Tired of wasting money buying bags of lettuce at the grocery store only for it to wilt and rot before you eat it? Let me show you how we have fresh lettuce year-round without ever buying it at the store.
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I Got Tired of Wasting Lettuce
Salad is a wonderful part of life. Really. I love making salads as sides to a lot of our meals. It sneaks in veggies when you have people who claim they don’t like them around.
But so many times I purchased a bag of pre-cut and washed lettuce only to have it rot in less than a day in my fridge.
I hate that.
Getting off the Bagged Lettuce Bandwagon
I am not going to give up lettuce. And I’m not willing to go all winter without having a decent salad.
So I researched what I could do to make sure that we had fresh lettuce all year long. Granted I have lettuce in the garden for most of the summer, but what do I do about the cold months in Ohio?
Aerogarden & Cut Lettuce
I’m not the biggest fan of iceburg lettuce. It’s just so bland and watery. So I researched lettuce and the cut versions.
Turns out there are tons of options you can get that are really good. They compare to the “spring mix” that the grocery carries. Currently I have Mesclun growing in my Aerogarden for our salads and toppings. It’s pretty and hearty. I honestly think that this is my husband’s favorite so far.
Currently, I use the Bounty Basic model of Aerogarden for my indoor needs. I’m seriously looking into the Farm version. I can only imagine the possibilities with that one!!
Setting up Your Aerogarden
When you order your Aerogarden, it’s a simple set up. Basically, you put your seed pods in, add water and nutrients and turn it on. Easy peasy.
The most difficult thing for me is dealing with our water out here in the middle of nowhere. I see what it does to our sinks and toilets. I do not want to use it straight out of the tap for something with such small running parts.
To adjust to our water without having to buy it all the time, I learned that just boiling our water and then letting it sit uncovered in jugs gets out most of the yuckiness. While we have both a water softener and a whole house water filter system, I still don’t trust it.
Grow Anything
While Aerogarden has tons of options of seed pods to choose from, I love the option of just purchasing more sponges and then growing whatever I want. I get to be my picky self this way. I just make sure that the sponges are dampened, place 3 seeds in each sponge, and place and grow.
Why 3 you may ask?
I’ve learned over time to adjust for failure. You may have a “bunk” seed in the mix. In order to make sure that I get every pod full of growing plants, I put in 3 and then just thin it down to only 1 as needed.
Year Round Fresh Lettuce in the Aerogarden
I love all of what I can grow in my Aerogarden, but I really think that lettuce is my favorite. Anytime I want fresh lettuce, I just have to walk over to the Aerogarden with a pair of scissors and snip off what I need.
It really has changed the way we eat around here. I actually have a husband asking for salad because he sees the fresh lettuce growing in the kitchen every day. It’s awesome.
Having this bounty of lettuce has left me to create and make more homemade dressings too. Make sure you check out my Mom’s Spicy French Dressing recipe. It’s always a hit around here.
