Creative ways to grow lettuce?

[Northernrose]

I'm looking for suggestions on creative ways to grow leaf lettuce and greens. In other words, not in the ground but in containers, hanging baskets, cedar boxes or trays. I can't plant in the ground because i don't have enough prepared garden space and the chickens and insects will destroy it the second it comes up

I have about 8 hanging baskets that are 16"-18" across. I used to grow annuals in them, but gave up wasting money on seasonal color. Do you think with the proper soil mix I could grow baby greens/lettuce in them? I was thinking that I could move the baskets to different locations like from full sun to part shade as the weather get's hotter.

I planted this one with my son... he picked out all the plants and was 3 at the time

 

[Ariel301]

You can grow lettuce in anything that will hold dirt and water. I used to have it growing in my apartment in the kitchen in some plastic boxes.

 

[Rozzie]

Something that I have found useful is to post "ads" on my Facebook asking for things that others will discard or aren't using. Often, things come my way because it is from friends.

So, you could ask for cement blocks, paving stones, plastic kitty litter buckets, etc. Even an old kiddie pool can hold soil and be used as a raised bed garden. Be aware that the plastic WILL break and in a couple of years you'll be fishing pieces out and throwing it in the trash. It would work until you can construct a better raised bed garden, though. Then you could shovel the soil over into the proper beds. It's a "quick fix" until you finish the more intensive work.

To keep the chickens out of the lettuce and other plants in a regular garden bed, just make a wood "frame" of cheap wood. 1x1's or 1x2's are inexpensive and work. Paint with a water based paint if you want to do so. Then staple chicken wire or hardware wire over it. If you use an electric stapler this is easy to do. You can build these pretty fast. They don't have to be very strong--just strong enough to keep a chicken out of the garden!

 

[April Manier]

Try looking for really cool found items with your son. Maybe hit Goodwill, or garage sales if you have any. It would be great fun to find vessles that the two of you have a story for.

Lettuce is so easy; anything that holds dirt and water will do!

 

[wifezilla]

Gutters

http://halfayard.blogspot.com/2010/06/gutter-garden.html

 

[lesa]

No reason you can't use those baskets that you already have... Great idea moving them around for different conditions. If you plant several different kinds of lettuce (reds, etc.) I think they will still be an attractive color pop for you....
Loved your annual basket-but understand wanting to plant more "practical" stuff! Happy Gardening!

 

[patandchickens]

I've always done my mother's thing of growing early and late lettuce in windowbox type planters, self-watering is best (get at garage sales, or make your own; or make a reliable drip- or wick-watering system for them if you cannot arrange self-watering)

Yer typical windowbox type container seems to be just about exactly the right amount of soil "elbow room" for lettuce to do well in -- smaller containers can make even moisture levels tricky to achieve, and larger ones end up with wasted space/weight -- and are very very easy to move around. Very early and late in the season, I move them to avoid frost; at less "extreme" times I still move them to track the way sunlight and heat trap areas change with seasonal sun angle. And lettuce grown in windowbox containers (on the ground) have been MUCH MUCH less prone to damage by pretty much anything (slugs, earwigs, rabbits, deer) than lettuces grown in the ground.

If you use smaller containers e.g. eavestroughing you need to be VERY SUPER AMAZINGLY careful about water supply, since letting your lettuce wilt even *once* will make it bitter (it may also bolt early but will be so bitter that you will no longer care at that point )

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Rozzie]

Those rain gutters could trap water between them and the siding of the house, leading to rotten wood.

That would cost much more to repair or replace than purchasing a more expensive container.

 

[Northernrose]

Gutters
http://greenupgrader.com/files/2009/04/guttergarden.jpg
http://halfayard.blogspot.com/2010/06/gutter-garden.html

I like the gutter/vertical garden, but I would make it free standing not against the house. I agree with Rozzie that against the house it could cause problems. Maybe I could put sections of soaker hose IN the gutter for "direct" watering without getting the leaves wet.

But, I'm going to try some in my hanging baskets to get started

 

[Northernrose]

I've always done my mother's thing of growing early and late lettuce in windowbox type planters, self-watering is best (get at garage sales, or make your own; or make a reliable drip- or wick-watering system for them if you cannot arrange self-watering)

Yer typical windowbox type container seems to be just about exactly the right amount of soil "elbow room" for lettuce to do well in -- smaller containers can make even moisture levels tricky to achieve, and larger ones end up with wasted space/weight -- and are very very easy to move around. Very early and late in the season, I move them to avoid frost; at less "extreme" times I still move them to track the way sunlight and heat trap areas change with seasonal sun angle. And lettuce grown in windowbox containers (on the ground) have been MUCH MUCH less prone to damage by pretty much anything (slugs, earwigs, rabbits, deer) than lettuces grown in the ground.

If you use smaller containers e.g. eavestroughing you need to be VERY SUPER AMAZINGLY careful about water supply, since letting your lettuce wilt even *once* will make it bitter (it may also bolt early but will be so bitter that you will no longer care at that point )

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Great info, thanks! I would have to be careful about watering and the heat. We get very hot here in CA even in spring.

Trisha