Is 5 inches big enough...

[Russell Sprout]

for a salad planter.

I am planning on making a wooden planter to sit on my decking outside the kitchen door. Hopefully it will provide us with a continous supply of lovely salad leaves and other bits.

Therefore I was wondering what depth does it need to be for the lettuces etc to live happily?

At present its just under 1 deckboard deep (la shade under 5 inch, lost abit due to the base) at the moment. Is this adequate or does it need an extra row of boards on top?

Also, what is the best muck to fill it with top soil, compost or a bit of both?
I cant use the garden soil as all its good for is making pots.

[Two_Sheds]

5 inches deep should be okay, if you have adequate drainage.
I start lettuce off in cell trays (about 2" deep) and sometimes forget to plant them out ... the plants don't get big, but they survive and give us a couple of meals.

[HeyWayne]

If you're looking for young leaves - cut and come agin types, then I'd say it's plenty deep enough. I used a seed tray and mine did ok. Admittedly we don't eat a lot of salad - but they seemed to last well.

[Russell Sprout]

Thanks for the quick response.

I think I'll spend my time making a nice poly-lid for it then instead.

[Noodles]

5" is plenty deep enough. Lots of people grow salad leaves very successfully in guttering / half drainpipes which are shallower than that.