Grow Your Own Lettuce. You Have Space!

I hear comments all the time about how people would love to grow their own food if they only had the space to do it.  I will admit that I have plenty of space for gardening on our little homestead, however, I still adore the smallest of my gardens.  ANYONE has room to grow their own lettuce during the spring and fall, and I’ll tell you how in 5 easy steps!

1. Find a storage bin with some holes drilled in the bottom.  The one I currently use was a recycle bin, so it already had some drainage holes.  In the past I have used a plastic (think Rubbermaid or Sterlite) that was slightly busted, but not quite ready for the landfill.  
2. You need dirt.  Potting soil works great.  If you use top soil, make sure you mix in some good compost.  Your lettuce will need nutrients! 
3. Then you need seeds!  I usually pick up something titled “Mesclun blend”  or “Gourmet Lettuce Blend” at the garden shop.  This spring I used the “Cut and Come Again” Lettuce blend from Annie’s Heirloom seeds with great results.  If you can’t find a good blend, or you can’t decide, just pick up a couple different packs of leaf lettuce and mix them all together.  It’s your garden, you can do as you darn please!
4. Just sprinkle the seeds over the dirt, and then run your hand over the top to bury them just a little bit.  Place your little garden in as much sunlight as you can give it.
5. Water and wait! You need to keep your soil slightly damp, but not waterlogged.  You should be able to enjoy your first salad greens in about a month! 

This was planted about a month ago

 Lettuce gardens thrive in the spring and fall.  They usually bolt in the summer, but if you move it to partial shade, you can sometimes trick it into lasting well into the hot months.  You can also look for “slow bolt” varieties to keep you in greens longer.

My Tiny Lettuce Patch

To harvest your leaf lettuce, you just take your scissors and give it a “haircut!”  I usually take my Salad Spinner right into the garden with me when I need to pick.

So what are you waiting for?  Go plant some lettuce!  Things taste so much better when you grow your own!

Greens straight from garden to plate!  Talk about “fast food!”

P.S.  Do you have any idea how hard it was to not use a lettuce pun as the title of this post?  Because I showed such restraint, won’t you please “lettuce” know what fruits or veggies you like to grow yourself?  Sorry, I just couldn’t keep it in any longer!

If you like this post, you might also like Top 10 Reasons We Garden Organically.

Happily shared on the From the Farm Blog Hop and Green Thumb Thursday!