Gardening Tips for Enjoying Homegrown Lettuce All Year Round
Fresh, homegrown lettuce is one of the reasons vegetable gardeners love what they do. It’s flavorful, it’s much less expensive and there’s a lot of fun in seeing your own lettuce on the dinner table. In the winter months, you may need to get more creative with these gardening tips to enjoy homegrown lettuce year round.
There are multiple ways to grow lettuce indoors, and some of them are both clever and offer aesthetic appeal:
Put your lettuce to work. Did you know that you can cut the base off a head of romaine and use it to grow new lettuce? The next time you use a head of romaine, keep the bottom of the head, place it in warm water and install it near a sunny window. Within a few days, you should see some new growth sprouting up from the lettuce head. After about a week, transfer the base to a pot of soil, leaving the new growth uncovered, and watch as your romaine lettuce grows full-size leaves. It’s possible that you could keep the same head of romaine producing all winter long.
Grow it in a flower pot. Sow some lettuce seeds in a pot by filling a decorative pot three-quarters full of soil, then add the seeds. Top with more soil, and then place near a sunny window and water as needed. You’ll need to thin the lettuce leaves after germination, but with this method and a few pots that you stagger with timing, you could enjoy fresh lettuce throughout the winter months.
Go mobile. If you don’t have an ample windowsill for growing lettuce, consider creating a mobile garden, where you’ll plant lettuce in a little-wheeled cart. This allows you to move your lettuce plantings where it’s convenient. Keep in mind that you can choose a cart that matches your décor, opting for wood or painted metal versions to go with your style.
Add grow lights. You may live in a climate that simply doesn’t have enough sun during the winter to make indoor lettuce growing possible. Using grow lights is one of the best gardening tips because it works for a lot of different indoor gardening projects. Dedicate a corner of your kitchen to growing indoor vegetables and herbs and station your grow lights to give them plenty of artificial sunlight.
Whether you’re growing loose leaf, spinach, romaine or iceberg, it’s a good idea to label your plants for individualized care. Check out Kincaid Plant Markers and give your indoor lettuce garden the benefits of organization and an attractive presentation.
