Bird of Paradise

Container gardening opens up so many possibilities, especially if you don't have ground that's suitable for a garden. It does come with its challenges, though. Happily, there's one plant that's pretty, useful, and absolutely content living in a pot: lettuce. I've found it to be one of the easiest edibles to grow this way.

Lettuce grows in a smaller, shallower container than most other edible plants. Since we grow it for leaves rather than fruit, it can handle much more shade than others. In fact, a bit of shade is actually helpful — it keeps lettuce cool and prolongs the season. Lettuce is a cool-season crop, and high temperatures will turn it bitter, so keeping it cool is key.

Lettuce is also perfect for succession planting to stretch out the season. What I do is sow a few pots of lettuce seeds in early spring, then a few weeks after they've sprouted, I sow a few more. After harvesting the first batch, I sow another round of seeds in those same pots. With this routine, you never end up with way too much lettuce all at once.

What I love about lettuce is how versatile it is — you can snip baby leaves from some plants while letting others grow to full size before harvesting.

How to grow lettuce in containers

Choose a pot at least six inches deep, and make sure it has drainage holes. You can grow single heads in narrow pots or tuck multiple plants into a wide bowl. Use a fertile, easy-draining potting mix and mulch the top to conserve moisture and keep temperature even. Site your pots in full sun or part shade and keep the mix evenly moist. When summer heat rolls in, move your containers into more shade to keep the plants cool and happy.

You can really dress up pots of lettuce by mixing different kinds and colors together or tucking in flowering plants. Pansies are one of my favorites for this — they love the same growing conditions, and their flowers are edible too!

Image credit:Wendy Cutler/CC BY 2.0