How to grow lettuce indoors all year round

I always try to add salad to our meals. Imagine eating fresh lettuce all year round harvested from home. I found an easy way to grow lettuce indoors all year round.

Growing our lettuce indoors in the wintertime is nice not only because we have fresh green vegetables growing at home but also the beauty of seeing the green leaves every day while there is a white canvas filled with snow outside. Plants bring life to our homes.

You can keep the lettuce indoors all year round, but I prefer to bring our lettuce outside in Spring and then, back in the house in summer because of the extremely hot weather. With this method, I could find a way to grow lettuce all year round in containers.

Growing our own organic green vegetables at home is part of our journey to a more simple and sustainable living even if you live in a small space or an apartment.

There are many methods to grow lettuce indoors, from Hydroponics to water using kitchen scraps. In this post, I will share how we grow our lettuce from seed in pots indoors.

What do I need to grow lettuce indoors all year round?

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Materials

• Planters
• Worm Casting
• Potting Mix (I use organic)
• Manure
• Seeds
• Grow lights

Sowing Method

I got my seeds last September from the botanical garden store close to my home, but you can find seeds in the garden centers all year round. It is a bit more difficult in wintertime, but they still have some variety. I used my egg carton method to start my seeds.

We don’t sow many seeds—Approx 20 seeds at a time. Make sure to water your seeds every day.

Transplant seedling to a bigger container

After the seeds started to grow in our egg carton, I transferred them to a larger container. This container is not the final home. It gives them more space to continue growing to get healthier seedlings.

Because at this point we have a seedling, I can add a little plant food to the soil if needed. I use as many organic products as possible.

Transplant the lettuce into a larger plant pot

The beauty of this method is that we can put a process to keep growing lettuce continuously at different stages. We transfer a few seedlings to a bigger planter, so they can have space to grow. The amount of seedlings we transfer depends on the kind of lettuce you grow; some take more space than others.

We keep the rest in the small container, where we will continue taking care until it is time to transfer them to the bigger planter. Before transplanting the seedling to a bigger container, I make sure to do the following.

Soil: The soil for the planter needs a good amount of nutrients. This is how I prepare our potting mix. 80% potting mix 20% manure and add 1-2 tables spoon of worm casting (this depends on the size of the planter). After mixing all very well, then I transfer the seedling.

Light: If you have a sunny window, that will be the perfect spot to place the lettuce. Because we are facing north, we don’t have a sunny window, so I get help from a grow light. We keep the grow light on all day and turn it off before going to bed.

Water: I use a water meter to control the water intake, so I don’t add too much or too little.

Cut and Regrow

Few greens can regrow after harvest. Lettuce is one of them. This is optional as you can harvest, clean the soil and plant more seedlings from the smaller container.

In summer, I let them regrow up to three times, but in winter, just two times as they grow slower due to the lack of direct sunlight. I harvested this four days ago, and I can see how the lettuce is regrowing.

If you want these green vegetables to regrow, do not cut all the leaves. Keep some on the plant so it can continue growing. I have a post that talks more about cut and regrow green vegetables that you can plant in containers.

I hope you like this post on how to grow lettuce indoors all year round. You may also like ” Easy Guide for Growing Microgreens at home“.