Preventing bitter lettuce?

[MyLittleWonders]

Last year we planted lettuces (romaine and IIRC butter leaf) and they all turned out so bitter that our turtle refused to eat it. I'm hoping to not repeat that this year (dh was actually hesitant to plant lettuce this year because he didn't want to waste it). Any ideas on how to keep it tasting good?

And, when we harvest lettuce, can we just cut some of the leaves off and it'll keep growing? Do we cut off the whole head? And if so, does the plant produce any more? (Seeing as we didn't want to eat the lettuce last year, we don't have much experience with the harvesting part. )

[jildez]

Hum, i have only grown lettuce once and it didn't get bitter- and it was in central asia, so i don't know how much help i can be-- several of the things i have seen say that you don't want it to bolt (flower) because it will get bitter after that. It doesn't sound like this is what happened, it was bitter before it flowered?

[JamieCatheryn]

Loose, moist soil and shade should help prevent bitterness, and using a variety known for staying bitter free. You can pick a few leaves from the outside and it should recover and keep growing.

[cschick]

Lettuce gets bitter for two reasons: either it started maturing after it got too warm and is in a sunny location, or the lettuce is about to start to go to flower/seed.

I'm in Chicago, and I generally direct-sow quick growing lettuce in early May and pull it out by mid-June. All my gardens are sunny. Generally, the remaining lettuce has gone too bitter to eat by the second week of June.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

If it's bolted, it will be bitter. It can also get bitter because of lack of water, just like cukes. I'm pretty sure buttercrunch is less likely to get bitter.

[MyLittleWonders]

Thank you all for the help. Heat might be a big factor here (I tend to get the lettuce in the ground too late - we are zone 10), and that combined with water evaporating quickly might have caused the bitterness. It was definitely bitter long before it bolted. Once it bolted, it was really, really bitter.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

You can try to take some of the bitterness away by putting it in a big ziplock bag w/ some wet paper towels for a few days. It's weird, but it can work.

[palmgal]

This is so good to know. We constructed a salad table last year but lost all the lettuce and spinach to deer. This year we are growing it inside in our greenhouse, it has been growing for 2 weeks, do you think the heat and humidity of the greenhouse is going to make it too bitter to eat?

[MyLittleWonders]

Originally Posted by MissMommyNiceNice

You can try to take some of the bitterness away by putting it in a big ziplock bag w/ some wet paper towels for a few days. It's weird, but it can work.

I will try that! (Hopefully I won't have to, but just in case. )

[Owen'nZoe]

I've had better luck with Salad Bowl and Black Seeded Simpson staying sweet a little longer, but I have trouble with this, too - especially since we often have very cool, wet springs (with little growth) followed by a sudden onset of very hot, dry weather.

This year I'm trying stem lettuce from Bountiful Gardens. They claim that is stays sweet even as it is going to seed. We'll see...

As for using leaves or picking the whole plant, I always grow looseleaf, and always pick as it grows, leaving behind 5 or so leaves and picking the rest. This extends the season a bit, and makes it more likely that we'll get our salads in before the plants turn bitter. Also, if I'm picking lettuce every couple days, I'm more likely to notice that it is 'turning', at which point I just pull the whole plant and use it.

I'll have to try the wet paper towel idea. Another one you can try if you aren't vegetarian is a hot bacon dressing. This is how my grandma always made dandelion salads (which are always bitter), and the sweetness/saltiness of the dressing offsets the bitterness of the greens.