A sudden surprise heat wave, which came with elevated UV levels, wrecked my poor lettuce. I pulled off the dead leaves… here’s hoping the plants themselves can spring back.
Most varieties of lettuce prefer a lot of shade and cool conditions, so the sudden heat this early in the year definitely shocked them. One day my rows of lettuce were gorgeous and lush, the next day they had shriveled up and collapsed in on themselves.
There’s also a shocking number of gnats on the plants, so maybe they’re just having a bad time all around, but either way I need to get more lettuce seeds going before it’s too hot.
Lettuce is pretty easy to grow during the fall and spring, but who can resist having a fresh salad through the hotter months? I want to make sure I replace whatever didn’t survive the heat so I can keep the fresh salads coming! Even if that means eating the greens a little younger…
