Lettuce bolt is one of the big problems when develop this democratic craw for home gardeners . It ’s easy to grow , and there ’s a embarrassment ofgorgeous and tasty varietiesto include in your veggie patch . That said , since lettuce is a cool - weather crop , once the warm temperatures and prospicient Day of summer arrive , lettuce plants go to blossom and coiffe seed . Most gardener rend out their gelt plants when they bolt . If you do this , you ’re miss a neat opportunity . Here are five things to do when lettuce bolting strikes .
1. Feed Bolted Lettuce to Your Flock or Donate It to an Animal Shelter
Bunnies , guinea pigs and many species of birds , including Gallus gallus , enjoy munching on lettuce leaves , even after the plant have gone to bloom and are too bitter for human phthisis . Lettuce can be a good author of vitamin and mineral and the entire plant , include leaves , stem and flowers , can be fed to chickens . Adobe Stock / Iker
This is my pet matter to do with shekels bolting in my garden . Instead of pulling the plants out by the base , simply cut the tops off and provide the root integral . The ambo will resprout when temperature cool down later in the season and go on to produce a second crop of sugar in the late summertime or downslope .
3. Let Bolted Lettuce Plants Flower for Beneficial Insects and Pollinators
Lettuce blossoms are very attractive to many mintage ofparasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant , syrphid flies and other good insects that avail gardeners control pesterer in the landscape painting . Some metal money of pollinators nectar on them as well . Lettuce go off flowers will be buzzing with dirt ball activity soon after they spread , and they ’ll continue to bloom for many weeks .
4. Collect the Seeds for Next Year’s Garden
Lettuce plant are largely ego - pollenate , so if you save the seeds of open - pollinated , heirloom lettuce variety , there ’s a good fortune the seeds will come on-key - to - eccentric ( meaning you ’ll get the same variety when you plant those collected seeds into next year ’s garden ) . Isave seedsfrom all my heirloom lettuces because even if they do n’t come true - to - type , the results are still delicious . Plus , I often end up with some very alone colouration and leaf forms .
5. Lettuce Bolting? Use it as a Trap Crop
Slugs , earwigs and tab bugs much favour lettuce to most other garden crops . If you want to keep these leaf - marring louse off broccoli , cabbage and other productive crops , just allow for your lettuce bolting plants to delay right where they are . splosh an iron orthophosphate - based slug bait , such as Sluggo or Escar - Go , between the cabbage row to get a travelling bag on slug numbers .
If you ’re not willing or able to do any of these , there ’s always the compost bundle . Bolted lettuce plants are a great N root for the compost bin , especially when they ’re used in combination with carbon sources such as autumn leaf and shuck .
This article about lettuce bolting was write for Hobby Farms and Chickens magazines . Click here to pledge .
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Jessica Walliser
