How deep do you need soil for lettuce?

Hey hey hey

I am trying to grow some lettuce on my windowsill inside my flat and only have about 10 or 12 cm of soil, is that deep enough to grow standard lettuce and rocket?

As you can probably guess this is my first attempt at growing anything veg indoors!

Any help really appreciated!

Thanks
Daveyjt

 

Well, I've never tried growing lettuce in 10-12cm of soil or compost but I reckon it would be possible if everything else was optimal. Doing it on an indoor window sill would not be easy. It's all about the light - which is usually too little or too much on an indoor window sill for plants which have a very short growing life.

And salad rocket, which is the one I presume you want to grow, is a finicky plant at the best of times. It'll bolt (run to seed) if the conditions aren't well-nigh perfect. It's also way too tall, IMHO, to grow in such a shallow medium.

Sorry to sound negative but growing veg on an indoor window sill is not easy, despite what magazines and books may say. But here's a suggestion - if you only have very limited space and indoors at that, why not try growing bean sprouts, cress or even some radishes? In other words, small plants for small spaces. Fresh alfalfa shoots make a killer sandwich...

 

Nothing really to add to Flinty's answer.

You can get plastic troughs that will give you a good 6 to 8 inches, but I feel the problem would be a climate and light one.

You could probably get away with basil, chives and parsley at the depth I have indicated above..but lettuce indoors could be a problem.

Best of luck anyway..you can always but try.:thumb:

 

You can grow salad in a shallow tray, just don't let it grow too big. Eat the young leaves a few at a time so the plant keeps growing. The main problem is the soil is so shallow it will dry out very quickly on a hot day so watering little and often is a must. You can buy packets of mixed salad seed that is ideal for shallow growing.