world's worst gardener's crappy lettuces
 

why do my lettuces grow enormously long stalks with the odd leaf here n
there, rather than making big chunky hearts?

tia

In article ws.net,
"Oxymel of Squill" writes:
|
| why do my lettuces grow enormously long stalks with the odd leaf here n
| there, rather than making big chunky hearts?

You planted stem lettuce by mistake?

I grow that - it is amusing and easier to grow than 'normal'
lettuce.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

not so far as I know, it just said lettuce on the packet.
:-)
how can even lettuce be complicated?



You planted stem lettuce by mistake?

I grow that - it is amusing and easier to grow than 'normal'
lettuce.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ws.net,
Oxymel of Squill writes
why do my lettuces grow enormously long stalks with the odd leaf here n
there, rather than making big chunky hearts?

Not enough water, inducing the urge to propagate by seed and find a more
congenial habitat.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

The message ws.net
from "Oxymel of Squill" contains these words:

why do my lettuces grow enormously long stalks with the odd leaf here n
there, rather than making big chunky hearts?

They're under stress (too crowded, or inadequate soil, or too hot
or dry, or all of these), so bolting to seed prematurely. All lettuce do
it eventually, yours are just having a nervous breakdown and doing it
too fast and too soon.


Janet

In article ws.net,
Oxymel of Squill wrote:
not so far as I know, it just said lettuce on the packet.
:-)
how can even lettuce be complicated?

Lettuce go back to the beginning ....

Many cultivated plants have been bred into various different forms,
so things that we think are different are just different strains of
the same species. Perhaps the extreme one is Brassica oleracea,
which includes kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kohl rabi, broccoli
and many other forms. Lettuce is somwhat simpler, but still has
several very different strains.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ws.net,
Oxymel of Squill wrote:
not so far as I know, it just said lettuce on the packet.
:-)
how can even lettuce be complicated?

Lettuce go back to the beginning ....

You should be put up against a wall and shot for that one! ;o) eg

Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message ws.net
from "Oxymel of Squill" contains these words:

why do my lettuces grow enormously long stalks with the odd leaf
here n there, rather than making big chunky hearts?

They're under stress (too crowded, or inadequate soil, or too hot
or dry, or all of these), so bolting to seed prematurely. All lettuce
do it eventually, yours are just having a nervous breakdown and doing
it too fast and too soon.


Janet

I know how they feel... I think I bolted years ago....

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article
ws.net,
Oxymel of Squill wrote:
not so far as I know, it just said lettuce on the packet.
:-)
how can even lettuce be complicated?

Lettuce go back to the beginning ....

Many cultivated plants have been bred into various different forms,
so things that we think are different are just different strains of
the same species. Perhaps the extreme one is Brassica oleracea,
which includes kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kohl rabi, broccoli
and many other forms. Lettuce is somwhat simpler, but still has
several very different strains.

Yes, but Oxymel has simply let the lettuces' soil dry out a bit too
much. They need to be kept growing in moist soil without a "check",
or they will go stalky -- the next stage would be flowering. No
worries: just sow some more seed tomorrow, and this time don't let
them dry out once they've germinated. Just a few at fortnightly
intervals, if you're that organised: think about how many you'll need
in the average week.

You can eat the leaves off the ones you've got, but they'll probably
taste rather bitter -- not a bad thing, when you consider endive and
radicchio. Oddly, the way to reduce apparent bitterness seems to be
salt rather than sugar; but one shouldn't overdo it, of course:
people ruin food with salt. There are recipes for lettuce soup out
there somewhere, and I imagine these bolted ones, maybe stalks and
all, would be very good for that -- try an Intenet search. Anyhow,
pull 'em out and plant something else.

--
Mike.

The message
from "Miss Perspicacia Tick" contains these words:
Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ws.net,
Oxymel of Squill wrote:
not so far as I know, it just said lettuce on the packet.
:-)
how can even lettuce be complicated?

Lettuce go back to the beginning ....

You should be put up against a wall and shot for that one! ;o) eg

Not before he communes with his maker.

Lettuce spray.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article ,
"Mike Lyle" writes:
|
| You can eat the leaves off the ones you've got, but they'll probably
| taste rather bitter -- not a bad thing, when you consider endive and
| radicchio. Oddly, the way to reduce apparent bitterness seems to be
| salt rather than sugar; but one shouldn't overdo it, of course:
| people ruin food with salt. There are recipes for lettuce soup out
| there somewhere, and I imagine these bolted ones, maybe stalks and
| all, would be very good for that -- try an Intenet search. Anyhow,
| pull 'em out and plant something else.

Right, in all respects. Lettuce soup isn't bad when made with
decent stock and loose, relatively dark lettuce leaves (such as
on bolted lettuces). I wouldn't say that it is exciting, even
then.

The stems can probably be used as for stem lettuce - remove the
outer layers, and eat the inside. It has crunch but little
flavour (and is slightly bitter), so is best dipped in some
strong-flavoured, salty sauce.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:


Lettuce soup isn't bad when made with
decent stock and loose, relatively dark lettuce leaves (such as
on bolted lettuces). I wouldn't say that it is exciting, even
then.

It's delicious made with good lettuce, good stock, a good helping of
frozen peas and some finely chopped onion. Season, including nutmeg.
Cook for just a few minutes, add mint leaves just before the end, whizz
to smooth.

Janet.

On 12/7/05 16:13, in article , "Janet
Baraclough" wrote:

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:


Lettuce soup isn't bad when made with
decent stock and loose, relatively dark lettuce leaves (such as
on bolted lettuces). I wouldn't say that it is exciting, even
then.

It's delicious made with good lettuce, good stock, a good helping of
frozen peas and some finely chopped onion. Season, including nutmeg.
Cook for just a few minutes, add mint leaves just before the end, whizz
to smooth.

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,
finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

The message k
from Sacha contains these words:

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,
finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.

Don't forget to wrap it in a pancake, seal the edges with batter, and
give it a bit of a frying in olive oil...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
On 12/7/05 16:13, in article , "Janet
Baraclough" wrote:

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:


Lettuce soup isn't bad when made with
decent stock and loose, relatively dark lettuce leaves (such as
on bolted lettuces). I wouldn't say that it is exciting, even
then.

It's delicious made with good lettuce, good stock, a good helping of
frozen peas and some finely chopped onion. Season, including nutmeg.
Cook for just a few minutes, add mint leaves just before the end, whizz
to smooth.

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,

The mind boggles - individually wrapped peas "~))
Jenny


finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

The message k
from Sacha contains these words:

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,
finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.

Yum. Do you steam them in the lettuce parcel, or what?

Janet

On 12/7/05 19:35, in article ,
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote:

The message k
from Sacha contains these words:

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,
finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.

Don't forget to wrap it in a pancake, seal the edges with batter, and
give it a bit of a frying in olive oil...

No, no, that's too much like *cooking*. ;-)
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

On 12/7/05 20:49, in article , "Janet
Baraclough" wrote:

The message k
from Sacha contains these words:

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,
finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.

Yum. Do you steam them in the lettuce parcel, or what?

I haven't done this for years - in fact this thread reminded me of it - but
I seem to remember that they were cooked separately and then 'assembled'
just before serving. I'll see if I can dig out the old recipe though it's
hardly difficult! And here's another for cooked lettuce
http://www.fbmg.com/gardengourmet/fr...kedlettuce.htm

A friend of mine cooks cucumber in the most delicious way. I'll ask him how
he does that!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

The message k
from Sacha contains these words:
On 12/7/05 19:35, in article ,
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote:
The message k
from Sacha contains these words:

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,
finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.

Don't forget to wrap it in a pancake, seal the edges with batter, and
give it a bit of a frying in olive oil...

No, no, that's too much like *cooking*. ;-)

That induced a flash of memory - a Polish au pair we had in the '50s -
her idea of a stonking good meal was to buy a couple of pounds of mince,
blanch some cabbage leaves, wrap a balls of mince in them and tie them
up with string (or usually, because it was more easily found in our
house, cotton thread) and boil them, to be served with boiled
potatoes...

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

On 13/7/05 10:41, in article ,
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote:

The message k
from Sacha contains these words:
On 12/7/05 19:35, in article ,
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote:
The message k
from Sacha contains these words:

Lettuce leaves 'wilted' in a little butter and then wrapped around peas,
finely sliced carrots etc. make a delicious and unusual veg option.

Don't forget to wrap it in a pancake, seal the edges with batter, and
give it a bit of a frying in olive oil...

No, no, that's too much like *cooking*. ;-)

That induced a flash of memory - a Polish au pair we had in the '50s -
her idea of a stonking good meal was to buy a couple of pounds of mince,
blanch some cabbage leaves, wrap a balls of mince in them and tie them
up with string (or usually, because it was more easily found in our
house, cotton thread) and boil them, to be served with boiled
potatoes...

Well, while we're talking food, I always wish that we could buy courgette
flowers in this country and treat them in the Italian fashion. We don't
grow our own, so I can't get hold of any. It's one of my favourite Italian
foods in all its varieties.
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds for email)

In message , Janet Baraclough
writes
Lettuce soup isn't bad when made with
decent stock and loose, relatively dark lettuce leaves (such as
on bolted lettuces). I wouldn't say that it is exciting, even
then.

It's delicious made with good lettuce, good stock, a good helping of
frozen peas and some finely chopped onion. Season, including nutmeg.
Cook for just a few minutes, add mint leaves just before the end, whizz
to smooth.

Just tried another variation I found - it is delicious, even though it's
called cucumber salad soup!
1 medium red onion, 1 (c 400 g) cucumber, 1 medium crispy lettuce, 1
tbsp olive oil, 1 liter chicken stock, salt to taste, freshly ground
pepper, 1 small bunch spring onions, finely sliced, 200 g organic
yoghurt
Peel and finely chop onion; peel cucumber and cut into chunks, wash and
dry lettuce leaves and tear into pieces.
Sauté onion gently in the oil until transparent, add cucumber and
lettuce, sauté together 2-3 minutes. Add stock, cook 10 minutes. Season
to taste; and add half the spring onions. Blend. Pour in the yoghourt,
stirring gently and sprinkle some thin cucumber slices and finely sliced
spring onions on top. More yoghurt can be served separately with the
soup.

Sorry - it was so good I couldn't resist posting it...
--
Klara, Gatwick basin