Can anything be done about plants "bolting"?

Question

We had a hot early spring this year in Western Canada and my sorrel and lettuce are already bolting, sending up a tall stem with the flowers & seeds. If I cut off the flower-stem, will the lower part of the plant start producing more (edible) leaves again or is it true that once a plant has bolted that the days of good-eatin' greens is over?

Luckily, I still have my Spinach & Chard coming up...but still the first week of June seems way to early to give up on my delicious lemon sorrel. :-(

Thomas PDP-11 Dzubin Calgary, Saskatoon, or Vancouver CANADA

cloud dreamer · Accepted Answer

The one thing that I know of that prevents bolting is to shade the plants. You just rig up something like a bit of landscape fabric (or shade fabric from Lee Valley) so that the lettuce is shaded for most of the day. Once they bolt, you can't save them. They may even be too bitter to eat.

You can also wait until the weather warms to plant the lettuce (ie replace the ones that have bolted now with new seed). The hot weather after the cool May weather contributed to the bolting.

Ensure the new seed are watered evenly and shade them. I believe you can also get varieties that resist bolting.

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Jan Flora · Answer

I plant my lettuce and other salad greens in a bed that onlygets morning sun. That seems to help quite a bit.Or use shadecloth, like cloud dreamer suggested  : )   Jan

Can anything be done about plants "bolting"?

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