For people who want to grow more food with less work. đ± This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribersâhere's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."
how to grow lettuce all summer long without bolting
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Is it possible to grow lettuce in summer? That's one of the things I never understoodâwhy there are sooo many tomatoes and cucumbers in summer, but so few of the leafy greens we like to eat them with. At least, not without another head of lettuce bolting each week as the weather goes from mild to hot. (Sometimes it feels like there's no in-between, right?) Lettuce is notoriously tricky to grow in summer, and even if you do manage to nurture your lettuce through June or even July, you've probably eaten your share of bitter leaves. Lettuce (like kale, cabbage, and other leafy greens) is a cool-season crop that actually tastes better after frost. That's rightâyou should actually be planting it mid-summer for a fall harvest. (Or let it reseed itself in fall, where it'll start growing in late winter and mature into the cooler days of spring.) When the plant senses a cold spell, it accumulates extra sugars as a sort of natural "antifreeze" to protect itself. (I delved more into this strange reason many vegetables need super cold weather to reach peak flavor.) Most people, however, start lettuce as a spring crop and let it mature into the warmer days of summer, which immediately sends a memo to the plant to start producing seeds, even if it's technically too soonâa process that also renders the lettuce tough and bitter. So what to do? Can we have our lettuce and eat it too? Absolutely! You just have to grow the right type of lettuceâand have a few little tricks up your sleeve to make your lettuce think it's still spring (even if it approaches 90°F in summer where you are). (And if you're wondering just how heat-tolerant these lettuces can be, I've grown tender, sweet-tasting lettuce through September using the methods I cover in that post!) So, last weekend, this happened: đ We are absolutely enamored with our new baby chicks, and each of us got to pick and name one: Melon (Gemma's chick, a Buff Orpington), Dot (Ember's, a Rustic Rock), Stevie Chicks (Will's, a French Cuckoo Marans), and Christina Eggulara đ (mine, an Olive Egger). We were undecided on whether we wanted new chickens before or after our big summer road trip, but after seeing all the day-old chicks a few times at our local feed stores, we couldn't resist. They're about a week-and-a-half old now, and will be moving outside into the big girls' coop right after they're fully feathered (which usually happens around six weeks of age). I'm using an Ecoglow heat plate for the chicks, which is the absolute best thing! (And something I wish I'd had with previous chicks.) It's so much safer than a traditional red heat lamp, my kids can touch it without issue, and now that our chicks are starting to get a bit more adventurous, they're even sitting on top of the heat plate during the day (instead of huddling underneath it) to warm their bellies! Are you getting chicks or pullets this spring? I have a guide here on introducing new chickens to an existing flock (which we've done several times now) and my always-popular homemade whole-grain chicken feed recipe (which you can feed to baby chicks if you grind all the grains a bit smaller). I'll have more baby pictures to share, I'm sure. đ P.S. These are the best lettuce varieties to grow if you want to keep them going all summer long without bolting. P.P.S. Do you forget what you've planted each year, what does well, and when things tend to bolt? Track it all in one place with my Ultimate Garden Diaryâan infinitely refillable and downloadable garden log, journal, and planner that helps you stay organized and become a better gardener. |
Garden Betty
Gardening made easy, life made simpler.
For people who want to grow more food with less work. đ± This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribersâhere's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."