Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Planting lettuce seeds in pots
• Part 2 of 3: Seedling care
• Part 3 of 3: Harvesting
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Whether you run out of space in your garden or just want to grow lettuce all year round, this plant is easy and simple to grow at home. Since lettuce thrives at room temperature and direct sunlight, it adapts well to home conditions and survives with basic care. Even if you've never kept any plants in your home before, you won't need anything more than regular potting soil, water, fertilizer and lighting, or a sun window to keep your plants strong. A month after planting the seeds, it will already be possible to harvest the lettuce!

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Planting lettuce seeds in pots

1. 1 Choose a salad variety that feels good at home. While most lettuce varieties can be grown at home, some will make it easier for you to succeed than others. Purchase any of the following salad varieties from your garden center or seed store:
   • "Moscow greenhouse";
   • "Emerald Lace";
   • "Parliament";
   • "Dubrava";
   • "May";
   • Paris Green;
   • Bettner;
   • "Merlot".
2. 2 Fill a pot with forcing soil. Forcing the seed should be lightweight to promote root growth and to provide good drainage without allowing water to stagnate. If you cannot find a special soil for forcing seeds, you can prepare it yourself from equal parts of sphagnum or coconut fiber, vermiculite and sand.
   • Each plant needs about 10-15 cm of soil wide and about 20 cm deep. Choose a pot for planting that meets these requirements.
   • Purchase a pot with drainage holes at the bottom. Place a drip tray underneath to allow water to drain into it.
   • You can find ready-made forcing mix at most gardening stores and garden centers.
3. 3 Sow the seeds into the soil about 2.5 cm apart. Dig a hole 1–1.5 cm deep in the ground and place the lettuce seeds in it at a distance of about 2.5 cm from each other.Limit yourself to four seeds per pot so you don't have to thin out the seedlings when they emerge. If you want to plant more than four seeds, prepare several pots beforehand.
4. 4 Sprinkle the seeds lightly with soil and water. Take a handful of soil and sprinkle it with the salad seeds carefully. Fill a spray bottle with water and gently moisten the soil to avoid washing out the seeds.
5. 5 If you don't want to wait for shoots, plant lettuce seedlings right away. If you don't have the patience to wait for seedlings to appear, you can plant the salad with seedlings. Use the same technique as if you were planting seeds: Plant no more than four plants in pots.
   • Ready-made lettuce seedlings can be bought from the hands or searched in garden centers.

Part 2 of 3: Seedling care

1. 1 Use a spray bottle to moisten the potting soil daily until shoots appear. When the seeds germinate, the lettuce will need watering equivalent to about 25 mm of rain per week. Use your finger to check the soil twice a day and water it when it is dry.
   • The soil should remain moist, but not waterlogged.
   • Another way to check the moisture level is to raise the pot. If it is heavy, then the soil is saturated with water.
2. 2 Grow lettuce at room temperature. Lettuce grows best at 18-21 ℃. Turn on air conditioning or heating as needed to keep your plants at the most stable temperature possible.
   • If the outside is warm or cool enough, you can periodically expose the plants to fresh air.
3. 3 Place the salad pots on a sunny window or under a fluorescent light. Lettuce grows best in direct sunlight. If you live where there is very little sun, buy a fluorescent lamp from a garden center and hang it about 30 cm above the salad.
   • The salad requires a minimum of 12 hours of direct sun per day, but 14-16 hours is preferred.
   • Keep in mind that plants that grow under artificial light usually require more hours of backlighting than under direct sunlight. Be prepared to provide artificial lighting around 14-16 hours, not 12+.
4. 4 Water the salad when the leaves begin to wilt. Lettuce leaves begin to wither noticeably when the plant lacks water. If you notice that the leaves have wilted, pour over the lettuce so that the soil becomes moist again, but not waterlogged and soggy.
   • The higher the air temperature, the more often you need to water the salad.
5. 5 Conduct top dressing lettuce three weeks after planting. Lettuce needs nitrogen fertilizers to grow, so spray the seedlings with liquid fertilizer three weeks after planting the seeds or when the first leaves appear. Spray the fertilizer closer to the soil to prevent it from spilling directly onto the leaves and causing burns.
   • Use a liquid fertilizer. Granular fertilizers must be mixed with the soil.
   • Organic alfalfa flour is rich in nitrogen and can serve as a long-term, gradual fertilizer, which is great for salad dressing.
   • Emulsified fertilizers based on fishmeal or seaweed can also be used, but these can give off a pungent odor and are generally not recommended for planting houseplants, including lettuce.

Part 3 of 3: Harvesting

1. 1 Start harvesting lettuce 30–45 days after planting. On average, lettuce takes 30–45 days to grow from seed into a full-grown plant. Check the calendar box to start harvesting in about 30 days.
   • Homemade lettuce continues to grow and mature, so after you pick the leaves from it for the first time, you can continue to harvest later.
   • A grown salad at home usually grows up to 10 cm in height.
2. 2 Harvest in the morning. In the morning, the plants are most saturated with moisture and are stronger in themselves.If possible, harvest lettuce early in the morning, before lunchtime, to keep your plantation healthy.
   • If you are unable to harvest in the morning, refrain from doing so at lunchtime, when the plants are least saturated with moisture.
3. 3 Cut only the outer leaves from the bushes. Don't pluck the entire plant. With the gradual collection of the leaves, the plant can benefit you for several months. Cut 3-4 outer leaves with a pair of garden shears or clippers, allowing the plant to recover and grow further.
   • Do not cut the core of the salad. Limit only the outer leaves to maximize your potential yield.
4. 4 Store the harvested salad in the refrigerator for 5-8 days. Depending on the variety, lettuce can be refrigerated for 3 to 10 days. Check how long your particular variety can be stored by placing it in the refrigerator, and try to use the salad before it dries up.
   • If you know that you will not be using the salad for food for the next 5-8 days, wait a few days before harvesting.
5. 5 Re-harvest every two weeks. It takes about two weeks for the plant to recover and grow new leaves before they can be harvested again. From the first harvest, continue to harvest the leaves at intervals of two weeks to keep the plants healthy and grow more leaves.
   • Be sure to wait at least two weeks before re-harvesting young plants as they may take longer to recover from the first leaf pruning.
   • Sow the lettuce additionally every two weeks to extend the harvest season.

Tips

• Instead of growing lettuce at home, you can put a container of lettuce on your front porch and care for it in the same way.
• If you have free space in your garden or move to a warmer climate, then you can always transplant your homemade salad outside.

Warnings

• Do not store lettuce frozen. Frozen salad loses its texture and flavor.

What do you need

• Lettuce seeds or seedlings
• Soil for forcing seeds
• Pot
• Spray
• Water
• Backlight (optional)
• Garden or regular shears
• Nitrogen fertilizer