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With commercially grown lentil crops, care must be taken in harvesting the lentil crop. Because the plant is very short (20 to 40 cm tall), the swather (cutting blades) must be positioned as low to the ground as possible. Once cut, the lentil plants normally are ready to be threshed about one week after cutting.
Types of Lentils
As mentioned above, there are many varieties of lentil grown and eaten throughout the world, but the three most common types used in cooking are brown, red and green.
Preparing Lentils for cooking
One advantage of lentils over other legumes is that they do not require soaking. You can soak them for a few hours if you wish and this will reduce the cooking time by about half.
Before cooking with lentils it is advisable to rinse them in cold water and pick through them for any little stones which may be present. When cooking lentils by themselves, in preparation for adding to a recipe or as an accompaniment, use 3 times the amount of water to lentils and avoid cooking with anything acidic, such as vinegar, as that retards the cooking process. It is possible to substitute one type of lentil for another although you may need to adjust the cooking time. Cookings times for the main three types of lentils are:-
Brown Lentils - 35 minutes Red Lentils - 10-15 minutes Puy (green) Lentils - 20 minutes
Lentils can be frozen but make sure you only partially cook them so that when they are defrosted and added to a recipe they retain some texture.
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The
lentil plant (Lens Culinaris) belongs to the family Leguminosae (legume)
and is a cousin to peas. The plants are grown for their seeds, which are
contained in pods. The botanical name derives from their resemblance in shape to
the lens of the eye. Often left to dry on the plant before they are harvested,
they can be cooked in many ways as well as being ground into a flour. Although
there are two types of lentil, the large-seeded macrosperma and the
Persian microsperma, which has small to medium-sized seed, there
are many varieties within these two groups. They are used in countless cuisines
worldwide and are a staple in many middle eastern countries and India.
Lentils
are an easily grown annual plant taking the same time as peas to mature.
Although they prefer a sandy soil in a warm sunny sheltered position, many
believe that the plant produces most seed when grown on poorer soils. Some
varieties are quite hardy even surviving the cooler growing conditions of
countries like Great Britain. 
The
plants are short with finely divided leaves, flowers of red, pink, purple
or white and carry pods which contain two seeds. The green varieties have
green or tan seed coats and green cotyledons. The red lentils have tan or pink
seeds coats, and pink or red cotyledons. The pods are left on the plant
until they are dry and shrivelled at which point they can be harvested and
shelled. No other treatment is necessary. If seeds are still moist, drying
can be completed in the sun, oven or a dehydrator. 
Brown
lentils , also known as continental or Egyptian lentils, are generally
the least expensive and more easily obtained. They are mildein flavour and hold
their shape well after cooking, although they easily turn mushy if
overcooked. They can be cooked in about 35 minutes although if you want to
ensure they remain firm, you can add oil to the cooking water and cook them for
a shorter period, about 20 minutes
Red
lentils are less common than brown lentils and have a slightly
sweeter taste than the brown. They take a little less time to cook although they
tend to become somewhat mushy and are therefore more suitable to soups and
stews. 
Green
lentils, also know as Puy or French lentils, are the finest but most
expensive lentils. They are the meatiest, richest tasting and remain
quite firm after cooking making them an excellent choice for salads.
Originally grown in the volcanic soils of Puy in France, the are now also
grown in North America and Italy. 