![]() If you want it to grow again year after year, make sure you leave some of those secondary flowering leaves. If you don’t want it to reseed, harvest the secondary leaves as they emerge and leave the primary leaves to fuel the plant’s growth. Miner’s lettuce sends up two distinct types of leaves, primary leaves around the sides, and secondary leaves that grow flowers out of their centers. Use your thumb and forefinger to pinch off a few leaves from each plant, right at the base where the leaves meet the soil. Harvesting just one leaf can be a bit tricky though since the whole plant is very shallow rooted and pulls up easily. Miner’s lettuce is a cut and come again plant, and if you don’t harvest the whole thing it’ll keep on sending up new leaves. Miner’s lettuce beginning to flower right in the middle of a secondary leaf. Try planting it behind taller crops like corn that will shade it midsummer. Claytonia likes shade, and it grows best with a little protection from the hot summer sun. The stems are delicate, and if you ever decide you want them gone that’s easy enough to accomplish with a little regular hoeing.Ĭlaytonia grows in most soil types, but it prefers moist soil with a good amount of compost. Individual plants are shallow-rooted and pull up with the scratch of a finger. ![]() The nice thing is that even though it self-sows, I wouldn’t call it invasive. Once you plant it, you can harvest from the same spot year after year. For cold climates, it readily re-seeds with a high germination rate. Ideally, sow it as soon as the soil can be worked, along with your garden peas.Ĭlaytonia is a perennial in zones 6 to 9, growing right on through the winter. If it doesn’t get started before everything else, it may have trouble beating out the weeds. Claytonia wants to get started early and will germinate in cold temperatures. ![]() Spread seeds in rows 4 weeks before the last frost. Claytonia is tasty, crisp and worth growing in your own garden to complement spring salads. Honestly, I wouldn’t exactly class it with survival food or campfire beans. Thus the original name, miner’s lettuce, since it was used by the miners during the gold rush. If you live out west, you can forage miner’s lettuce in the winter rainy season. A miner’s lettuce plant viewed from above.
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