Lettuce gone to seed

Lettuce gone to seed

Lettuce is a cool weather crop. When it gets hot the lettuce bolts, or goes to seed. The lettuce will turn bitter and send up a shoot. The shoot will have tiny yellow or white flowers which will turn into seeds. After the lettuce plant dies or there is a frost, the seeds will drop to the ground. Birds can also scatter the seeds by eating them.

Most people pull up lettuce when it turns bitter, but we let some lettuce go to seed. If you let your lettuce bolt, some of the seed will drop and if it finds a hospitable location, it will sprout next spring. We find the seed is most successful overwintering near the wall of a raised bed garden or near a rock. This provides shelter some the cold winter and the heat from the wall or rock will radiate at night creating a tiny microclimate. This year, don't pull out all your lettuce when it goes to seed. Leave some in the ground and enjoy some early spring lettuce next year!