How do you grow lettuce at home? Sharing the home growing method
If you want to try growing vegetables in pots, lettuce is a good choice. Its growth cycle is very short, generally it can be harvested in about two weeks, and at the slowest in about a month. Lettuce does not have a high demand for light, so even if the balcony does not get enough light, it can still be grown. Let's take a look at the potted vegetables others are growing.
If you can occasionally eat vegetables you have grown yourself, then growing vegetables in pots is a great success. Of course, they can also serve as ornamental potted plants, and lettuce is also fairly ornamental. Varieties with good ornamental value include the common ones: red lettuce, red-leaf lettuce, purple-leaf lettuce and endive, etc.
To grow lettuce you only need a larger flower pot, ensure good drainage, give it a little sunlight, and keep it on a windowsill, balcony or any other open space, and it will grow very well.
Growing tips:
1. Choose a suitable container
Buy a larger container; you can choose a rectangular plastic planter box. They are not only lightweight, but also very cheap, and easy to move.
A container depth of 15-20 cm is enough; lettuce is not a plant with very deep roots.
2. Soil choice
Choosing the right soil is the key. The potting soil for planting is best if it is loose, well-draining nutrient soil, with enough fully rotted organic fertilizer added at the bottom of the pot.
You can also make some soil yourself, but be sure to mix in some fully rotted organic fertilizer, so as to ensure that the lettuce has enough nutrients during its growth.
3. Planting choices
You can choose lettuces of different colors to plant together, so they look more colorful and are also quite ornamental.
One container can even be combined with multiple plants; you can plant some strawberries along the edge. Suitable companion vegetables include parsley, mint, cilantro and scallions, etc.
The easiest thing about growing vegetables is that the seeds germinate very well, sprouting in less than a week.
4. Growing location and watering
The best environment for growing vegetables is outdoors, keeping a bright light environment. About 4 hours of sunlight a day is enough. Keep the potting soil slightly moist but not wet. Before each watering, first test whether the soil is short of water.
5. Appropriate fertilizer
The growth of lettuce needs fertilizer rich in nitrogen. When planting, you can add a layer of fertile organic fertilizer at the bottom of the pot, preferably fully rotted manure; compost soil can also be mixed in.
After the seedlings are transplanted and resume growth, you can appropriately supplement with diluted fertilizer, and it must also be a liquid fertilizer with a relatively high nitrogen content, applying fertilizer once every 8-10 days.
6. Harvesting lettuce
Even the fastest-growing lettuce needs more than 2 weeks to be harvested; generally, after 30 days of planting you can guarantee a harvest. If you want to eat potted vegetables you have grown yourself, you still need to water frequently and apply light fertilizer frequently.
When harvesting, you can just pick off the lower leaves, and it will still keep growing back.