Question
Hi John, I hope you know vegetables! :) I am emailing you some picture of my plant that I THINK is "supposed to be" some kind of lettuce plant, but I'm just not sure. There doesn't seem to be any kind of head, there's just loose leaves that look like lambs ears. They're being eaten by flea beetles right now, but being that I'm not sure what it is, I'm not that concerned. There's some lettuce/mesculin looking leaves at the base of the plant, and long stems emerging from the trunk with small yellow flowers adorning the tips. I can't figure out how it's supposed to be lettuce, therefore can't figure out how or when to harvest it. I grew it from seed, so I'm wondering if it's just a weed that grew in place of my seed that probably died, or if this is really a vegetable.

Thanks!
Christina

Answer
Christina,

What you have there is like you say, some kind of lettuce or mesculin.  Lettuce, cabbage, collards, mesculin, etc are what's called biennials.  They grow for one season and produce the edible parts, then after they go through a cool spell, usually the winter months, it kicks them into a flowering cycle.  The process is called "bolting".  They lose any head that they may have and shoot up the flowering stalks that you see there.  At this point, they are pretty much useless for a vegetable and should be removed.

Good Luck,

John