Regrowing romaine lettuce is easy and fun, ensuring you always have those tasty salad leaves available. We’ll explain how to regrow romaine lettuce in a few simple steps.
Romaine or cos lettuce is fresh, crunchy, nutritious, and has a neutral to slightly bitter taste. It has a high water content, which means it is low in calories and carbohydrates but is still packed with vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and K, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to regrow romaine lettuce, no specialist equipment is needed, and you’ll start to see the results in just a few days. Although a full head of lettuce won’t regrow, you’ll still be able to regrow enough leaves for a healthy salad or sandwich. Read on for our step-by-step instructions on how to harvest romaine lettuce and some tips on how to get the best results. Also, check out more information about growing vegetables from scraps and the 10 easiest vegetables to grow at home.
How to Regrow Romaine Lettuce
Materials:
- One head of romaine lettuce
- Sharp knife
- Shallow dish
- Water
Instructions:
- Use a sharp knife to chop the bottom off the stem of the romaine lettuce, about two inches from the base. Eat the leaves as desired.
- Place the chopped stem in the shallow dish and add just enough water to cover the base, about half an inch.
- Put the dish in a bright, warm place like the kitchen window sill. In a few days, shoots will grow up from the base. Change the water every two to three days.
- After ten to twelve days, the leaves will have reached their maximum size, so harvest them and regrow the romaine lettuce stem again.
Getting the Best Results When Regrowing Lettuce
Regrowing romaine lettuce is simple and quick to do at home. Check out these tips to get the best results:
- Lifespan — As we have learned, it takes around twelve days for regrown romaine lettuce to be ready to harvest again. After this, the same stem can be chopped again, and new leaves will return, which can be harvested again. Over six weeks, the same romaine lettuce stem could be regrown and harvested about three times; after this, the quality and taste of the leaves will start to deteriorate — as the plant gets older, the central leaves will taste better, and the outer leaves will taste more bitter. Always use fresh romaine lettuce stems for regrowing; frozen ones will not work.
- Replanting in soil — Regrowing romaine lettuce in water is easy and fast; however, it is possible to plant it in soil to get more substantial leaves from regrowing romaine lettuce. Follow the steps above, and slender roots will be established after a week. Move to a medium-sized pot of Earth or flower bed in the yard, covering the roots with the stalk sticking out at the top. It can be harvested up to four weeks after reaching its maximum size.
- Growing conditions — Romaine lettuce needs around six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day and thrive in the spring and fall season, between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Fertilizing the stalk is unnecessary, but it may increase the yield. Try to use organic fertilizer, such as Dr. Earth organic and natural liquid plant food (available on Amazon**). As mentioned before, the stem only needs about half an inch of water when regrown in water. If growing in earth, keep the soil damp at all times; it will only need about half an inch of water per week.
Read more:
- 10 Easy Vegetables to Grow in Pots
- Companion Planting: A Beginners Guide
- 13 Edible Leaves You Didn’t Know About
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