Tips For Growing Lettuce Indoors In Containers- Best Types Of Lettuce

Growing lettuce at homes is practiced all over the world. Since it is available all around the year and among all indoor vegetables, lettuce is easier and will give you a good supply of fresh and crispy lettuce throughout. If you plan to grow it indoor, this post will guide you properly about how to grow lettuce indoors.

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  Which lettuce variety can be grown inside?

Well, indoor varieties of lettuce has categorized into 4 types majorly. Variety includes: crisp head, butter head, loose-leaf and romaine. The type you are going to grow is properly mentioned on seed packets easily available in the market.  Keep in mind that there is a variety in lettuce that grows only in small size. If you want to grow that type, choose a seed packet mentioned with “baby seeds”.

Experts recommend growing following lettuces for indoor conditions:

• Black-Seed Simpson
• Tom Thumb
• Merlot
• Salad Bowl
• Red Deer Tongue
• Lollo Rosa
• Baby Oakleaf

Tips for growing lettuce from seed

Lettuce is grown with succession plantings in order to continue the harvesting of this vegetable.  The approximate time lettuce plant reaches maturity is approximately four to six weeks. In order to make sure that vegetable is available all around the year, one need to sow the seeds after the previous plants of lettuce reaches maturity.

• Method to sow seed

Many people are concerned about when to plant lettuce to know ideal conditions. Sowing lettuce seed is little different from seeds of other vegetables.Before sowing it, press the seeds between your thumb and index finger. After it, simply spread the seeds over the potting soil. It is always recommended to allow light on seeds because lettuce seeds sprout best in light conditions. Misting soil is another basic need of lettuce seeds especially early morning. If all favorable conditions are provided, seeds will surely sprout in ten to fourteen days. You may also like to see: growing eggplants in containers.

• Is there any favorable temperature for Growing lettuce?

Since you are planning for planting lettuce indoor, you need to keep an eye on the temperature of the environment. Anyways, the indoor temperature at day should vary from 16-21 C while at night; it can vary around 6 C. Such temperature conditions will help the growth of lettuce.

• Are there any sorts of light conditions For Growing Lettuce?

During the start, seeds require strong light conditions. Once the seeds germinate, their demand for light will surely decrease. As seeds, almost 14-16 hours of light helps them grow better otherwise, they will become frail. Since indoor lettuce plants tend to bend towards the direction of sunlight, always keep rotating the indoor pots to avoid such conditions.

Many people recommend using sun porch for indoor plantation of lettuce. The major advantage of sun porch is increased sun exposure and also, considered ideal for cold lettuce.

Moreover, if you do not have a good window where sunlight is available for long hours, then you can consider using grow lights. They should be placed almost 10cm above the plant pot and used for almost 14 hours a day. You should turn off the lights at night since seeds won’t be able to germinate during intensive light conditions. You may also like to see: growing blueberries in containers.

• Are there any water conditions for soil?

Lettuce needs moist soil but over dosage of water can harm the plant. Since the lettuce contains a major portion of water, the plant has shallow roots to suck water from soil easily. For indoor plantation of lettuce, the plant must be watered after every couple of days. It is recommended to use water tray for seeds to avoid any sort of damp conditions that might lead to fungal diseases.  Lukewarm water should be used for better growth of lettuce indoor plant. Hydroponic lettuce has also gained fame in the past few years development in technology.

• Does lettuce plant need fertilization?

The ideal conditions to start the fertilization of lettuce plant is when first leaves appear on soil. Fertilizers can be used almost once in three weeks’ time period. Organic fertilizers are considered to be best for lettuce plant. While using it, make sure that fertilizers do not leaves of the   plant.

• How to grow lettuce in container?

Using containers for indoor plantation is very common among all those people who lives in apartments. No matter , if you have small space , you can still manage to grow lettuce plants in your home. You will be able to keep an eye on any sort of pesticide attack on your plants easily and it is a quick access for salad dish to be prepared tonight. An ideal size for a container that can be used for indoor lettuce growth is 6 by 12 inch container. A clay pot is ideal since it absorbs excess water that avoids soggy roots later. You may also like to see: tips for growing strawberries in pots.