If you want an easy garden project salad greens grow well in a container garden. Plant the seeds in a pot that has several small holes in the bottom so the plants do not become water logged. Lettuce tolerates a variety of conditions, but they do need a healthy dose of sunshine every day. Try to keep the plants away from an area that is too shady.
You can grow yummy salad greens right on your patio or deck in a container garden. No need to go to a gourmet market, these specialty baby greens will grow in your backyard for a fraction of the cost. I add my fresh greens to sandwiches, salads, cold pasta, chicken and tuna.
I like a variety of textures in my salad so when I plant mini gardens in containers on my deck I include several lettuce plants including:
Lolla Rossa: A classic green in Italian salads, this red, heavily frilled leaves provide loft, texture, and color. I also love the fact it's a "cut-and-come-again" green—if you pick the outer leaves, the plant will continue to grow. Given the right conditions, this type of lettuce will produce leaves for three months or more. Plus the plant does well in summer heat and in the cold.
Red Oakleaf: Delicate sweet flavor and a rich red color with notched leaves make this a good addition to the kitchen garden
Rouge d'Hiver: An old French variety with medium-red tinted leaves and excellent taste. Good regrowth. Tolerant to cold, but avoid hot weather. Sweet taste, not bitter.
Green Salad Bowl: Light-green, long, wavy, deeply notched leaves are one of my favorite for it's sweetness and tenderness. It does not get bitter when it matures. Plant tolerates hot weather too.
Black Seeded Simpson: A reliable lettuce with bright green leaves produces tender and sweet leaves. This fast growing lettuce produces greens over a long period of time
Buttercrunch: A mild and sweet buttery-flavored lettuce with rich green leaves—sometimes tinged with red—and forms a beautiful rosette. Thi Bibb-type lettuce is easy to grow and tolerates heat—that's one reason why it grows well in a container garden.
Images: Instagram photos above by me, Chris Olson. Feel free to pin images on Pinterest with a link back to this post. Thanks!