Lettuce is surprisingly easy to grow indoors. From lettuce you can get a great harvest in a short time, and it is a plant that requires very little attention: soil, a little water and a lot of sun will be the only things you need. It's such a simple vegetable to grow that you can even take an alternative route to planting lettuce in a pot by placing the seeds in a plastic bag.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Grow Lettuce the Traditional Way
Part 1: Preparation
Step 1. Choose a lettuce variety suitable for growing in a pot
Long-leaved varieties are the easiest to grow indoors.
Step 2. Choose a medium sized plastic pot
Lettuce doesn't have a particularly deep root system, so a medium-sized pot should give her all the space she needs. Plastic is more suitable than terracotta, since the latter would absorb water, drying the earth more quickly than a plastic pot.
- If you're using a clay pot, line it with a plastic grocery bag before planting lettuce seeds. Make holes in the bag to allow the water to run down into the saucer.
- Make sure your chosen pot or container has drainage holes. These holes will allow water to escape if you water the plant from the surface. In addition, these holes will also allow you to water from the saucer, and this is a technique particularly suitable for lettuce plants.
Step 3. Clean the pot, especially if it has already contained another plant or other objects in the past
Bacteria and insect eggs may have lurked inside the pot, waiting to destroy your plants. Soap and water will be enough to eliminate most of the hazards, but for a deeper cleaning you can use a solution consisting of 9 parts of water and one of bleach.
Step 4. Choose a classic soil for your lettuce
Lettuce is an unpretentious vegetable, so you won't need special potting soil. Normal potting soil for plants grown in pots will do just fine. Avoid using soil from your garden though, as it may contain bacteria and insects that can damage your future crop.
Step 5. Fill the pot with soil
Fill it enough, but not to the brim. You should leave about 2.5cm of space between the top of the soil and the edge of the pot.
Step 6. Spread a dozen or two lettuce seeds onto the palm of your non-dominant hand
Lettuce seeds are very small, so the pile of seeds in your hand will feel pretty small.
Step 7. Grab the seeds with the index and thumb of your dominant hand
There is no need to take all the seeds with the first take. You can also start with just a few seeds.
Step 8. Sprinkle the seeds over the surface of the pot as you would a pinch of fine salt
Try to avoid dropping too many in the same spot, but don't worry too much about how much to space the seeds apart.
Step 9. Repeat until you run out of suits contained in the non-dominant hand
Step 10. Sprinkle more soil over the seeds
Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil (3 to 5mm). If you use too much, the seeds won't be able to get the light they need to germinate.
Step 11. Use a spray bottle to moisten the seeds with water
The soil should be very moist, but not soaked with water.
Part 2: Care and Harvest
Step 1. Moisten the seeds every morning
The earth must remain constantly moist if you want the seeds to germinate. Germination should take about one to two weeks.
Step 2. Water the plant every other day to keep the soil moist
Lettuce may need to be watered more or less frequently depending on how warm and sunny your home is. Check the soil often by sticking your finger about 1cm into the soil. If it looks dry, the lettuce may need another watering.
Consider moistening the earth starting from the saucer. Place a saucer under your lettuce pot and fill it with water to allow it to spread into the earth from the drainage holes in the pot. This will also reduce the likelihood of roots rotting and fungi starting to grow
Step 3. Keep the lettuce cool
Ideally, the temperature in the room should be 16 to 21 degrees Celsius. To recreate the conditions lettuce would find in nature, let the temperature drop to as low as 6 ° C during the night.
Step 4. Place the newborn seedlings in front of the sunniest window in your home
Lettuce seedlings need 14 to 16 hours of sun to be able to develop at their best.
Step 5. Invest in a fluorescent grow light
If you can't give the lettuce seedlings the natural light they need, place a grow light 10cm above the pot and leave it on for 14 hours. Remember to turn it off though, the seedlings would not do well with 24 hours of light.
Step 6. Thin out the seedlings after they have developed the second layer of leaves
Uproot the weaker seedlings, leaving 7-8 cm of space between the remaining ones, to give them enough space for them to mature.
Rather than throwing away the "waste" seedlings, transplant them into a separate pot or consume them. Unripe lettuce plants are edible and taste very similar to that of mature plants
Step 7. Use a light fertilizer if you want
Lettuce is a plain strong enough to be able to grow unaided, but a light fertilizer, diluted in equal parts with water, can help you further increase your yield. Apply the fertilizer solution to the seeds once a week for three weeks, then discontinue use.
Step 8. Collect lettuce leaves as you need them, or even all at once
The less mature leaves are still as good and safe as the others.
- The less mature leaves are as good as the more mature ones. As soon as the leaves are of the desired size, you can start harvesting them starting from the outermost layers. Leave the innermost leaves alone if you want them to continue to develop.
- You may have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for lettuce to mature if you want to harvest a perfectly developed head. Start collecting the leaves one by one starting from the outside and reaching the heart of the plant. Ripe lettuce starts producing seeds very quickly, so you need to harvest it before it's too late. Lettuce, during the phase in which it produces the seeds, takes on a rather bitter taste.
Method 2 of 3: Grow Lettuce in a Bag
Step 1. Cut the handles and corners of a plastic bag, and drill holes across the entire surface
The holes need to be small enough to keep the topsoil from escaping while still allowing water to pass through.
Step 2. Fill the bag with soil
The envelope should be filled only 3/4 of the way, and the soil should be moistened first to make sure that it stays firmly inside the envelope, without coming out of the cut corners.
Step 3. Place the envelope on a plate or tray
Excess soil and water could come out of the holes at the corners of the bag, and thus dirty your work surface. Placing everything on a tray will help you not to get too dirty around.
Step 4. # Spill a dozen or two lettuce seeds on the palm of your non-dominant hand
Grab some seeds from the pile with your dominant index finger and thumb and sprinkle them over the top of the soil as you would a pinch of salt.
Step 5. Sprinkle more soil over the seeds
Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil (3 to 5mm). If you use too much, the seeds won't be able to get the light they need to germinate.
Step 6. Sprinkle some water on the soil
Limit yourself to a light splash; too much water will flood the seeds and drain any excess muddy water from the holes in the corners of the bag.
Step 7. Close the envelope without sealing it
Leaving the bag completely open would cause it to disperse too much heat and humidity, but sealing it would cause the air inside to stangnate. Leave an opening of at least 2-3 cm, covering the rest of the opening of the bag.
Step 8. Leave the envelope on a sunny work surface or window sill
Alternatively, you can use a fluorescent grow light. Also for this method, lettuce seeds need 12-14 hours of light per day.
Step 9. Open the bag after the seeds have germinated
Germination should take place in a week or less. Continue to keep the soil moist with the help of a sprayer, and guarantee the sprouts the same hours of light they received previously.
Step 10. Collect the leaves one by one as they are ready
It should only take a few weeks. Start collecting the outermost leaves and then concentrate. Do not wait for lettuce to form a ripe head before harvesting if you are growing it in a plastic bag, as this method is not suitable for that type of grow.
Method 3 of 3: Replant the Romaine Lettuce
Step 1. After removing the leaves you intend to consume, put the remainder of the head in a container with some water in it
About 1cm of water will suffice.
Step 2. Place the replanted lettuce in a place where it will be able to receive the necessary light, be it solar or artificial
You should notice the first signs of growth after just a few days.
Step 3. Replace the water with fresh water every other day
Step 4. Collect the leaves as you need them
Even if it won't regrow a whole head, the lettuce obtained this way will still be enough for a few sandwiches.
Advice
If you have young children or teach at an elementary school, plant lettuce with them as a gardening lesson. Lettuce is so easy to grow that even children can do it, as long as they are at a minimum led by an adult. When growing lettuce with your kids for the first time, start with the bag method, as it's less complicated and a little faster
Warnings
- Wash the lettuce thoroughly before consuming it.
- When adding fertilizer, avoid getting it on the leaves. Apply it directly to the soil.
