Lettuce originated in the Mediterranean region, and varieties with long thick stems and pointy leaves are depicted in ancient Egypt tomb paintings. The romaine lettuce that we eat today is likely closely related to these ancient lettuces.
Head lettuces are easy to regrow. Romaine, butter lettuce, and green and red leaf lettuces are all excellent choices. These are no-brainers for no-waste gardening because they are really easy to grow.
Steps to regrow lettuce
Find a good spot to regrow your lettuce
Lettuce likes a well-lit environment. The more light, the longer you will get lettuce., the bigger the leaves will grow, and the greener and more flavourful they’ll be.
Prepare your lettuce plant
The next time you are cutting lettuce, don’t forget about regrowing! The stem of the romaine lettuce needs to be at least 5cm long. If it’s any shorter regrowing becomes unnecessarily difficult.
Now the stem can be placed in water. Make sure that about half of the stem is submerged.
Choose a bright spot in your house, and replace the water every couple of days. Let the plant stay here for five to ten days.
You can keep several heads going in the same bowl or container at the same time. For rerooting, buy romaine heads or hydroponic lettuce that still has the base of the plant stem or roots attached.
Plant the lettuce
Once the stem starts to grow new roots and the cut-off top of the plant starts to grow, it is time to plant the lettuce. The stem goes into the soil, while the newly emerging leaves stay above the soil. After all, they need light to produce fresh leafy greens.
Make sure to keep the soil moist. Within a few weeks, the leaves will get bigger and bigger until they are ready to become part of your next salad.
Harvesting and use
When you attempt to reroot head lettuces, they may or may not grow new roots, but in any case, the heads will usually give you eight to ten more leaves per plant, depending on the type. Any new leaves will not be as large as the original leaves, but they’re enough to put on sandwiches or bulk up your salads.
There are a few ways to harvest lettuce. You can harvest the entire head at once by cutting all the leaves above the soil with a sharp knife. Whether or not it will continue to grow depends on how well it is rooted, it’s worth a try. The other option is to remove the leaves you need at any given time. The lettuce will continue to grow new leaves.
With your regrown lettuce, you can now prepare lots of different dishes to enjoy with your loved ones. Nothing beats the flavour of home-grown food.
