I have over a dozen heads of Iceberg Lettuce with about half having formed a
head. Now that
temperatures seemed to have settled in the eighties and sometimes nineties
here in NYC should I
start harvesting? I read that sometimes the lettuce can get bitter?

Thanks,
Rob

Emmet Cummings wrote:

I have over a dozen heads of Iceberg Lettuce with about half having formed
a head. Now that
temperatures seemed to have settled in the eighties and sometimes nineties
here in NYC should I
start harvesting? I read that sometimes the lettuce can get bitter?

Thanks,
Rob

Yes. In the high heat the lettuce will 'bolt' (put up a seed stalk) and turn
bitter. Moreover, the stalk will come right up through the center of the
head and possibly ruin it for other purposes.

Bill
--
I do not post my address to news groups.

On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 00:55:00 GMT, "Emmet Cummings"
wrote:

I have over a dozen heads of Iceberg Lettuce with about half having formed a
head. Now that
temperatures seemed to have settled in the eighties and sometimes nineties
here in NYC should I
start harvesting? I read that sometimes the lettuce can get bitter?


It will 'bolt' in hot weather, and get bitter. Some
varieties can withstand hot weather better than others.

Yes, if it were my lettuce, I'd start harvesting it now.

Pat

On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 00:41:58 -0400, Noydb
wrote:

Emmet Cummings wrote:

I have over a dozen heads of Iceberg Lettuce with about half having formed
a head. Now that
temperatures seemed to have settled in the eighties and sometimes nineties
here in NYC should I
start harvesting? I read that sometimes the lettuce can get bitter?

Thanks,
Rob

Yes. In the high heat the lettuce will 'bolt' (put up a seed stalk) and turn
bitter. Moreover, the stalk will come right up through the center of the
head and possibly ruin it for other purposes.


This is a little late, but there's an argument for planting leaf
lettuce, since one can peel off the outside leaves for the table
repeatedly w/o having to pull up the plant.

Dunno if leaf lettuce would "bolt" as fast as iceberg, but it's for
sure much more nutritious; the darker the better.

--

Persephone

Bolting and bitterness aren't necessarily tied: I've had beautiful big
heads of "Red Sails", nasty bitter and no sign of bolting and I've had
ones more than starting to bolt-like 18" high and hardly bitter at all.
My conclusion is that lettuce likes even moisture, in the soil and in
the atmosphere. If you get hot, dry, windy, lotsa sun, watch out:
bitterness is likely to follow. As someone has pointed out, some
lettuces do better in summer conditions. For a great selection of
lettuces, spring, summer, fall and winter check out Cook's Garden
(www.cooksgarden.com).

On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 23:12:12 GMT,
wrote:




This is a little late, but there's an argument for planting leaf
lettuce, since one can peel off the outside leaves for the table
repeatedly w/o having to pull up the plant.

Dunno if leaf lettuce would "bolt" as fast as iceberg, but it's for
sure much more nutritious; the darker the better.

It also tastes much better (IMHO), and grows much faster.

I've read that leaf lettuce does not bolt as fast as
iceberg, but most of mine has certainly bolted now. It's
been pretty hot the last two weeks.

I'll start seeds for more in a day or so, and grow it in
pots on the deck - I can drag them into shade on very hot
days.

Pat

Well, I'm sure my palate has room for expansion; however, I do like the
crunchiness of the iceberg variety.


wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 00:41:58 -0400, Noydb
wrote:

Emmet Cummings wrote:

I have over a dozen heads of Iceberg Lettuce with about half having
formed
a head. Now that
temperatures seemed to have settled in the eighties and sometimes
nineties
here in NYC should I
start harvesting? I read that sometimes the lettuce can get bitter?

Thanks,
Rob

Yes. In the high heat the lettuce will 'bolt' (put up a seed stalk) and
turn
bitter. Moreover, the stalk will come right up through the center of the
head and possibly ruin it for other purposes.


This is a little late, but there's an argument for planting leaf
lettuce, since one can peel off the outside leaves for the table
repeatedly w/o having to pull up the plant.

Dunno if leaf lettuce would "bolt" as fast as iceberg, but it's for
sure much more nutritious; the darker the better.

--

Persephone

I threw down some mulch and give it a good soaking each morning. In NYC the
air is fairly moist from the humidity.
However, as I write this the temperature is in the mid-nineties, so I guess
I'll be pulling those heads up today.

I liked the website -- its got 52 varieties of lettuce; some looks like
weeds I've pulled up in the past.


"Bill Ranseen" wrote in message
...
Bolting and bitterness aren't necessarily tied: I've had beautiful big
heads of "Red Sails", nasty bitter and no sign of bolting and I've had
ones more than starting to bolt-like 18" high and hardly bitter at all.
My conclusion is that lettuce likes even moisture, in the soil and in
the atmosphere. If you get hot, dry, windy, lotsa sun, watch out:
bitterness is likely to follow. As someone has pointed out, some
lettuces do better in summer conditions. For a great selection of
lettuces, spring, summer, fall and winter check out Cook's Garden
(www.cooksgarden.com).

Emmet Cummings wrote:

Well, I'm sure my palate has room for expansion; however, I do like the
crunchiness of the iceberg variety.


Life begins with a salad of early spinach, dandelion greens, chives and
young onions. Add a dollop of Caeser dressing and prepare to shame the
rabbits.

Then too, there's a lot to be said for what is sometimes called "Wilted
lettuce" salad ... black seeded simpson tossed in a bowl with some thinly
sliced onions, a splash of red wine vinegar, crumbled freshly cooked bacon,
an optional pinch of granulated sugar and the hot grease off the bacon.

The missus and I (she's from Brooklyn,NY by way of connection)have been
raiding the mesclun mix greens almost daily for a simple salad of just
greens and a dressing of some sort.

Michigan winters can be the pits ... but summers are the peaks!

Bill

--
I do not post my address to news groups.

Emmet Cummings wrote:


I liked the website -- its got 52 varieties of lettuce; some looks like
weeds I've pulled up in the past.

I -used- to mow the tall dandelions in the alley. Never again!

Bill
--
I do not post my address to news groups.

"Emmet Cummings" wrote in message
...
I have over a dozen heads of Iceberg Lettuce with about half having formed
a
head. Now that
temperatures seemed to have settled in the eighties and sometimes nineties
here in NYC should I
start harvesting? I read that sometimes the lettuce can get bitter?

I'd certainly start harvesting. I read somewhere (can't quite pull where
out of my addled brain) that bolting has less to do with heat and more with
light. You might want to try that on one or two heads, consider putting a
paper bag over them after an hour or two of morning sun. Might work, might
not.

Philip

On Sat, 05 Jul 2003 18:12:15 -0400, Noydb
wrote:

Emmet Cummings wrote:

Well, I'm sure my palate has room for expansion; however, I do like the
crunchiness of the iceberg variety.


Life begins with a salad of early spinach, dandelion greens, chives and
young onions. Add a dollop of Caeser dressing and prepare to shame the
rabbits.

Then too, there's a lot to be said for what is sometimes called "Wilted
lettuce" salad ... black seeded simpson tossed in a bowl with some thinly
sliced onions, a splash of red wine vinegar, crumbled freshly cooked bacon,
an optional pinch of granulated sugar and the hot grease off the bacon.

Sounds good, except the "wilted" part avec hot grease.

I make a salad with many of the same ingredients, except that I pick a
lemon off the tree and squeeze it instead of the vinegar. For an
interesting contrast, toss with orange slices cut small.

Instead of the sliced onions, I sometimes go out back and pull some
green onions, but the sliced does give a more robust taste.

As to salad oil, I switched from olive to walnut years ago. More
delicate flavour.

I have never understood the optional sugar bit. What is the purpose?

--

Persephone









The missus and I (she's from Brooklyn,NY by way of connection)have been
raiding the mesclun mix greens almost daily for a simple salad of just
greens and a dressing of some sort.

Michigan winters can be the pits ... but summers are the peaks!

Bill

Emmet Cummings said:

Well, I'm sure my palate has room for expansion; however, I do like the
crunchiness of the iceberg variety.

Then you should consider the Batavian (also called French crisp or summer crisp)
'loose head' varieties. They have many of the advantages of leaf lettuces
(including having more nutritional value), but have a texture more like iceberg.

'Sierra' and 'Nevada' are widely available. (May I recommend Pinetree Garden
Seeds as a mail-order source: http://www.superseeds.com -- look in the
French vegetables section.)

Cos or romaine lettuces have a little more substance and crunch than most leaf
lettuces and are also far more nutritious than iceberg.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

In article ,
says...
Cos or romaine lettuces have a little more substance and crunch than most leaf
lettuces and are also far more nutritious than iceberg.

And "Freckles" sure makes a pretty salad :-).

--
Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs?

"Noydb" wrote in message
...
Emmet Cummings wrote:

Well, I'm sure my palate has room for expansion; however, I do like the
crunchiness of the iceberg variety.


Life begins with a salad of early spinach, dandelion greens, chives and
young onions. Add a dollop of Caeser dressing and prepare to shame the
rabbits.

Then too, there's a lot to be said for what is sometimes called "Wilted
lettuce" salad ... black seeded simpson tossed in a bowl with some thinly
sliced onions, a splash of red wine vinegar, crumbled freshly cooked
bacon,
an optional pinch of granulated sugar and the hot grease off the bacon.

Sound good except for maybe the sugar and the grease, then again anything
with bacon has got something going for it.


The missus and I (she's from Brooklyn,NY by way of connection)have been
raiding the mesclun mix greens almost daily for a simple salad of just
greens and a dressing of some sort.

mesclun mix greens, what's dat?(my best Brooklynese)

Rob