Don’t have a garden or balcony or would you like to grow your own lettuce during the winter months? Then try growing it indoors in a pot! We explain how.

There is nothing more delicious than putting together your own salad with lettuce that you have grown organically yourself. Advantage: it is not difficult at all and if you choose the right lettuce varieties, you can harvest quickly. In this blog we explain step by step how you can grow your own lettuce.

Seeds

The first thing to do, of course, is to buy seeds. But which types of lettuce are suitable for growing in pots indoors? Basically, you can grow any lettuce variety in a pot, but a smart choice is picking or cutting lettuce. Tasty varieties are: “Mesclun Pure lettuce”, picking lettuce Cocarde and Catalogna and Lollo Rossa. These grow reasonably compactly and the big advantage is that they grow again if you cut them off a few centimetres above the ground. In this way you can harvest several times from the same plants. Perfect! Arugula can also be harvested in this way and is therefore suitable.

Potting soil

For seedlings it is important that they are in airy soil, so they can root easily after sprouting. Our organic potting soil is perfect for this because of its loose structure. Lettuce does not need much fertilizers, so the fertilizer in our potting soil is sufficient for them to grow.

Pots

If you want to put the lettuce on the windowsill in the kitchen, then 9cm pots or a slightly larger size are fine. Of course you can also choose larger pots, just as you can get rid of them. The smartest is to put one lettuce plant per pot. Two is also possible, but then the plants remain a bit smaller.

Sowing

Because lettuce seeds are so small, it’s best to sow several seeds per pot. Later you just thin them out (see below). Make sure the soil is sufficiently wet and press the seeds lightly. Sprinkle a very thin layer of potting soil over them.

Position

Lettuce does not necessarily need direct sun. In fact, they don’t like being in the hot sun all day. A light spot without sun is just as fine.

If you have a very dark house or it is winter and the days are still short, then it is smart to put them under a grow light. Then you can be sure that they get enough light. There are all kinds of grow lights that turn on and off automatically. Do not place lettuce right next to a heater or stove, because they do not like too much heat. An unheated room is also possible if it does not get too cold in winter.

Transplanting

Once your lettuce plants have sprouted and are growing nicely, you can start thinning or pruning them at some point, depending on how many plants you want to grow. Only want one? Then see which seedling is the strongest and biggest and carefully remove the rest.

Want multiple plantings? Then carefully remove the seedlings from the pot and again choose the strongest and largest. Then give them each their own pot or put two per pot if you don’t have that much space.

Care

Vegetables in pots dry out much sooner than in the open ground. Lettuce also likes enough water, because it consists largely of water itself. So make sure you water on time and don’t let the soil dry out too much. Are you afraid of forgetting to water? Then you can also place a saucer with water under the pot, so that the lettuce plant can absorb water itself. They will then develop a stronger root system.

Harvest time!

Pick lettuce can be harvested approximately when the plants are 15 cm high. To harvest picking lettuce you do not remove the whole plant. You just cut off what you need and leave a few centimeters above the ground. Then the plant just grows back. In this way you can enjoy a lettuce plant for months.

Enjoy your meal!

Photos and text made bymoesmeisje