Beat the Heat: 5 Tips to Keep Your Greens from Bolting

What is Bolting? Bolting is the premature flowering and seed production of greens. This can be influenced by various factors such as temperature, day length, and plant maturity. While you can’t prevent bolting, you can adopt strategies to minimize it and extend the harvest of your greens. 

1. Provide shade: During hot weather, provide partial shade to your greens. Use shade cloth, row covers, or plant them in a spot that receives filtered sunlight. Planting your greens in containers will also allow the plants to be moved if they end up in a too sunny spot as the season progresses. Shade helps reduce the intensity of the sunlight and lowers the temperature, preventing or delaying bolting.

2. Adequate watering: Consistent moisture is very important to preventing bolting. Keep the soil consistently moist (but not waterlogged) to provide a stable growing environment. Mulching around the plants can help retain moisture and regulate soil temperature. Please, note that over mulching can change the balance in your garden, preventing beneficial bugs from reaching the soil.

3. Regular harvesting: Many greens become more prone to bolting as they reach full maturity. Harvesting them at their peak tenderness can help delay bolting. Also, you can remove spent flower stalks as soon as you notice them, which can redirect the plant's energy back into leaf production.

4. Succession planting: Instead of planting all your greens at once, consider sowing them in succession. By staggering your plantings, you can ensure a continuous harvest and minimize the impact of bolting on your overall crop.

5. Monitor temperatures: Stay informed about the weather forecast and temperature patterns in your area. If a heatwave is expected, take additional precautions to protect your greens, such as providing extra shade, covering them with shade cloth during the hottest part of the day, or adjusting your watering routine. 

Bonus Tips> Take time to plan for the next season: One of the best things you can do for your greens harvest, is to plan ahead and do a little research on the seeds and varieties you are selecting.

1. Choose bolt-resistant varieties: Look for varieties of greens that are known for their resistance to bolting. Many seed catalogs and plant labels indicate whether a particular variety is bolt-resistant or slow to bolt.

2. Plant at the right time and in the right place: Sow your greens at the appropriate time for your climate. In general, cool-season greens like lettuce, spinach, and kale tend to bolt when exposed to prolonged periods of high temperatures. Plant them in early spring or late summer/early fall when temperatures are cooler to reduce the risk of bolting. Remember that providing the greens some shade can prevent premature bolting and planting in containers will allow them to be moved if the shade in your yard changes throughout the season. 

Bolting can still occur despite your best efforts, especially in response to extreme weather conditions. If bolting does happen, you can still utilize the bolted plants by using the flowers in salads or allowing them to go to seed for saving or future planting.