lettuce issues

[enfys]

hey everyone

so this will be the first of many stupid questions i'm afraid

if lettuces are annual/biennial do i just cut them right down to the stalk, protect through the winter and watch new leaves appear next year ?
is this worth it ? or should i sow new in the the new year ?

thankyou

[Wombat]

Hey Enfys,

Lettuce are annual and should not regrow once cut off, but even if they did they would be so bitter you would not be able to eat 'em!

Nev

[Millymollymandy]

Best bet with lettuce is to sow little but often. They run to seed very quickly when the weather is hot. The last thing you want though is a glut of lettuce all ready for harvesting at the same time - because you just can't eat it all and you can't freeze them.

I think we have all been there with the lettuce gluts! What I do these days is sow a single seed in a tiny pot (about 5 of them, every couple of weeks) then when they are big enough I plant them out. Then if a couple get eaten by the slugs or whatever there should still be enough to keep us going all season.

Well that's the theory yet I have a load all ready right now but the next lot are still tiny!

[possum]

Best bet with lettuce is to sow little but often. They run to seed very quickly when the weather is hot. The last thing you want though is a glut of lettuce all ready for harvesting at the same time - because you just can't eat it all and you can't freeze them.

You can make lettuce soup with it and then freeze the soup for the winter months.

[maggienetball]

Lettuce soup is really good for insomnia.

You can use lettuce in all sorts of soups and stews as a bulking green. Treat is as a thin cabbage. You can also stir fry or steam the tougher types and treat like Pak Choi

[Peggy Sue]

Speaking of gluts- I have a glut of spinach, lettuce and pak choi- all interchangeable for salads, cabbage subtitues, stir fries and soup. Can't wait til the carrots arrive, I don't want to waste anything bit I think I have spinach poisoning!!

I find if you are short of lettuce you can pick leaves off the plant and it regrows quickly, did that earleir in the year.