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Vegetable Gardening

Too late for lettuce?

Iris ( ranegrow ) z7 Maryland

13 years ago

Hi everyone !!

I'm wondering if its too late to plant some lettuce in zone 7 ? For some reason I totally forgot earlier in the spring and now I am surely tired of paying for it in the grocery store ! I can't believe how expensive fresh produce is ! Yikes ! Can't wait till I have my own tomatoes, cukes, green beans , squash ...etc to eat ;-)

~Iris

Comments (9)

austin95
13 years ago
Head lettuce? or just lettuce? I planted lettuce and it took off like it was a weed! only took about a month (if that) and i had lettuce usable, so if youve got a month or 2 left in your season, id say go for it! If it doesnt work, youll know next year what to do! :)
twc015
13 years ago
You may be successful if you plant lettuce now but I think you will most likely just get bolting lettuce. Lettuce bolts when the days are long and temperatures high. It would probably have to be harvested young right now. Mine began bolting a month ago.

If it just bolts now, you could plant again in August/September and should get satisfactory lettuce.

Lettuce tolerates frost and some freezing. Last year my lettuce lived until the temperature dropped into the lower 20s.
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Kim, the problem wouldn't be having 80's now, but in 3-4 weeks after sowing. Which of course often happens in late March/early April. Lettuce actually germinates faster/better at warm soil temps, maybe it's spinach that a previous poster was thinking of. Definitely sow that seed now, and maybe start earlier next year. As mentioned earlier, some varieties will tolerate a late planting better because they resist bolting with the high temps you'll have in April. I'll start lettuce indoors in Jan and transplant these by mid-Feb and then sow seed of heat tolerant lettuce outdoors about mid-Feb also.
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I'm not certain but i will be planting some this weekend. Last year mine were still growing till around Sept. I think. I remember that I did not have to buy lettuce last year.
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Glad you got what you wanted, docrawen. The cool weather stuff will go from now until mid to late spring. Just protect anything you have in pots if it gets really cold. In the ground, i try to cover my lettuce & spinach if it's to go much below about 20. a pot will need protection a bit before that. It only takes a light row cover/spunbound fabric, aka reemay for in the ground stuff. Logan's also sells it. A sheet would work for a night, but the reemay you can leave on most of the cold season, only lifting it to harvest. It's so light you can basically let it float on top of the plants with no support. You may want to anchor it in a few spots so it doesn't blow away, is all. believe it or not, i've seen broccolli raab and pak choi at big boxes and at walmart in the past! You just have to keep your eyes open. If you're starting so few plants, i'd have bought plants, but if you like doing seeds, good for you.
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On a cold track, lettuce and cabbage family plants are the winners of the race. At 50Â°, they will show up in less than 2 weeks. Most ornamentals (in fact, most seeds) have a recommendation of 65Â° to 70Â°+ optimum soil temperature. They show up in 2 or 3 weeks, sometimes much longer. At those warm temperatures, Louise Lettuce and Terry Turnipseed would bound out of the starting gate in 2 or 3 days! I have my earliest sprouts outdoors right now (freezing overnight a couple times a week, still). They are from Asian mustard seeds. Unfortunately, they aren't ones I planted in the garden. The sprouts are growing at the foot of a backyard tree where I laid the seed stalks to dry last year before collecting (most of) the seed. Oh well, more Asian mustard is now planted where they can be enjoyed by something other than my backyard laying hens. S'
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Iris ( ranegrow ) z7 Maryland
Original Author
13 years ago
Austin95, I'm thinking leaf lettuce ... but the days have gotten warm and long and I wanted to put it in a container...

twc015 ... I think you may be right , I guess I can wait till fall to plant lettuce , maybe its too hot now ?
cyrus_gardner
13 years ago
Even in zone 7, you wouldn't want to plant lettuce or any other cool crop now.
Lettuce in summer will just shoot up and will not form head. You may experiment
red leaf variety in mostly shaded area.The fall planting will beging sometime in August, depending on the zone.
ikea_gw
13 years ago
I am in northern VA and my lettuce started bolting two weeks ago when we had that crazy hot weather. Some did better. For example the summer crisp lettuces are just starting to bolt. The other leaf lettuces, even the young ones, started to form flower stalks. If you are going to grow them now, I would suggest growing them in part shade. Otherwise wait til late summer to start a fall crop. I am actually sorta glad that lettuce season is over for now since I have been eating so much of it in every single way possible for almost 2 months now.
vikingkirken
13 years ago
You could try some swiss chard instead, it's very tolerant of heat. I put it on sandwiches/tacos/etc. and make spinach-type salads as well as cooking with it.

Or give the lettuce a shot if you have a nice breezy, shady spot to grow it in your yard. Who knows? Worst case it'll just bolt on you, but I've had decent luck with Burpee's Heatwave Blend, especially the oakleaf variety that is included. It gets kind of tall in the heat but doesn't get bitter fast.
veggiefaery
13 years ago
Lettuce has been one of my go to crops. This year I planted April 1st (early for WI), and it all bolted before I got to eat any of it. It was so depressing. I am going to try for a fall crop of lettuce. I've never had much success doing this in the past, but I have been reading up on some shade techniques so I am hopeful.
Iris ( ranegrow ) z7 Maryland
Original Author
13 years ago
Vikingkirken, what is swiss chard like taste wise ? I do have some seeds and maybe thats what I should plant along with a few lettuce seeds in the shady corner of my garden just to see what it does . Thanks for all the suggestions everybody ... TGIF !!

~Iris
nancyjane_gardener
13 years ago
Quite often, nurseries that carry local organic produce (or farmers markets if you have them)will carry lettuces that are good for your area.
I'm still growing in the shade in zone 8ish.
Nancy

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