By Lois Scott, Master Gardener

Bolting? Run to seed? Wait, my plants are going to pull up roots and escape?! No! These terms are used when vegetable crops prematurely flower and go to seed, very likely making the plant unpalatable and possibly unusable. https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/bolting

According to https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/bolting-in-spring-vegetables, ‘flowering in most annual vegetables (ex. lettuce, arugula, spinach) or biennial vegetables (ex. kale, onions, carrots) is influenced by complex interactions between temperature, daylength and stresses of various kinds. Among these, periods of cool temperature during early growth followed by long daylight hours are often the most important determinant of unwanted bolting in vegetables’. Sounds complicated!

Can a gardener prevent bolting? From my research there does not seem to be a general rule of thumb for all vegetable crops. Suggestions include timing your sowing of seed or planting out of seedlings until temperatures are relatively stable. One could employ succession planting such as planting cool weather crops like arugula in the spring and then again in August to have a more consistently available crop. Providing good growing conditions so that your crop will mature enough to provide a usable portion before flowering, is another suggestion. Dry soil is also reported as a cause of bolting so careful watering may help. Careful watering is never a bad thing. Lastly, using bolt-resistant cultivars is on most lists as a way to ‘control’ bolting.

So why am I talking about vegetable crops going to seed in January? At this time of year, we have the wonderful opportunity to peruse seed catalogues and there you will see specially bred plant cultivars being described as ‘slow to bolt’ or ‘bolt resistant’. They may not always be what I choose when ordering seed but they are an option to potentially extend and improve the vegetable harvest.