Lettuce grows beautifully here in the cooler months and turns bitter or bolts as soon as the real heat arrives. I'm thinking of accepting that as a seasonal crop instead of fighting the weather, then using shade cloth and heat-tolerant greens for summer salads. Has anyone had good results with succession sowing in partial shade, or does it just delay bolting by a few days? I'd rather harvest smaller leaves reliably than chase enormous heads.
Growing salad greens when summers are too hot for long
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Succession sowing in partial shade can help, but it won’t fully beat hot weather if the variety hates heat. The bigger win is choosing green...
Succession sowing in partial shade can help, but it won’t fully beat hot weather if the variety hates heat. The bigger win is choosing greens that tolerate summer better than lettuce does.
Exactly. Lettuce is a spring and autumn friend for many of us, not a year-round promise.
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I’ve had better luck with looseleaf types than heading types in the heat. Smaller leaves also taste less bitter when the weather turns nasty...
I’ve had better luck with looseleaf types than heading types in the heat. Smaller leaves also taste less bitter when the weather turns nasty.
Do you still get a decent harvest if you pick early and often? That part always confuses me.
Yes, usually. Once a plant starts thinking about bolting, keeping up with small harvests can buy you a little time, but not forever.