Lettuce First Water After 43 Days

The lettuce planted in a cup of soil last month has reached 'pricking out' stage (the first true leaf has emerged - see red arrows) and would normally be transplanted into a tray(s). Things have been very slow because of the weather and because I have been deliberately withholding water to show just how well they can manage without it.

As you can see, (and similar to the coriander) despite little action on top, there has been considerable action below ground. The roots reached the bottom of the cup (some 7 or 8 cm (3 inches) about a week ago. To split the plants now would cause quite a bit of damage * to them. But this doesn't matter, since I intend to grow them as a unit, as another community of plants.

Because this is a leafy type of lettuce and doesn't form a head, it should be possible to pot them up into a larger pot and pick at the leaves all summer. That's the theory, anyhow.

I gave them a good drink for now to help them along.

* If you want to prick out your seedlings, best to use shallow compost. This makes separating the plants much easier.