Worth Noting

How to Plant an Indoor Lettuce Cart in 5 Steps

A Convenient and Satisfying Addition to Your Salad Routine
Filed Under > Everyday

How to plant an indoor lettuce cart, Waiting on Martha

I’m not sure if you remember, but this time last year I was falling in love with growing herbs in my garden.  That love for gardening, the taste of fresh-picked greens, and the fulfillment from seeing something grow and prosper at my very fingertips has only doubled, as can be expected.  So this year, I set out to expand my home garden by learning how to plant an indoor lettuce cart.  

The idea of an indoor lettuce cart struck a chord with me; I loved the thought of cultivating some of my most-used vegetables in the kitchen at home, and the wheeling the cart up to my counter whenever I wanted to use them.  And the fact that it’s INDOORS helps make it possible to enjoy homegrown greens all winter long.  I was in love with the idea of just with a little snip-snip-snip, having homegrown spinach in my salads, arugula on my flatbreads, cabbage in my slaw and broccoli on my plate!  

I did a little research, and after buying this super convenient salad garden on wheels, I set out to plant the already-sprouted varieties with fresh soil and fertilizer.  I visited my local nursery and bought already-growing vegetables: spinach, red leaf lettuce, cabbage and broccoli.  But you can, of course, grow the lettuce from seed and a seed starting mix (one that’s gentle enough to grow the crops from seed).   I really wanted to do arugula since it’s one of my all-time favorites, but sadly the nursery didn’t have it when I looked. And I know broccoli may be a little ambitious this time around, but I’m willing to give it a shot! 

You’ll find that lettuce is a very low maintenance vegetable to grow, but it does need a lot of sun.  One of my favorite things about this lettuce cart is that I can fit a lot of vegetable varieties on it, and since lettuce can grow pretty close together, I don’t run the risk of overcrowding the sprouted plants.  Since we may still get another frost here in the A before it’s truly springtime, it’s nice to have this cart that I can wheel in and out of my garage to get optimal sunlight. 

Tell me friends, do you have plans to grow an indoor lettuce cart this year?  Find a few essentials as you get started on your own indoor lettuce cart in the scrolling widget, and read a step-by-step tutorial below!  Truly, MKR


P.S. We just added these amazing Organic Grow Kits in the shoppe! Get started with your lettuce cart with one of these…so fun! xo

SHOP THE STORY  / CLICK LEFT & RIGHT ARROWS TO EXPLORE


  

Scout Your Location

Stack-n-Grow Light System

Shop Now >

You want to find a place in your house that gets 12 hours of bright sunlight every day. For lettuce especially, a south-facing window is apparently best.  Try to find a place that won’t have any cold drafts or too much heat (and of course, away from curious furry friends!).  If you can’t find enough light from a window, you can grow your crops under special lights like these

Gather the Container, Soil & Seeds

Organic Seed Starter

Shop Now >

Next, you’ll want to find good containers for your crops.  Look for flat, shallow containers that allow for good drainage. 

For the soil, stay away from “potting soil” – it’s usually too rough/course in texture for growing your plants from seeds.  Instead, this organic seed starter works great. 

 

Plant the Varieties

3-Piece Garden Tool Set

Shop Now >

For those of you (like me) who bought their crops already-growing, transfer them into the containers with the seed starter mix.  Otherwise, moisten the soil and fill the containers a few inches with the mix.  Next, scatter the seeds about an inch apart.  Top them with a thin layer of planting mix. 

You’ll want the containers to maintain moisture, so you can cover them loosely with plastic wrap to create a greenhouse-effect.  Keep the seedlings moist but not overwatered.

Watch Their Growth & Trim If Necessary

Easy Grow Fertilizer

Shop Now >

Check the crops daily for signs of sprouts, and once they appear, you’ll want to remove the plastic cover.  Thin the seedlings out with a pair of scissors so that they have about an inch around them to grow.

As soon as the plants start to have their first set of true leaves, you can give them liquid fertilizer like this one. Watch their moisture level, and make sure the seedlings stay moist but don’t ever get drowned in too much water.  

Harvest Your Crops

Gold Scissors

Shop Now >

Indoor baby lettuce will be ready to be harvested after 3-4 weeks (it will be about 4″ tall). To harvest, cut the outer leaves first, trimming the base about an inch from the soil.  You’ll want to leave the rest of the leaves to grow a few days longer.  When the plant is completely harvested, you can plant another from scratch.

Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

Announcing Welcome Media Co.

Sharing my next big adventure focused on entrepreneurs!
Filed Under > Everyday

Back in September Square reached out to me and asked if I would share the ups, downs and in-betweens of my entrepreneurial journey for their Self Made campaign. I love to talk about all things business so of course replied with a resounding “yes!” Like all brand campaigns we scheduled our kick off call and began going through the ins and outs of what they were hoping to share together. As the conversation went on, it began to grow. And before I knew it I was making a long time dream of mine come true with the help of the Square Online Store team.

That dream was that I was finally going to launch was my small business consulting agency. I had already been hosting all-day social media classes across the US for small business owners, but I hadn’t taken the plunge into making it an actual full blown business yet. But with the cheerleading and support of the Square team I’m thrilled to say on this Small Business Saturday, my ninth Small Business Saturday as a Small Business owner, Welcome Media Co. is officially open for business!

First things first, Welcome Media Co. is a consulting agency focused on education, brand strategy & social media management for small businesses in the retail & design space.  We’re here to help small businesses not only survive in this ever changing landscape, but THRIVE! As I said above, I was already doing this on a smaller scale so now the question was how do I make this a full blown business.

The answer, creating a digital space that small businesses would be able to consume digital resources such as legal contracts, education, and resource guides, sign up for courses and classes, and learn more about our services such as branding audits, customer experience, and complete social media management and consulting. This digital space is where Square comes in.

I have launched a lot of websites before, however none of them were with Square so the entire process was new to me. But new it did not feel. In fact, from start to finish it was one of the easiest, and most seamless processes I’ve ever had.

Square’s customer service was above and beyond so we always had someone there and ready to help if needed, but we rarely did. My team and I were able to drag, drop, upload, and link practically everything on our own. We were also able to use all our own colors, upload our company wide logos, and link to all of our other businesses, email and social accounts which was key for us.

And along with the completely low-stress, easy process Square is really committed to listening to small business owners like myself and growing their platform. I can’t wait to share what NEW capabilities will be rolling out in January!

So that’s it friends. The next, and dare I say final phase (probably not, but we’ll say final phase), of Waiting On Martha is here. My hope is that through Welcome Media Co.’s website and services we provide we’ll be able to help small businesses not only survive this ever changing landscape, but THRIVE! Thank you to all that have supported me and continue to support me on this journey, and Happy Small Business Saturday Friends! xo, MKR

Photography: Rustic White Interiors | This post was sponsored by Square a product and brand I love and adore. All opinions and images are 100% my own.

Be My Valentine

A roundup of my favorite love inspired Valentine's day gifts
Filed Under > Everyday

HEART COQUETTE | CHOCOLATE HEART LOLLIE | WISH YOU WERE HERE SLEEP MASK | HEART EARRINGS | HEART SWEATER | RED & PINK MULES | HEART SLIDES | CHOCOLATE HEART TIN | FRIDAY MUG | PROBABLY WINE TRAVEL MUG | HALLMARK SWEATSHIRT | PINK HOOPS

I wouldn’t say I’ve ever really been a Valentine’s Day person, but having a shop is making me embrace the day a little bit more.  And, I must say this year with hearts being such a big trend there are more adorable love-inspired picks than ever. So, here it is, my top 12 picks for a day or month filled with love.

I myself simply want flowers, however, I do own practically everything on this list with the Hallmark Watching sweatshirt and heart heels being my latest addition! Happy love month friends! Truly, MKR
 

 

Copyright © Welcome by Waiting on Martha  /
Back to Top