Cut and come again lettuce

Hi all,

I'm in need of some advice, over the last two years I have been growing cut and come again lettuce but both years I find the lettuce to be a bit bitter and not very sweet and juicy, I was hoping someone could recommend a variety that I'm looking for that has the sweet and juicy taste I'm looking for.

Thank you
Nick

 

Hi Nick.

There could be several reasons why your lettuce are bitter.

1 They could be getting too much sun/heat which causes even cut-and-come-again varieties to bolt quite quickly - perhaps try growing them somewhere where they get some sun in the early part of the day but are out of direct sunlight after that. You could try planting them under something taller to give the required shade and/or mulch around them to keep the roots cool.

2 Water - too little can result in bitter leaves so don't let them dry out.

3 Fertiliser - there is a 'school of thought' which says too much nitrogen in the soil can result in bitterness.

4 Growing time - lettuce need to be grown really quickly, perhaps you're just waiting a little too long before picking.

I have heard that if you pick lettuce and store it in the 'fridge for 24 to 48 hours that that's supposed to take the bitterness away, but it kind of defeats the object of just nipping outside and picking some to pop on your plate.

One last suggestion is that it could be the varieties in the packets you've chosen. I have noticed that my garden centre sells more than one mixture a 'spicy' and a 'sweet' - if you can, try and find a mix which includes things like 'salad bowl', 'frisée' and 'lollo rosso'.

Hope this helps.