After a couple of weeks off, 10 days on vacation, we are back to discuss operation Green Thumb. Harvesting the 60 day plants has begun. Today: Lettuce and Spinach.
Bonus. We learned two more gardening terms!
“Bolting” and the “Cut and Come Again Method”.
Bolting is a term describing the flowers that form at the tops of leafy veggies like lettuce and spinach. Bolting is not a desirable fate that occurs when the temperatures are too hot during the final stages of growth. The result is a bitter product.
Lettuce and spinach like temperatures in the lower to mid 70s. We experienced temperatures in the mid 80s to lower 90s while on vacation in Yellowstone. As a result the spinach began to bolt, but had not turned bitter yet.
We chose to pull the entire spinach plants out root and all, then saved the leaves pictured above. The best news; we now have an empty row to plant another 60 day harvesting plant that likes the warm weather that July and August will supply.
Fortunately the lettuce did not begin to bolt. The result? We could harvest the leaves and leave the base plant and roots to grow again. We trimmed the leaves down to one inch above the base. This process is called the “Cut and Come Again Method” of harvesting leafy plants.
With luck we will be harvesting another bounty of tasty lettuce in another month or so.
Next to harvest? Peas are on the vines and many are ready to pick. Beth and I sampled a few Sunday. Delicious! But…that is for another post.
Ron's Ramblings 