Why are my lettuce so tall?

[Lolapeg91]

Hi all,

These are little gem lettuce. I’m very confused because they are growing really tall. Some of the main stalk is about 20 cm tall. Which I find odd for a lettuce.
why would this be?

Also if I harvest some leaves and leave the stalk will more leaves grow?

thank you

[burnie]

The plant is going to seed, it will probably be gone past it's best eating wise.

[Lolapeg91]

The plant is going to seed, it will probably be gone past it's best eating wise.

hi, I’m sorry I’m a newbie, what does this mean?

[MelanieSW]

hi, I’m sorry I’m a newbie, what does this mean?

They are about to start flowering, and from that point most leafy vegetables start to taste a bit bitter.

[Lolapeg91]

They are about to start flowering, and from that point most leafy vegetables start to taste a bit bitter.

ah I see, should I harvest them all now? Are they edible at this stage? No flowers as yet

[burnie]

You can harvest it now, best to sow a few at a time, so they don't all grow at the same time, also consider the cut and come again varieties, they tend give you a longer harvest time and are slower going to seed

[ameno]

It pots that size, you can only really grow lettuce as cut and come again. Sow thickly, then cut the plants down to about 2cm once the plants have 3-4 leaves each. They should then grow back at least once more, usually twice, which you can then cut again.
It's basically impossible to grow full-sized hearted lettuce, even ones as small as little gem, in tiny pots like that. They just won't get enough water, no matter how much you give them, as the pots are just not big enough to accommodate their roots.

[MarkPelican]

Alternatively, you can let one of them flower and save the seeds for next year. I've built up a collection of different sorts of lettuce that way.