Allotments 4 All

Catalogna lettuce.

Yes - V decorative - so what does it taste like? - well, lettuce? Certainly not Iceberg, which all the family want & which is V susceptible to rots & things & V difficult to keep continuity of (English?). One would need to sow 2 a week? No,10 to allow for failures.

I'll keep it for 'arranging' on the plate!

The ones on the left are Marshall's 'Experimental Romaine type'. They go up to 2lb in weight! =  Tim

I grew those trial romaines from Marshalls also Tim - all finished now.  They grew very well and looked very handsome, all the same.  Managed to work through quite a few before they started to bolt.  My curley biondi type are still growing and going strong and are yet to bolt.  The bolted romaines made tasty soup, altho you need to leave it for 24 hours before eating as the bitterness seemed to go after that time.

The romaine lettuce I know and grow are much more closed, the inside leaves are then nice and light green. Is it normal to have romaine grow so 'open'? I have one more left and will try to take a picture of it tomorrow to post here.

Hopefully, it will heart up. Even then, there's going to be an awful lot of lettuce soup!! = Tim

This is what mine looks like (see the ladybug on top? Noooo, I didn't put it there, honest). It's the last one and a bit far gone I'm afraid. Fristina just visible in the lower left corner. New head lettuce plantlets near this romaine lettuce.

Catalogna - I grew it last year and although it cropped excellently, we harvested very little.
The reason? We found the taste very bitter, so I took loads into work and gave everyone a head.
Nearly all of them told me they didn't like it - too strongly flavoured!

So we won't be growing any more of that variety - we all live and learn, I suppose.

Yes - not your average white ribbed Arctic flavour?

Forget the childrens' idea of lettuce - there's a place for everything - like in decoration. And the Cat lettuce was never meant to be eaten as a whole head??

Ina - a bit blousy?? Tim

Have you guys got the definitive recipe for lettuce soup? If so, can I have it pretty please?

(Yes, got lettuces bolting all over the place, but some lovely ones for salad, just not as experienced/expert as you growers!)

Love CLX  ???

As posted by young Jeremy on the recipe board:

http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/recipes/soups/lettucesoup.htm

Have made gallons now, changing it a little each time, and each time it is delish!  :P

Silly moi! (re post above!) Of course there is a recipe under....Recipes!  ::)

PS E-J Thanks lots....your post came up as I was writing this xx