wrong part. – Giacomo Catenazzi Jan 05 '18 at 10:36
  • Thanks for the answer. Although, will I be able to plant the seeds right away or I need to wait for one season – saleem Jan 06 '18 at 17:30
  • @saleem, that depends on your climate. In temperate climate I would wait until [spring](https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/lettuce). – benn Jan 06 '18 at 17:34
  • The seeds are whitish. I thought they are supposed to be black, will they turn black in sometime. – saleem Jan 07 '18 at 07:00
  • The seeds could be light colored, it depends on what cultivar you have. – benn Jan 07 '18 at 09:03