Fact: I totally suck at growing lettuce from seed.
Lettuce is my gardening kryptonite, so I decided to buy transplants this year instead of wasting money on seeds. Yes, it was more expensive, but I finally managed to keep the plants alive. And we've been eating them! A pack of 9 lettuces from our garden center was just $3.98 (however I think I got them buy 1 get 1 50% off), so I purchased three varieties, some radicchio, and a pack of kale. For less than $15, I put together two nice "salad bowl" container gardens that will continue to produce greens until the weather gets hot.
This guy was "helping"... he gave each lettuce a good sniff and was very intrigued by the alyssum (purple flowers) until he realized it wasn't edible.
I planted the lettuces in two large containers (2' in diameter) so they were nestled under a small Arborvitae - this way, they have a bit of afternoon shade when the temperatures rise above 80 degrees. Most lettuces will do well in full sun until the temperatures get above 80 degrees, and will thrive in part shade until the summer heat kicks in. I planted some purple alyssum in each container to help deter pests and add a bit of color. Now that the lettuces have filled out the container, the purple flowers look stunning with the purple-red leaves of the red romaine lettuce and yellow tips of the arborvitae.
Each lettuce plant was spaced about 4" apart. In a square foot garden, they would need to be spaced 6" apart (4 per square) to reach a mature size. However, I am cutting the lettuces as they grow so that I harvest the outer leaves while the inner "crown" matures. After planting, these containers were very low-maintenance - I simply give them a light watering every other day, or when the top 2" inches of soil feels dry.
Harvesting is super easy. After planting, I gave the lettuces a week or two to get acclimated to their new container. I harvest 2-3 leaves from each plant, taking care when snipping them off with a clean pair of scissors. I use this time to inspect each plant and remove any dead or mushy looking leaves (they go into the compost).
The Hubs helped me "harvest" this little bit of Lacinato kale, red and green romaine lettuce, and raddicchio leaves. We ended up picking a few leaves of spinach and arugula (from the deck boxes) and I trimmed the Swiss Chard. Boy, I am glad that I did! This picture was taken on April 5th and since the chard has gone absolutely bonkers...not to mention the "Easy Peasy" peas planted in front of them. They are growing all over everything!
The Hubs was shocked when he saw that our "big" little harvest weighed just over 1 ounce. It makes you appreciate how much lettuce it takes to fill up an 8 ounce bag from the store!
My favorite part about our lettuce containers is that The Hubs is 100% on board with "growing a salad." We both appreciate the intense flavors of each fresh leaf and the crisp texture they add to a salad. The Hubs even asked tonight if we were going to "pick a salad" for dinner, and when I told him "no" I caught him pouting a little. He is totally adorable.
- Maggie White
Update: here is the container after a few weeks of being able to fill in.
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