Just thought you might like to look over text and photos all about growing lettuce. It's a great presentation and very informative. From the link below, click on "Techniques" then on "Lettuce". EVerything there is based on the organic methods of the great horticulturist, Alan Chadwick. If you follow the techniques closely, you'll have much less bolting to deal with. One of the most important things to remember is that when you transplant seedlings into the final beds, never get water on their leaves for three days or so. Just water around the roots after planting out, and that should hold them until you can water overhead later. The reason is that water on leaves stimulates leaf growth, but what you want is for the plants to get their roots well established first. Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

Look, I have done my own tests as well - but with pepper and tomatoes seedlings instead. I was that much disappointed by the results that I gave up for good. I was planting one group during a ideal "fruit period", and another at a random (actually unfavorable) day. Those were even seeded later but grew that much better from start. Even after repotting both at vavourable- versus unfavourable days, my "randoms", still lead the race. At that point I was not even interested in some future development of both groups. Actually I finished eliminating most of the "moon seedlings", just because they were the weakest! And don't anybody tell me now that they would have more tomatoes at harvest times, because my "random" Oaxacan Jewels were doing perfectly fine... But still, I trust my friend's results with bolting salad. Though, unfortunately I do not plant much salad, and haven't tested this yet. Actually I have a suspicion here; people do not like partial results and "unfinished business". So they tend to make up- and spin some full story around a partial knowledge and truth, - instead of accepting it as what it actually is. This is so common. I'd rather pick up- or even buy -a few good advices and facts instead of getting brain washed with a whole doctrine comes along with it. Unfortunately most people are not interested in single facts that haven't got the necessary references and expanded background story that goes with it. Same as most people will not go to a restaurant that has only one perfect dish on it's menu. They always want the whole enchilada, even if half of it would be pure c.r.a.p. :-D Actually you only need to understand how things evolve and why they sometimes become contradictory, - most of the time debating is useless. If I find a perfect dish in some restaurant and also discover that most of the others are not of my taste, I will not argue about the menu with the Chef either. I will rather order that fine dish only and enjoy it!

I find lettuce takes forever between bolting and ripening. Something like 8 or 9 weeks but that could be down to a damp climate.

I've been growing an heirloom variety named Crawford Lettuce for years. It's bolting now. I let it go to seed, shake the seed head around, and it comes up again in the fall. Another variety may not come back true from seed. In that case I'd pull it up and compost it.