Grow Your Own Greens
PAGE 2
Get Planting
Sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil. A good guideline when planting seeds is to cover them with soil as deep as the seed is big. Lettuce seeds are very tiny, so gently rubbing your hand over the soil after sprinkling the seeds on top will do the trick. After planting, your seeds need to be watered thoroughly but gently. Use a spray attachment for a hose or a watering can that pours in a spray rather than a stream. The plants need to stay moist and will need to be watered daily or every other day depending on sun, heat and rain.
Watch Them Grow
Most greens will start to sprout within five to 12 days. In warm weather, baby greens will generally be ready to eat in two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half weeks; more mature greens take an extra couple of weeks. I find that if I gently cut baby greens with sharp scissors, new baby greens grow back and are ready for me to cut again within a matter of weeks. Usually after two or three cuttings, it's necessary to dig up the plants and start all over again with fresh seeds. If you're growing larger heads of lettuce, they will take anywhere from 30 to 50 days to mature. When they're ready, pick the entire head—roots and all—turn the soil over, add a little more compost and start again with fresh seeds.
Enjoy!
Your homegrown greens will make a delicious salad on their own when lightly dressed with oil and vinegar. Or, you can try them with any recipe that calls for salad greens.
For more healthy-eating advice—and tasty ideas for those garden greens—visit TheBestLife.com.
Do you have any tips for growing greens—or recipes for enjoying them? Share your best advice in the comments area.
Keep Reading:
How wild greens make spinach look like iceberg lettuce
Find hundreds of growing tips at Oprah.com's Garden Club
What kind of garden fits your personality? Take this quiz to find out!
Sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil. A good guideline when planting seeds is to cover them with soil as deep as the seed is big. Lettuce seeds are very tiny, so gently rubbing your hand over the soil after sprinkling the seeds on top will do the trick. After planting, your seeds need to be watered thoroughly but gently. Use a spray attachment for a hose or a watering can that pours in a spray rather than a stream. The plants need to stay moist and will need to be watered daily or every other day depending on sun, heat and rain.
Watch Them Grow
Most greens will start to sprout within five to 12 days. In warm weather, baby greens will generally be ready to eat in two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half weeks; more mature greens take an extra couple of weeks. I find that if I gently cut baby greens with sharp scissors, new baby greens grow back and are ready for me to cut again within a matter of weeks. Usually after two or three cuttings, it's necessary to dig up the plants and start all over again with fresh seeds. If you're growing larger heads of lettuce, they will take anywhere from 30 to 50 days to mature. When they're ready, pick the entire head—roots and all—turn the soil over, add a little more compost and start again with fresh seeds.
Enjoy!
Your homegrown greens will make a delicious salad on their own when lightly dressed with oil and vinegar. Or, you can try them with any recipe that calls for salad greens.
For more healthy-eating advice—and tasty ideas for those garden greens—visit TheBestLife.com.
Do you have any tips for growing greens—or recipes for enjoying them? Share your best advice in the comments area.
Keep Reading:
How wild greens make spinach look like iceberg lettuce
Find hundreds of growing tips at Oprah.com's Garden Club
What kind of garden fits your personality? Take this quiz to find out!
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