Growing salad vegetables from home is easy and relaxing.
Growing garden vegetables from home is a rewarding process; however, it takes preparation to successfully start a vegetable garden. Salad vegetables from the store cost dollars per pound while most seed packets cost a fraction of that for the potential to grow over 50 to 100 plants. With a few simple supplies and a little spare time, you can grow your own salad vegetable garden.
Instructions
1. Fold three paper towels in half and lay them on a working surface.
2. Place 30 iceberg lettuce seeds on one half of a paper towel and then fold the paper towel in half again. After folding the paper towel in half again, place the paper towel into a plastic bag. Label the bag "Iceberg Lettuce" so you do not get it confused with the other plants. Repeat this process with both the tomato plant seeds and the cucumber seeds.
3. Pour a small amount of water into each plastic bag to moisten the paper towels. There should be a little bit of excess water inside the bag after the paper towel has absorbed its capacity. Press all of the air out of the plastic bags and zip them closed. Place on a warm, sunny windowsill for 10 days.
4. Place a layer of river rocks on the bottom of each pot. These rocks will allow the soil to properly drain water so that it does not cause root rot to the plants.
5. Fill the pots with potting soil, stopping approximately 2 inches from the top of the pot.
6. Open the plastic bags and inspect the seeds. Some of the seeds should have roots beginning to grow from them. Set these seeds aside and discard the seeds that did not root. You should have at least six rooted seeds of each type of plant.
7. Poke three 1/4-inch-deep holes into the potting soil in each planter using a finger. Space the holes out evenly in the planter so that the plants do not grow too close to each other.
8. Place one seedling into each hole, the root portion facing downward and the portion with the seed facing upward. Cover the seedling with dirt, filling in the hole. Group the seeds by type; there should be two pots with three seedlings growing in them for each type of plant.
9. Water each pot, wetting the soil thoroughly. Do not soak the soil so that water sits above ground level.
10. Place the pots in a warm and sunny area to allow them to grow. Water the plants when the soil becomes dry. If you live in a cold climate you might need to grow the plants indoors; they should never be exposed to frost.
11. After three to four months you should have healthy plants producing salad vegetables ready for use.
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