grow salad in seed trays?

[buzzingtalk]

Hi, I have a glut of seed trays (lack of room indoors and outdoors!) and was wondering if I could plant salad leaves in them? They are a few inches deep, maybe 3/4 when filled to the top. As I don't have any 'land' as such (container gardener on concrete) i was wondering how to grow my salad leaves as pots are too big and I guess they don't need deep containers as such? I've got lots of salad that can be planted now and would love to grow some...

I also have a blowaway, would they be better in there?

[falkon]

In garden centers, the pots are usually grouped together in trays.
Last year I took one of those tray and filled it with compost ( It was tray with room for 8 pots). It was a success but it requires regular feeding + watering.

[HeyWayne]

I filled a seed tray with compost the year before last and sowed a heap of mixed salad leaves. I'd suggest that you'd probably be best using the young leaves (which we did) - not sure how well it would produce larger more mature plants.

[buzzingtalk]

How do people grow salad in pots then? What sort of pots or depth is ideal? I don't think even lettice has a deep root system (didn't last time I grew it) but last time I grew it in pots, and it took up waaaay too much room and used a lot of compost and soil that was wasted...need to maximise space.

I have one of those trays, but no holes in the bottom and don't want to cut into it as I use it for overwintering stuff

[zazen999]

You can grow salad pretty much anywhere!

Go to a garden centre, they usually throw away the trays that house pots, put compost in the holes and sow lettuce. No expense spared!

[Bren In Pots]

I used to grow my lettuce in troughs same as those at wilko

[falkon]

I used to grow my lettuce in troughs same as those at wilko

I have tried one of those troughs for French breakfast radish

[Potstubsdustbins]

Same as Bren,

5 or 6 to a tray with follow ups growing in modules, pick one lettuce pop in its replacement.

Colin

[buzzingtalk]

Whats the minimum depth you can have for lettuce?

As I am very short on space, what I think I might do is take the case off the blowaway (as it gets much too hot in there when the sun is out in summer) and put trays of salad leaves on there...the blowaway is currently being used to storage and dumping stuff in as i don't have a greenhouse. will have to put it all in a box in the house somewhere...

[Flummery]

I have used seed trays. I don't let them get to full size of course, I use them as 'cut and come again' leaves. You can get about 4 cuts of the whole thing and for a sandwich or a sprinkle of leaves with a mixed salad you don't need much.

[FionaH]

As Flum and others have said cut and come again leaves work well in trays, I have two tray on the go in the GH right now

[smallblueplanet]

We grew lots of lettuce in half-sized seed trays last summer - one in each 'corner', and kept them off the ground in a 'cut-up' veggie rack.

Here's a picture, I think there's green & red romaine and lollo rosso...

[buzzingtalk]

yum yum, I shall be planting some leaves in the spare seed trays tomorrow then

how about getting full size lettice though - what depth does it need?

[smallblueplanet]

how about getting full size lettice though - what depth does it need?

Did you look at my photo above? They are full size.

[chilliking]

i did most of mine last year in trough/window boxes. I always had a couple of the go and couldn't pick them quick enough! they were only about 6" deep.