YOU SHOULD HAVE PLANTED THEM IN OLD TIRES!!!

rant off.

My lettuce has been a bit bitter this year (little too warm). I found that picking it in the morning helps (before it heats up) and also leaving it in the fridge for a day or so helps.

When they are heat stressed they are bitter. Try more water and pick them younger.

sumula....You remembered!!!
That's pretty funny. My rant on using old tires must have hit a nerve!!

I remembered what? Do I know you?

Probably too much heat, been a warm winter and I covered them when it got cold at night.

Thanks

Old time Southners cook collards in a little water a long time to remove the bitterness, kale may be the same. I try to pick baby leaves and stir fry in olive oil and garlic. You might try a bit of vinager too. Or coconut oil, that's a tad sweeter.

Hi Joe

I have lettuce, kale, collards, spinach growing in my garden now. None taste bitter to me unless like in the case of the lettuce with the warm days some of it bolted, in that case I cannot use it.
All the above need water everyday and a rich soil to be at its best.
About using them, they are all different. Lettuce I use it in salads, spinach cook and raw, kale I use it briefly cooked, collards taste better when cooked longer.
Some greens are supposed to taste a little different like chicories and broccoli raab. Chicories taste best when grilled and bitter greens I drop them in boiling hot water for a minute, drain them and use them stir fry with some olive oil, salt, pepper and some lemon juice or vinegar at the end.

My greens bed today

Silvia

Kale, spinach and collards are all naturally high in iron. Lettuce not but the warm winter would cause it to start to bolt and turn bitter though you might not notice it.

Did you use any fertilizer that had extra iron in it? I did that once and it (or something) made my greens very bitter.

My weather's been cool. Same basic setting as yours. Auto water sprinklrs daily for short times since I started from seed, only in afternoon to prevent soil drying too much. My beds have new raised. BEd mix. Puzzled.

We had to pull out all the lettuce last weekend, all bolted. But we had been eating it for quite a while so we got some use of it. I haven't tasted the kale or collards yet, it's been slow growing this time, it got a late start last fall due to the sloppy wet ground due to hurricane Irma. We live on a clay base and it holds the water for a long time.

My celery is kind of bitter. Took me by surprise. It's not unpleasant though.