July 3, 2011

I haven’t been successful in growing lettuce during the summer months, even in my coastal garden. Lettuce transplants bolt in the warmth of my protected garden. The heat that causes lettuce to bolt ripens tomatoes and peppers.

A gardening friend in the neighborhood has lettuce every summer because the raised bed where it grows is in dappled sun most of the day. A very small corner of my garden is now partially shaded by an apricot tree and I have the prospect of summer lettuce. Here’s the mesclun bed, not quite to the microgreens stage.

Growing mesclun lettuce in a lightweight, 15-inch pot is an experiment and a back-up plan for the above lettuce. Moving the container around the garden, I can control the amount of sun the lettuce receives. Mesclun lettuce could be grown this way on a patio or balcony with the right exposure. I’d like to try Garden Babies, baby butterhead lettuce from Renee’s Garden Seeds. View photos here.

I bought a colorful pot at Home Depot and drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. Then I added some gravel to the bottom of the pot to prevent dirt from clogging the holes.

I used a good potting soil and mixed in some garden compost and fertilizer.

A melange of leftover lettuce seeds germinated quickly in the warm weather.

Checking today, the mesclun is to the microgreen stage, but I’ll be patient. For more details on growing mesclun, see Renee’s Garden article.