New To Lettuce...eating of it... now what?

Hi guys. This year is my first year growing lettuce and I've got a question about it. I've got 1 Oak Leaf lettuce plant in a container and it's growing very nicely on the deck in bright shade. It's growing so nicely that we've been eating of it... of course. The question is... now what? I have been cutting off the leaves from the bottom upward, but now there's not much left of it, so... will it continue to fill back out again? Should I cut it back/down, to encourage it to flush out again more? What do I do to keep up the yummy leafy growth? Right now it's just got bare naked stalks with a few baby leaves at the tops of the stalks. (I just KNEW I should have planted more, darnit!!)

Thanks all!!

Why not plant more now?

Lettuce and high heat do not work well.

Well, for fall then.

Next time when you plant more plants, it's also a good idea to start seeds two weeks apart so it doesn't all start producing at once nor all run out of leaves at once. It also somewhat prevents having so much you cant use it all.

Hiya! Hmm.... OK, I won't be starting new plants now 'cause I'm lucky to keep up with what I've currently got going on, what with full-time work and now school too. (and some other random "curve balls" that life tends to throw at us). Not to mention I can't even find any lettuce around now... and what Pirl said, Lettuce and heat do not make a happy couple, especially not new baby lettuce plants. Steady, it's not that I have too much too keep up with all at once, it's that I don't have enough at a time -- we would love to eat it daily, had I grown more to start with (and now I wish I had... 3 mature plants in pots on the deck at once right now would be totally do-able). I was just wondering if there were any way to extend the life of this one plant. It only gets about 1 hour of direct sun, in the morning; the rest of the time it's bright shade, even though GOSH it's hot. It does seem to be getting taller... guess I just have to be patient and let it fill out. I'll just have learned my lesson: Next time: THREE lettuces in pots on the deck, not one. Even in this heat, it turns out my deck really is a good place to grow lettuce. I had no idea!! OK, next Spring: Three (or 4?) Lettuce, 2 Cilantro, 3 Lemon Grass, 2 Parsley. Lesson Learned. Meanwhile, I'll give this baby a nitrogen feeding and look forward to our next salad. =)

But... is there a "Best" way to cut lettuce from a plant for usage?

Harvest the outter leaves, a few at a time, from each plant.

The plant grows from the center...

LOL, You do need more plants....!