A couple of random thoughts on shade and heat

[Sue Sullivan]

It's supposed to be 93 today, so I decided to harvest a bunch of
spinach and other greens before the day heated up. It occurred to me
that it might be helpful to pick heavily before a heat wave rolls in,
so that the plant has less leaves to lose moisture from and might
experience less drought stress and be less inclined to bolt. Not sure
what the trigger for bolting is, whether it is simply ambient
temperatures or drought stress, but I thought it would be worth the
experiment to stay on top of the harvesting as the weather heats up.

I have noticed a difference in the ripening times of my strawberries
that are planted in full sun vs. partial shade and while I didn't do
this entirely consciously, I will intentionally keep planting these
and other part-shade tolerant crops whose harvest I want to extend in
different beds with varying light exposure.

[Sue Sullivan]

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/5044/why-lettuce-bolts-and-what-you-can-do-about-it

Okay, according to this site, bolting is primarily triggered by
cumulative light exposure and secondarily by heat stress, likely some
combo of temperature and drought stress.
Hmmm, wonder if I should be putting pots over my greens around 5 pm
every day! :P