Bitter Lettuce!

hannibalcat, Oct 15, 4:12pm
Eeewwww planted some romaine and some other fancy lettuce and both are bitter - what have I done wrong and can I do anything to remedy!

New to gardening hoping everything I have planted isn't going to be like this.We did feed everything we planted a few weeks ago with blood and bone.
trogladyte, Oct 15, 4:27pm
Sound like they have gone to seed
wheelz, Oct 15, 4:47pm
They need rich free-draining soil, consistent watering and fertilizer so they can grow quickly. Plant a few every week or two to keep supply up. Both bolting and stunted growth can lead to bitter lettuces.
dibble35, Oct 15, 4:50pm
I always got told it was the watering(lack of) that made lettuce bitter. need to be consistent, not let it dry out then, overcompensate by drowning it. And some lettuces are naturally bitter, cant think of its name but one of those red speckly ones is just nasty.
hannibalcat, Oct 15, 6:54pm
The endives are a good size but the fancy are stunted.I planted some last week so will keep an eye on the watering and feeding they are the green and red so hopefully they will be better :(
oh_hunnihunni, Oct 15, 7:13pm
Water. My lettuces grown through winter have remained sweet which surprised me as they are neglected, except for the water from our wet winter!. They are freckles variety, I got the seed from a trader here and I totally recommend it as an all style eating lettuce.
wendalls, Oct 15, 7:32pm
I too have bitter lettuces. I thought the rain we have had so far would be ok. i watered them for the odd dry patch. they are not stunted or gone to seed. Maybe not enough fertiliser as i am always scared of adding too much.pretty sure its not the variety either. first timer here too.
mokaumoi, Oct 15, 8:14pm
Maybe letting them get too old before harvesting!
hannibalcat, Oct 15, 9:28pm
Endive variety a good size but wouldn't say over sized. The fancy edged ones are still quite small. Mind head of to the garden centre tomorrow as i don't want everything i'm growing to be bitter.
dms01, Oct 15, 9:30pm
the faster they grow the less inclined they are to be bitter, so if you use a high-octane liquid fert like nitrosol on them it shouldn't happen again
dale7344, Oct 15, 9:43pm
Endive is a different plant to lettuce, although they can look quite similar.Endive I believe just is bitter by nature.Some people blanch it by growing it in the dark for a while before harvesting to remove bitterness.
antoniab, Oct 16, 8:05am
Im with dale - endive is naturally bitter like chicory/witlof. Sometimes my fancy lettuce goes bitter through Winter as it takes a long time to reach a good size, by which time it looks fine but tastes bitter. I end up giving it to the chooks usually lol
destiny6nz, Oct 22, 3:43pm
one of my lettuce is really going for it and have started picking the outer leaves to eat. Had some leaves tonight and they taste a little bitter and yet the lettuce all look very lovely.
tuiglen3, Oct 25, 7:54pm
To long maturing