Decided to bring in the last of my 2 Bronze Mignonette Lettuce.
Bronze Mignonette Lettuce
Harvested most of the window boxes grown Bronze Mignonette Lettuce on 12/29/15 as they were showing signs of bolting (they went home with my daughter and I forgot to take photo). Decided to leave 2 in the box to see how they would fare. As you can see from the photo above and below, the one on the right is showing signs of bolting so harvested both on 1/6/16. Yes, I harvested lettuce in the Hudson Valley, New York in January.
Top: Bronze Mignonette Lettuce. Bottom: Forellenschluss Lettuce
The Bronze Mignonette Lettuce in the photo above and the Forellenschluss Lettuce in the photo below were transplanted on 9/8/15, the Forellenschluss Lettuce in the photo above were transplanted on 10/19. All were volunteer seedlings from Locust Grove Heritage Vegetable Garden.
Forellenschluss Lettuce
Think I will harvest the above Forellenschluss Lettuce this week. Winter is settling in, finally, so I doubt they will grow any more.
To be honest I did not think any of the lettuce seedlings would survive, but survive they did and grew to edible sizes thanks to an unusually warm November and December.
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The carrots in the 2 photos below were sown at the end of July. Unfortunately I never got around to thin at the appropriate time so the results are not impressive but they were sweet and crisp.
YaYa Carrots
Coreless & Scarlet Nantes Carrots
There are 2 varieties of carrots in the above containers sadly they got mixed up when I pulled them so not sure which is which.
Cleaned up both containers.
Leaving the carrots to overwinter in the tubs. Wonder if they will continue to grow, will find out in the spring.
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Also leaving the beets below to overwinter in the ice chest.
A few are of fairly good sizes.
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An update about my overwintering experiment I posted on 11/9/15 (click on link to view post).
Below is what the leek, celeriac and carrots are currently looking like.
The leeks and carrots did not mind being transplanted and are happy. The celeriacs were not happy, the leaves all wilted and yellowed so I removed and discarded them but left the root undisturbed. Am leaving all to overwinter and will post an update in the spring.
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Garden to Wok 
Hi Norma,
I’m predicting that the beets, carrots, leeks, and celeriac will all bolt in the spring, instead of getting bigger. All are biennials, and your garage will probably be cold enough that the plants know it is winter.
Congratulations on getting edible lettuce. The volunteers I left at the community gardens are still micro-greens.
–Mary
Hello Mary,
Thanks for the info. I shall harvest at the first sign of bolting.
I have never had any luck growing carrots…all I got just those greens! Lots to learn from you, Norma. Have a great week ahead!
Hello Angie,
Here is a link that hopefully help: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/carrot/healthy-carrot-soil.htm
I am always amazed by your successes with container grown vegetables. My efforts at it are rarely satisfying. What a treat to have fresh lettuce in January!
Hello Michelle,
The garden fresh lettuce was a real treat.
Oh Ms. Norma those carrots look amazing. Without this blog, I wouldn’t know how to grow anything if I ever decided to.
Hello Kia,
Thanks. Now you are being modest, I am sure you will do just fine when you have the time.
I don’t have much of a vegetable garden but when I do grow things, I have a lot of trouble with things bolting. I always wonder what it is I’m doing wrong or whether it’s actually not something I can control. It mostly happens with lettuce and parsley xx
Hello Charlie,
Here is a link that I hope will help with growing lettuce without bolting: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2482/
Your blog is one of the reasons my veggie garden is so dang delicious and amazing. Thank you! We are experiencing crazy hot heat at the moment, and one of my lettuce pots doesnt seem to be coping so well, but good to see you have had such success, those Bronze Mignonette look good. Gonna try carrots next, fingers crossed. 🙂
Hello Anna,
Move your lettuce pot to a shady area and fertilize the plants, be sure to keep the soil moist at all times
It’s always amazing to see your lovely harvests, Norma. Everything looks great.
Hello Eva,
Thanks, this year I really owe my lovely late harvests to mother nature.
Your lettuces look so lovely and delicious. You can grow more in the dead of winter that I can grow in any summer with my black thumb..seriously I think it has something to do with the bad poor soil they have here in the markets for sale..It is always the same bad kind even at the flower market in mong kok. I think only plants that just grow in water are best for me… LOL
Hello Bam,
Given the right conditions I am sure you will grow gorgeous crops.
Wow, harvesting fresh lettuce in January! A dream!
Hello Cecilia,
I owe it all to mother nature.
It looks like your root crops are keeping very well in their containers. And it’s interesting that some of your lettuces have begun to bolt, I wonder what causes that in cooler weather.
Hello Phuong,
The lettuce bolting could be due to stress, we had very unusual weather, some nights the temp drop to low teens, followed by above average daytime temps. we have had a few days in the 60’s, plants are just confused.
Love that you’re getting some good veggies in January! Lettuce looks yum – what are you going to do with it? I hope something extra special to celebrate that Winter beauty!
Hello Pamela,
I wanted to savor every bite of the lettuce so combined it with a bit of radicchio that I harvest the week before and made a salad with a simple lemon dressing.
How nice for have fresh lettuce in January.
Hello Karen,
It was a very special treat, thanks to mother nature.
She isn’t nearly as nice most winters. 😀
Hello Karen,
True but I am happy with her at the moment 🙂
I’m always intrigued and inspired by your container plants. I hope they do well this winter. How has your weather been so far?
Hello Kristy,
Overall I cannot complain, had a few blustery days but today it is gorgeous again, in the 40’s.
I am just so in love with those carrots. I was just looking at some carrots the other day and they didn’t look half as good as yours Ms. Norma.
Hello Kia,
Thanks for the complimet.
I cannot believe that you’re harvesting lettuce in January, Norma. I know how satisfying it is to enjoy produce that one has grown during summer. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be to dine on a salad in January that you picked that morning. Fantastic!
Hello John,
My good fortune is a gift from mother nature who has been very kind so far this winter.
And now that I’ve seen this post…I think I will expand the container gardening beyond peppers and tomatoes and see what I get. 🙂
Hello Betsy,
I am sure you will do just fine. During the heat of summer, I move my lettuces, bok choy and other cool weather crop to the east side of the house where they get morning sun and not the hot afternoon sun, or I may move them under shades.