I have been growing lettuce in containers for several years now. Why you might ask?
- Lettuce is pretty, some lettuce varieties are as colorful as flowers and their leaves come in so many shapes and sizes. While it can star as the thriller in a container, it is also nice as a filler, complimenting the colors of other flowers. I’ve always believed that edible gardens can be functional and beautiful.
- I hate slugs, Yes, I know that they have a purpose in the garden other than destroying your vegetables, but I really don’t want them in my lettuce. So far, I have suffered no slug damage to lettuce in pots.
- You can locate your lettuce closer to the house for ease of harvesting
- When you harvest your lettuce, if you planted petunias or pansies or other flowers in the same pot, they will fill in the blanks
Tips for Successful Container Lettuce
Location: As with all lettuce, place container in lots of sun. It can do afternoon shade and morning SUN.
Containers: As with any container garden use containers that have good drainage and that will accommodate the amount of plants you are using. Consider the size of the lettuce at maturity. Jadeite and Mayan Jaguar are mini-romaines and can be planted alone in a smaller pot. Elf Ears and Better Angel can be huge plants when full grown and will need more space. Add some flowers such as petunias and you can up the size of the pot. Colanders, stock pots, wooden pots, any kind of pot with proper drainage will work fine. You may have to put a hole in the bottom. Also remember that a larger pot will need less watering.
Soil: I can’t say this enough, NEVER use garden soil in a pot. EVER. Choose a quality, well draining potting soil.
Water and Fertilizer: Keep your container from drying out. Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer. Since you are watering frequently, this leaches out the nutrients faster than if they are planted in the ground, You will need to fertilize once a week or every two weeks depending on the amount of watering you are doing. Dilute the liquid fertilize to ¼ or 1/2 strength. You can also use a dry fertilizer such as Osmocote. Whichever way you go, ALWAYS read the directions on the package.
Harvesting: Leaf lettuces can be used as :”cut and come again” lettuce, Just remember that you will get about 3 cuts before the plant starts to decline.
Notes From The Tomato Lady 
Have you set hours of operation as yet? I know I’m rushing but last year I got a really late start. Thanks…Ray
Sent from my iPhone
>
We haven’t yet. they are still small
Just so you know, we aren’t taking orders this year. It about killed me last year and this year with my knee surgery and heart attack it would be impossible. What we can do is if you call the day before, we will try to pull it and set it aside. The only caveat is that you need to pick them up the next day, we can’t store them any longer.
It’s been a tough road and I am 1 1/2 months behind but glad to be alive. The plants are still small but growing. I doubt very much that we will have anything big enough for a gallon pot this year.
We will hopefully be able to open in mid-April. Maybe the third week of April. Fingers crossed. Keep checking the website for opening information
Because I like nasturtium so much, I have tired many varieties; but still find that the common orange and yellow sorts that most of the compact varieties eventually revert to to be my favorite. Only a few, such as ‘Empress of India’ are true to type. Do you find that any particular variety of nasturtium has better flavor than others, or if any of them are at all distinct? I thought that the big trailing sort produced bigger but less ‘tender’ leaves, and were not as pretty. I still want to try other species of nasturtium, including those that produce edible tuberous roots. So far, I enjoy them more as an ornamental. They are one of my few favorites.