By Charity Shumway |

Growing Lettuce on your Windowsill

Nadia asked a good question the other day: “If I wanted to plant say a head or two of lettuce in that green planter I used for the carrots, what’s the best variety to use, when shall I plant, oh and how should I go about planting…”

Nadia (and all you other would-be apartment lettuce growers), you’re in luck, because growing lettuce is SUPER easy. First things first, I’d suggest ditching the idea of growing a head or two. A blanket of baby greens is faster. And a blanket of baby greens also has a semi-magical property: you let it grow to four inches or so, then cut it back to an inch (eating what you cut off), and ABRACADABRA, it will GROW RIGHT BACK.  You can keep at it like that all spring.

Start with a baby lettuce seed mix. I’m using the ones from Renee’s Seeds myself this spring. Put some soil in a container, put some seeds in your hand, and shake the seeds from your hand onto the soil. Then cover with another 1/4 inch of soil and gently water. Pop it on your windowsill, and THAT’S IT!

Lettuce likes cool weather, so this is the time of year for it. While cutting lettuces are semi-magical in their ability to regrow after you scissor them off, they aren’t fully-magical, meaning you can’t cut and cut forever. But you can keep sowing seeds all spring, so eat up!

Have a plant question you want answered? Send me an email! Spadespatula@gmail.com. Cooking questions? Nadia is on it! Spadespatula@gmail.com for her too.

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