6 Best Containers for Lettuce: Grow That Greenery Right
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I love having lettuce growing around the house. You can’t really beat a beautiful summer salad made from the freshest of leafy greens on a hot day.
Luckily, lettuce is incredibly simple to grow, so long as you have the right setup. The best containers for lettuce are capable of ensuring that you always have access to fresh produce, whatever your living space looks like. There are options that are so expansive that you need a lot of space to use them, but there are also intelligently designed containers for lettuce that can comfortably fit in a small apartment without causing any inconvenience. You just have to find the right product for you.
In this article, we’ll go over 6 of the best containers for lettuce growing at home. With just one order, you can have a great growing environment for lettuce, as well as herbs and other leafy greens.
Let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
As an avid home gardener, I have different containers for growing different kinds of flowers and vegetables scattered around my home (lettuce very much included). Drawing on all my experience with indoor growing, I was able to put together this list of the 6 best containers for lettuce. Overall, OurWarm Windowsill Herb Planter Box Indoor Set of 3 is the best container for lettuce as a result of its large growing area and compact profile, as well as the aesthetically pleasing look it has. I have several of these planters around my house, and I’ve never had a problem with them. I also included a couple of other styles of planters that you can use for lettuce, including the freestanding FLEXIMOUNTS Vertical Raised Garden Bed w/ Wheels and the ANGELIOX 3-Pack Grow Bags, 10 Gallon Heavy Duty, which are rectangular grow bags.
lettucegrow / Instagram
Best Overall: OurWarm Windowsill Herb Planter Box Indoor Set of 3
Why this is a quality choice: OurWarm Windowsill Herb Planter Box Indoor Set of 3 is at the top of this list of the best containers for lettuce for several reasons. In addition to being large enough for a couple heads of lettuce or plenty of arugula, it’s also self-watering (using a reservoir and rope system), and contains a built-in drip tray.
Who is this for? Anyone who has enough room for a few of these planters, whether indoors, outdoors, or hanging out a window sill, can benefit from ordering this product.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: They aren’t as large or as deep as some of the other options on this list, which can present challenges to those who want to grow large species of lettuce.
Size: 10.5 x 4.5 x 5.5 inches | Drainage Holes: Yes, with built-in drip tray | Material: Plastic | Shape: Rectangular
Best Budget: Smirdx 15 Gallon Grow Bag
Why this is a quality choice: This excellent circular grow bag from Smirdx comes in several different sizes and bundles, making it easy for a home gardener to order grow bags with the perfect sizes. And, the grow bags have a great drainage system that allows water to drain out the bottom and the lower sides of the grow bag.
Who is this for? I’d recommend these large grow bags to gardeners who have access to a lot of outdoor space, such as on a balcony or back deck.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The drainage capability of these grow bags is great, but it’s kind of tough to control, meaning that they’re best used outdoors where a bit of extra drainage isn’t an issue.
Size: Various sizes | Drainage Holes: Yes | Material: Fabric | Shape: Circular
Best Stackable: Mr. Stacky 5 Tier Stackable Strawberry, Herb, Flower, and Vegetable Planter
Why this is a quality choice: These five-layer stackable planters are a great solution for growing lots of lettuce in a small space. They have a drip tray underneath them, so they’re fine to use indoors, and each of the growing areas is the perfect size for an individual lettuce plant.
Who is this for? Gardeners who want to maximize the space they have available should consider ordering one or two of these towers of planters.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: It’s important that you regularly remember to rotate the product; otherwise, some of your plants will get much more sun than others.
Size: W:12 x 12 x 28 inches V: 25 | Drainage Holes: Yes | Material: Plastic | Shape: Nonstandard, stackable cup holders
Best Window Containers: CHUKEMAOYI Window Box Planter
Why this is a quality choice: These classic window planters are a perfect solution for people who just want a simple vessel in which to plant their lettuce. The CHUKEMAOYI Window Box Planters don’t have any fancy features, but they do have a built-in drainage tray, which greatly increases the different settings in which they can be used.
Who is this for? This is exactly the product for gardeners who are looking for a simple and no-fuss place to plant their lettuce.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: There have been some worthwhile innovations you’re missing out on if you go for an old-fashioned solution like this one.
Size: 16.6 x 7 x 5.9 inches | Drainage Holes: Yes, with built-in drip tray | Material: Plastic | Shape: Rectangular
Best Grow Bags: BEAUTYFLOWER 4 Packs 10 Gallon Grow Bags
Why this is a quality choice: This four-pack of feature-packed grow bags offers amazing value in a single purchase. They’re quite large and deep grow bags, which means that you can use some of them for lettuce and some of them for other vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes. There’s plenty of room for lots of soil as well as additives like fertilizer or compost.
Who is this for? If your plans include a variety of home-grown produce, not just lettuce, then I think this is the product for you.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: These grow bags are breathable, which helps water evaporate out its sides quickly, but they don’t have traditional drainage holes.
Size: 13.8 x 13.8 x 16.5 inches | Drainage Holes: No | Material: Felt | Shape: Circular
Best Free-standing: FLEXIMOUNTS Vertical Raised Garden Bed w/ Wheels
Why this is a quality choice: My final recommendation is this self-standing stack of four planters that you can easily wheel around your living space. Its portability allows for convenience and easy cleaning around the grow beds, and the planters themselves offer lots of room for growing lettuce and other herbs and vegetables.
Who is this for? If you’re a fan of neat and easy-to-use planting setups, then I think that you’ll like this product.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: It does take up a lot of room compared to some products on this list, but it does also offer a lot of growing space.
Size: 24 x 8 x 7 inches (four bins) | Drainage Holes: Yes | Material: Metal and plastic | Shape: Rectangular
lettucegrowsomething / Instagram
Buying Considerations for The Best Containers For Lettuce
Drainage holes
Drainage is an important consideration when you’re looking for containers to grow lettuce in because, unless you’re incredibly careful when watering your plants, there’s a risk that you overwater the plants. And, if there’s nowhere for this excess water to go, then your plants will become waterlogged and face trouble growing or even death. If you’re growing inside, then you also need to think about where that extra water is going to drain. After all, you don’t want to have muddy water leaking all over your floors or furniture. Some of the products on this list have built-in drainage areas, which is definitely something you should look into if you’re planning to grow inside.
Material/Durability
The material that you want your containers for growing lettuce to be made of is another important thing to think about when you’re shopping around for a product in this category. Each of the common materials making up planters and home gardening containers have their pros and cons. Hard plastic can be a strong material, but it can definitely crack or otherwise break in the right situations. Similarly, the fabric materials that grow bags are made from are tough, but they can also rip or break, especially at the joints. I’d recommend researching customer reviews to see if other customers have had complaints about the durability of the exact products you’re considering.
Size
Finally, the dimensions of the growing areas you’re looking into should be taken into account. Generally, it’s best to think about the size of the area you’re planning to grow in and how exactly you can fit a container for lettuce into it. If you’re planning on growing on a windowsill, then you should ensure that the planter you buy isn’t too big or too small. In the former case, you might have trouble safely supporting the oversized planter, but if you choose one that’s too small, you’re wasting the space you have available. Make sure to be creative about how the various styles of products on this list of the best containers for lettuce could fit into your available space, perhaps in combination with each other.
How I Chose These Products
Like I said, I’ve used many different growing areas for lettuce and similar plants in my home, including products I’ve bought online, purchased in stores, and even made myself. And what I’ve learned is that, even if selecting a planter to grow lettuce in seems super easy, there’s actually a lot that goes into creating a good growing environment indoors. Not only do you risk damaging your furniture or your floors if you have a spill or an overflow, but also you might not actually manage to successfully grow the plants you were trying to grow. With that in mind, I recommended a number of great products that have consistently performed very well for me. I also included a lot of different sizes and styles, so that everyone who’s planning to grow lettuce in their home, whether indoors or outdoors, can find an option that fits into their situation.
mr_stacky / Instagram
Final Verdict
Overall, I went with OurWarm Windowsill Herb Planter Box Indoor Set of 3 as the best container for lettuce that you can buy online. In addition to having several innovative features like a self-watering reservoir and built-in drip-tray, they simply look great on a windowsill or the edge of a balcony. You can’t really go wrong with this one recommendation!
FAQs
How deep do containers need to be for lettuce?
Although it depends on exactly what type of lettuce you’re planning to grow, a good rule of thumb is that you should use a growing container like a grow bag that’s about 6 inches deep. If you use a planter or grow bag that’s shallower than that, then your lettuce might not be able to grow to its maximum potential.
Does lettuce need a lot of space?
Different species of lettuce have different space needs, but in general I’d say that lettuce requires a moderate amount of space. If you plant individual plants too close together, then they won’t have the space to grow as large as they could. Common species of lettuce can require between 6 and 18 inches of space between individual plants to grow as large as possible.
