How to Grow Salad Indoors

The following is a guest post by Richard Clayton, who owns a small gardening shop and publishes www.lawnmowertips.com, where they discuss everything you need to know about lawn-care techniques.

Growing salad in your indoor garden ensures that you have fresh, tasty greens at your fingertips. Chances are you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to grow lettuce and other salad fixings indoors. To do so, follow these easy steps.

Step 1. Choose your containers

Recycle just about any container for your indoor salad garden, or if you prefer a tidy look, buy containers in uniform shapes and sizes that match your interior. If you don’t have shelving for containers, install some, as this creates more growing space. Ensure that the containers have drainage holes.

Step 2. Select soil for your salad garden

Prepare your containers using potting soil specifically suited to growing greens. Such soil should be rich in nutrients, yet also well-draining. Avoid using outdoor soil from the garden on your indoor garden. Such soil tends to be full of weed seeds, bugs, bacteria, and it may not allow for adequate drainage and air circulation.

Step 3. Sow your salad seeds

Plant in fresh soil each time you seed your indoor salad garden. You can buy various salad seeds, such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard or Asian greens. Most of these flourish in cool weather, but some can grow well in hot weather. Indoors seeds should be planted about 1/8-inch deep. After sowing, water the soil surface with a spray bottle until it is saturated.

Lettuce seed germinates within 2 to 3 days indoors. The seeds germinate and sprout best when kept in a room of the house that is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 4. Take care of your indoor salad garden

For healthy growth of your salad greens, keep the temperature in the room cool. Water regularly, as salad greens are shallow rooted and have large leaves. In general, water every couple of days. Also provide sufficient light. Grow your indoor salad garden near the window where it can catch natural sunlight. If you have no outdoor light, place the salad greens under full-spectrum lighting for 12 to 14 hours a day. If the salad greens appear to be crowded, thin out the seedlings.