Patio Produce: Lettuce

About author / Victoria Wesseler

Healthy eating advocate; master gardener; local food expert. Even veggie haters love her recipes.

You don't need acres of land to grow your own fresh, healthy and delicious produce. In fact, you don't need any land at all. If you have a sunny spot on a patio, you're in business. And while you aren't going to get large yields, it's fun to watch the plants progress and even more fun to celebrate with a special meal made with your harvest.

One of the easiest patio crops to grow is lettuce. Lettuce is the second most popular vegetable in the United States. Americans eat about 30 pounds of it per person per year. In case you're wondering, potatoes are #1 and, yes, they can also be grown on a patio. We'll talk about how to do that in another installment of this column.

There are four main types of lettuce which are defined by their head formation and leaf structure:

• Butterhead (Boston or Bibb) which forms loose heads and is known for its buttery flavor and silky leaf texture.

• Crisphead (Iceberg) which has a tight, dense head and leaves with a crunchy texture. The name Iceberg comes from the method of shipment that was used in the 1930s when the lettuce was transported under large mounds of crushed ice to keep it cool and crisp.

• Loose-leaf which has tender and mildly flavored leaves which curl to form a loose rosette at maturity.

• Romaine which has a head with elongated leaves that are crispy in texture.

While most of us think of lettuce in terms of salads and fillings for sandwiches, it can be braised, steamed, made into soups, sautéed and grilled. Romaine is wonderful when cut in half, brushed with a flavorful olive oil and then grilled cut side down until the head just begins to brown and soften. Take it off the heat, place it grilled side up on your serving platter, sprinkle it with a bit of crunchy sea salt and drizzle it with a touch more olive oil for a delicious side dish that's especially nice with chicken.

When storing lettuce, keep it in plastic bags in your refrigerator's crisper section. Iceberg will last about 10 days, Romaine about 7 days, butterheads about 5 days and the looseleaf, which is the most delicate of all, maybe 2-3 days. Be sure to keep your lettuce separate from fruits such as apples that produce ethylene gas which will cause the lettuce to brown spot and spoil quickly.

Despite the fact that we grow a variety of lettuces in the gardens on our property, I like to have a patio pot handy when I'm making a quick salad and I'm feeling too lazy to walk out to the garden. If you want to try growing lettuce on your patio, looseleaf is your best bet for success. Here's all there is to it:

• Select a pot that has good drainage (plastic or clay is fine), fill it 3/4 full with a good all-purpose potting soil blend that has some sphagnum peat, horticultural perlite and plant food in it.

A rectangular planter works well for lettuce. You won't need anything too deep since the roots of lettuce are fairly shallow. The pot I chose this year for my patio lettuce planter is a plastic, self draining rectangular planter with a planting surface area that is about 8 inches by 20 inches with a planting depth of 5 inches. I got it at a deep discount store for less than five dollars.

• Pour your lettuce seeds (Oak Leaf is a great seed choice for your planter) into the palm of your hand, sprinkle them about a quarter inch apart onto the top of the soil and cover them lightly with 1/4 inch of soil. Pat the top of the soil gently and water with a fine mist.

• Place the planter in a sunny spot on your patio.

• Lightly water the planter every morning taking care to water the soil and avoid getting water on the leaves once the plants have germinated. Be sure not to let the bed dry out for an extended period of time but don't water log it either. The lettuce will thrive best with consistent light moisture.

• The seeds will germinate in about 10-14 days. When the seedlings are about an inch tall, thin them to 1/2 inch apart. And don't throw out those seedlings that you just pulled up—you're holding trendy "micro-greens!" Just snip off and discard the roots, rinse, pat dry and toss them with a tiny bit of balsamic vinaigrette; then put them on top of a warm slice of cheese pizza for a special treat.

• When the plants are 4-5 inches tall (in about 40 days or so), cut the leaves about 1-2 inches above the soil with kitchen scissors.

• Looseleaf lettuce will grow back after it's been cut, so continue to water the plants and you will be rewarded with lettuce to harvest until the temperature nears 80 degrees which is usually too hot for successful lettuce growth. Lettuces are known as "cool weather crops" and fare best when temperatures are near or below 70 degrees F.

To celebrate your first lettuce cutting, I suggest the following recipe. Some pita bread and hummus would nicely round out the meal.

Serves/Makes: 2

***Meatballs***

• 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon Moroccan spice blend*
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

***Salad and Dressing***

• 4 cups looseleaf lettuce, washed and patted or spun dry
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons flavorful olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste