Which Lettuce to Use for Container Gardening?

Loose Leaf

Loose leaf lettuce provides calcium, vitamins A and C and a short growing period. From seed, you can harvest leaves for lunch in 45 to 60 days. Loose leaf lettuce can be planted densely if you are planning to clip tender new leaves regularly. The best harvesting method is to use kitchen shears and clip leaves about an inch up from the soil in the container. Some loose leaf lettuces that adapt well to containers are Oak Leaf and Red Oak Leaf, Red Sails with its red-edged leaves, Black Seeded Simpson, a crinkly, mild heirloom, and Deer Tongue, another heirloom with red-edged leaves that grow in triangular shape.

Butterhead lettuces are melt-in-your-mouth tasty and longtime favorites that contain healthy amounts of vitamin K and B vitamins. They are suitable for prepared salads that are served at once as they are delicate and wilt or bruise faster than some other lettuces served salad-bar style. Butterheads may also be leaf lettuces. Popular cultivars that work in containers include Black Seeded Simpson, Red Sails, a red-tinged leaf, Bibb and Boston, the most familiar varieties, and easy-to-grow Tom Thumb, a small head of lettuce about the size of a baseball that will grow in the smallest of your containers and deliver big taste.

Romaine lettuce is long and crunchy. It is the centerpiece of a Caesar salad and has a fresh, slightly bitter flavor. Romaine has a stiff center rib and very sturdy leaves. It can be used as the outer covering of a healthy wrap, enclosing sandwich ingredients in the manner of a rolled tortilla. The lettuce, like all lettuces, contains antioxidants. Romaine is fairly heat-tolerant so it will thrive in mid-summer and in warm climates.

Lettuce is an easy experiment because it grows so quickly and adapts to so many meals. You could try growing Chinese lettuces that don't form heads and produce tall, spear-like leaves. Summer Crisp lettuce forms dense heads with crunchy leaves but it is looser and smaller than Iceberg. Iceberg lettuce, the most familiar to Americans, requires a large container as it grows in large, heavy, tightly-wrapped heads that may not be suitable for most container gardens. Leafy greens like arugula and mâche are flavorful in salads, beneficial sources of potassium and vitamin C and may also be grown in containers.