How to Grow Lettuce in Containers!

Gourmet lettuce mixes are common in your produce section, but have steep price tags. Planting your own blends of greens is cost effective easy to do. Lettuces adapt easily to containers and harvesting is as convenient as your kitchen door.

Instructions

1. Purchase young lettuce plants at your local garden center. Chose the lettuce mix you enjoy best. Look for leaf lettuces with burgundy foliage, rounded and oak-shaped leaves and brilliant colors of green.
   Early Season: Arctic King, Brune d'Hiver, Rouge d'Hiver, Winter Marvel
   Midseason: Buttercrunch, Freckles, Royal Oak Leaf, Salad Bowl
   Late Season: Diamond Gem, Esmerelda, Galactic, Rosalita

2. Choose a container with a drainage hole, and fill with moist potting soil. Work fish emulsion through the soil if your soil isn't commercially purchased.

3. Gently loosen the plants roots from their container and place them in the pot, burying the root balls so the tops are even with the container's soil level. Don't bury them too deep!

4. Place the container in a spot that receives at least four hours of direct sunlight per day. Water the plants daily or whenever it becomes dry.

5. Harvest!
   Select your leaves to harvest from the outside of the plant. Always leave inner foliage to mature so it will continue producing new leaves.

Tips & Warnings

• Containers of lettuce make wonderful centerpieces with their brilliant greens, reds and purple colors.

• You can grow lettuce around colorful flowers too, but make sure you don't mix flower leaves with lettuce.

• If you add any fertilizer, be very careful to wash the lettuce thoroughly before eating.