Lettuce

In East London my family had a massive garden and my mother planted and grew everything under the sun, including watermelons. I used to think she could easily become a farmer.

Her green fingers was greener than green and mine aren’t far off. I am my mother’s child and I too can grow a lot of things from seed. This horticulture culture runs deep in my family because we’re practically all like that.

We grow things.

But I am yet to keep a house plant alive and healthy. Go figure.

Since I eat a lot of lettuce I used to buy the ones with a head and roots (all major retailers stock this). I would eat the lettuce and then soak the roots in a mug of water. I replaced the water every second day and this trend continued into my thirties. If you do this repeatedly and eventually have about five mugs of good roots, you will have a steady stream of lettuce daily, for months.

The new leaves will grow quickly and if you who want to try this from a bunch of butter lettuce. You can. Fresh lettuce leaves replenishes in two weeks. Don’t let the leaves get too big, or else they will taste bitter.

Top Tip: After about 2-3 months, you can plant the heads in a long, slim pot or a fabric bag along the windowsill. Drop the roots and the head in compost and cover well. Pat the soil down but not too tightly and keep the soil moist.