Summer Lettuce

While I’ve been bemoaning the constant rain in my area this summer, I want you to know I realize some of you and your gardens are frying in sizzling heat. I think we’d all rather put up with rain than suffer through weeks of high temperatures. Few of us enjoy working in the garden in 100 degree weather any more than our plants enjoy being there. Let’s hope the weather moderates for all of us soon.

I mentioned how well my lettuce was still doing. I usually grow lettuce throughout the summer, but this year I haven’t had to make any special efforts to keep it from bolting. If you’ve always heard that lettuce is only a cool weather crop, you might want to give summer lettuce another try. It grows a lot faster and it’s not very forgiving of heat combined with a lack of water, but it’s a great filler for spots in your garden that are shaded by taller plants, like tomatoes and beans. Here are my tricks for coaxing lettuce into sticking around for the summer.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti