This week, a few readers have forwarded me some Pinterest boards featuring growing vegetables from scraps of produce you’ve already purchased, particularly lettuce, celery and green onions. I have a vegetable garden outdoors too, but I love the idea of starting lettuce indoors, as the rabbits in my area have successfully foiled my previous attempts to grow lettuce in my garden. So, I was at Jewel today looking for a suitable head or bunch of lettuce with enough stem left to possibly support new growth in water, and I spotted this:
It’s a Live Gourmet Living Butter Lettuce. I picked this up for $2.99 (as opposed to $1.99 for a cut bunch) and brought it home with the intention of both eating it AND growing it. It still has the roots attached:
According to Live Gourmet’s site, all of their lettuce is grown hydroponically in a greenhouse, pesticide-free. I’m going to try to grow it hydroponically too in a bowl of water beads:
I use these polymer water-absorbing beads
taxkim says
So, last year I was wondering in my garden, where all my green beans were, even though they had flowered and you then posted that you were having the same problem. This year I am wondering where the plants are. I know two other people that have had the same problem. After about a month they haven’t even sprouted. Guessing first too cold, now too wet. If it ever dries out, will try to replant. Anyone else with the same problem?
Penny J Pincher says
McHenry Meijer has it everyday for $1.49 a head
tryin2save2 says
Where do you find the polymer beads?
vhesslink says
I have been continuing growing the green onions in my window sill for 4 years now but after a month I seem to get fruit flies because the roots seem to rot but now I am going to try the polymer beads to see if the onions will last longer.
Funny story about my lettuce- 3 years ago I decided to “decorate” my potted tomato since it was a huge pot with only one tomato plant with lettuce seeds early spring. Well no lettuce came up and I thought oh well it was only 10 cents. Next year we were a bit late planting in the planters and to my surprise, guess was growing in the large planter- lettuce. It came back this year too.
bookmaven says
I cut the celery off about an inch above the bottom and set it in shallow water for a couple of days. A little celery leaf started to appear in the middle. I planted it in a 10″ pot and it grew great. It eventually went to seed and the plant died. The seeds sprouted all over the pot and now I have a bunch of celery plants! They are a darker green and smaller than the ones you buy in the store. The flavor is slightly stronger, but not much. It was a great experiment, and free celery!
Bernard2003 says
I did my own version – When we finished the lettuce, I popped the rootball into the middle of the Earthbox where I am growing Cherokee purple tomatoes… lettuce is supposed to be an ideal companion plant, so we will see how they get along :0)
jannereeves says
I’ve been growing green onions in my kitchen since long but never thought about lettuce. After reading the reviews it seems quite realistic, so am gonna try it soon.