Bolting
/BOLT-ing/🧑🌾 Cultivation● Basic
Also known as: going to seed
When a plant prematurely sends up a flowering stalk and begins producing seeds, usually triggered by heat stress, long days, or other environmental factors. Common in leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, and cilantro. Bolting typically makes the leaves bitter and unusable.
Etymology
From Middle English bolt, meaning "to spring forth."
Example
“Lettuce tends to bolt in midsummer heat, turning the leaves bitter.”