doesn't look like lettuce to me

[William71]

Hi,

I'm new here, and new to gardening too (planted my first one this year). I need to hang around and soak up some knowledge from you all, but first up I have a question. I planted what I thought were some lettuce seeds, but these plants don't look like lettuce to me. I could be wrong, but I don't know. Here are some pics I just took.

It's the group of plants near the center here:
[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v678/Stormbird/plant1.jpg[/img]

Here's a closer view of the lower portion:
[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v678/Stormbird/plant2.jpg[/img]

A couple of them have put up long central stalks that now have blooms on top, here's a close-up:
[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v678/Stormbird/plant3.jpg[/img]

Can anyone identify these things? Did I get a seed packet with the wrong seeds in it?

[greg1186]

its hard to tell, I cant quite make it out that great. but it can very possibly lettuce that has bolted and went to flower... or to me it looks like radishes that have bolted and went to flower. not positive though

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Oh yeah, It's definitely bolting lettuce. Here it takes on a tough, leathery, collard green like quality to the leaves when it bolts. It also gets WAY bitter. Let it go, they attract TONS of beneficials. Then, save your seed pods and when it starts to cool off replant them.

[William71]

I had no idea what bolting was, but I just read up on it and it seems very likely that that's what happened. I planted the lettuce when it was too hot, and didn't water it enough. Plus I crowded too many plants too close together. Three strikes and I'm out. Oh well, live and learn.

Thanks for the help.

[TWC015]

I don't think those are lettuce plants, even though they definitely are bolting plants.

Those plants look like some type of Brassica; I can see Brassica leaves but I don't know which type it is.

If you look at the flowers closely, a Brassica will have a four petaled flower, usually yellow, but can be other colors, depending on the species (in contrast to lettuce, which have many more petals).

[jal_ut]

I am thinking you have arugula. Taste a leaf and see if has a spicy flavor. A lot like watercress or mustard leaves. If so, that confirms it. Yes, if that is what it is, the leaves are good in a salad or on a sandwich.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I'm backing Jim on this one. First I was thinking radish leaves, arugula makes more sense.

Eric

[garden5]

Bolting lettuce. I should know, I had two rows of it last year. When you plant too late, it seems like they go from seedling to bolted plants.

[jal_ut]

When it blooms you will know. Lettuce has a yellow multipetaled flower. Arugula has a white 4 petaled flower. I think I see a 4 petaled flower?

[William71]

Looks like more opinions on this, so I took some more pics.

The flowers:
[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v678/Stormbird/plant4.jpg[/img]

I pulled a few plants out of the ground, and discovered this under the dirt:
[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v678/Stormbird/plant5.jpg[/img]

Mind you, not all of them were that bulbous, most were very slender. But that one sure looked like a radish to me. I took a small slice out of it and gave it to my girlfriend (she likes radishes, I don't) and she says that's what it is.

So I guess it was a case of mispackaged seeds after all.

But are they bolting radishes, or are they supposed to look like this?

[TWC015]

Those are definitely bolting radishes.

Some of mine looked like that when they were flowering. I intentionally let some of my radishes flower and the ones I planted early developed a large root like yours, but the late planted ones did not develop the enlarged root and went straight to flowering.

[William71]

Well they're all out of the ground now. About half of them had the round bulbous roots, and half had narrow slender roots. They were all planted at the same time, around mid-April.

[jal_ut]

Yes, radishes, mustard, and arugula all have the 4 petaled flowers. Mystery solved.

[applestar]

... and their seeds are tiny round pellets, BTW, whereas lettuce seeds are narrow, flat and pointy on both ends (narrow leaf or shield-shaped). Often, Mesclun salad seed mixes contain a mixture of such seeds.