My New Summer Crop! #NoSlugs

Today's harvest in a water bath.  A few minutes soak/spin/ready for lunch.

I have never tried growing lettuce in the summer.  Always thought of it as a cool season crop.  BUT...with May Gray/June Gloom (heavy marine layer) which lasts until late morning and many times rolls back in in late afternoon, I thought I would give lettuce a try for early summer.

And it is working.  I have harvesting single salad servings each day.  Here's one reason I also am a new fan.  When I have grown lettuce in the winter, I find more slugs (eewww) and snails because of the cool/wet season.  Washing lettuce in the winter is much more labor intensive as you try to make sure all protein has been removed. (Even with vinaigrette, slugs are not that tasty.) This summer lettuce has had no slugs!  Yay!

Another reason lettuce is not a summer crop is that when it gets hit with the summer sun, it tends to bold (go to seed) quickly.  With the sun-less mornings, this has not been a problem...yet.  I know as soon as July hits, its good bye lettuce. 

Bolting Arugala

Delicate white flowers of a bolting arugula plant.

I love growing lettuces in my garden in the winter.  The rain and the cold create the perfect combination along with sunny afternoons to foster the tender plants along.  Sometimes, though I get a little ambitious and plant more than I can use.

Before you know it, the plants, which have not been harvested regularly, decide they have had enough of all of the components (sun, rain, cool weather) and wham, bam: bolting.  After lettuces bolt, they typically are too bitter or in arugula's case, too hot, to consume.  I just let nature take its course: the flowers will produce seeds and repopulate the garden with new arugula plants.  Because these plants have bolted now, I think they might possibly reseed before the end of lettuce season, if we don't get an early hot (think too much sun) spring.

Lettuce: Just a Cool Weather Crop

This is my last planned planting of lettuce for the spring season.  I have a scheme in mind to see if I can have a prolonged growing season for my lettuce.  I've planted these plants in an area between two tomato cages.  I can place shading supported by the cages to lower the amount of light the plants get.  Additionally, I will hand water these plants to make sure they are getting consistent moisture. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how long these lettuces will last into the warm season.

Have you had any success in elongating your lettuce growing season?