Heat-resistant lettuce experiment

yeah. I do. it was the end of the packet . So i think i got all the red romaine . I did have to pull a few deer tongue due to some critters ate it . LOL :)

Ours is starting to get tough and a little bitter but not bad for drought and lots of 90+ days. Here's the summer mix . . . .

The jericho is still hanging in there.

. . . . and the shade lettuce is a little spindly, the cats sure like to sleep on it which is why I think I have big bare spots !

Your Jericho looks better than mine. It's totally stunted.

I picked a head of the Adriana butterhead today that showed early signs of bolting, but it was still nice and sweet.

At the rate we're eating it, I don't know if it will last till the end of July!

Update: Half way through July and most of the lettuce is doing pretty well, all except the Jericho romaine is mature. I've been harvesting the row and hope I don't eat it all before the experiment is supposed to be over.

We've had a relatively cool summer so far, but today the temps rose up to the 90s, where they promise to remain at least a week. So this will be the real test of the ability of the lettuce to withstand heat.

Here is a mature head of the Summertime iceberg.

Here is a nice head of the Adriana butterhead. I picked this one because it was looking a bit suspiciously elongated, but it doesn't seem to have started to bolt. One other head in the row was badly wilted from the heat.

This message was edited Jul 15, 2008 9:07 PM

Nevada Batavia-type.

I am totally converted to this kind of lettuce now.

Here's a nice leaf lettuce called Tropicana, holding well so far in the heat.

willowwind - thanks. I had the trellises against stonework on west side and open on east side. Wind is from west in my back yard. Last year, had a trellis open on west side and cucumber climbed easily. I think you are right, wind does have something to do with helping them climb. I restarted 2 cucs, and just planted them in the main garden where I had a few holes. Ran out of trellises. Also restarted 5 summer squash and planted them too - even though I like winter squash - daughter likes the summer ones. My tomatoes (12) are getting fruit and one (beefmaster) is huge and turning red. Want that lettuce bad. This is fun. I am trying varieties of everything - did not know they even existed a few years ago.

The 3 lettuce tests: burpee gourmet (sprouted easily, 2/3 dead - from my watering?), burpee bibb (ok), livingston select - my favorite so far (ok). Sprouts are small yet but maybe, just maybe, we will get a salad from this. They are in the shade around the tomatoes. If too hot, I will try them in the main garden where they get much better shade and are much cooler.

Thanks to you all. Carol

I think many of these lettuces didn't exist until recently - plant breeders are always coming up with new varieties.

FINAL UPDATE

Last week's steamy weather did it for the lettuce, and I cut it all today, while it was still edible. So the row didn't make it till August.

But it's almost time to sow the lettuce for fall.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiment with us! I for one have learned a lot, and have some new things to go try!

Well, I did it, sort of.

The lettuce is from the fridge, picked in July.

Great information. I appreciate your efforts and enjoyed reading along. I don't have the heat levels you do, but still - lettuce in the summer is a challenge fpr all of us. Thanks for sharing your experiment. I am always interested in good performing varieties. You gave us some new ideas.

Congrats on your salad--looks very tasty!

Thank you so much for the effort you have put into this thread LTilton! With our hot summers I'll be ordering some of the varieties you were most pleased with this winter.