Simple Gardening

I like the idea of growing the vegetables I eat, but I'm more apt to kill something to make it grow well. So, I was really happy with how easy and trouble free this method was for me.

I saw the idea of this on Facebook or online somewhere, but I can't remember where.

Bottom line - if I can do it, anyone can.

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Cut ~2 inch bottom end of the vegetable you want to grow (pictured is romaine lettuce)
• Water (I use filtered water, but I don't think it makes a difference)
• A shallow dish to nurture fresh growth

• Cut bottom 2 inches off a heart of romaine lettuce
• Take off the outer couple of layers

• Add lettuce bottom to the shallow dish already filled with water

I try to fill the water ~half way up the vegetable piece.

• Let it sit near a window for 3 - 7 days.

NOTE: You can do this with all kinds of vegetables. I've tried it with romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, bok choy, and celery.

• Let your favorite vegetable piece - lettuce, bok choy, celery, etc. into a container of water and let it sit there for 3 - 7 days.
• When the new growth is about 1 - 2 inches (for romaine lettuce), it's time to plant it in the soil.

Different vegetables take different amount of time. I've grown several lettuce varieties in water (green leaf, red leaf, etc., but they all dies or our backyard critters dined on them), but romaine is the one that survived and grew well.

• I wait for different length of new growths in different vegetables.

Bok choy seemed to take a long time, so as soon as I saw several strong green leaves sprout, I transferred it to the planter.

I have planters to grow my special vegetables, and I transferred another romaine to the planter today. I have a couple of romaines in this planter already, with a bok choy in the middle. It's not doing well, but I'm amazed at how well these are growing.

I know. It doesn't look much.

But it's amazing how much these little tufts of greenery make me happy.

The reality is that I've given up on seeing any stalks on the celery I grew and planted in my garden, and the romaine leaves are thicker and stronger in flavor. But I don't care. It makes me happy to go look at these grow in soil, and it's a stress reliever to pull the pesky weeds away from the celery.