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| Photo Credit: Megan Bame |
| A container of mixed greens offers color and texture, aesthetics and utility. |
You don’t need a tiller or hoe to be a vegetable gardener. Many veggies lend themselves nicely to container gardening, including a variety of leafy greens. Sun, water, soil and seed are all you need to enjoy fresh salad greens at every meal.
Because the heat of summer causes greens to be bitter and the tender leaves cannot withstand freezing temperatures, lettuce and greens should be grown in fall and early spring – which means you can get started planting now. A container of mixed greens is perfect for a patio, deck or even a doorstep, and it offers a nice variety of color and textures. And although nothing beats natural outdoor sunlight, greens will also grow indoors near a south-facing, sunny window. A bowl-shaped container or window box are ideal containers for growing salad greens. Start by filling the container with moist potting soil. You can either purchase vegetable transplants, where the plant is already two to three weeks old, or you can sow seed. (Admittedly, buying transplants is easier, but you might have to go to a farm supply store to find them.) Transplants are typically sold in bedding flats like you might find annual flowers, such as petunias. Carefully remove the rootball from the plastic pack. Sometimes it’s best to loosen the rootball by squeezing the plastic cup as you pull the stem, or you can use scissors to cut the pack open. Both ways help avoid ripping the plant from its roots. Remove any brown (dead) leaves, which are often found at the base of the plant. Poke a hole in the soil and bury the rootball so that the base of the leaves is just above the soil. (It’s okay to bury some of the stem as long as all of the leaves are above the soil.) Water the container immediately after transplanting and as needed – if the soil appears dry, the plants likely need water. If the bottom leaves begin to appear limp and dull, the plants definitely need a good drink.
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