How can we use vegetable scraps to grow new vegetables?
This Lesson Plan is part of the Gardening and Nutrition modules of SustainEd Farms' virtual programming.
Background
In order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, citizens everywhere are being ordered to stay at home. To keep yourself and others around you safe, decreasing the number of times you leave your house is the safest and ethically responsible course of action. Since everyone must continue to eat, grocery stores remain open; however, limiting the number of times you visit the grocery store is still advisable. Learning to propagate vegetables may actually save you time spent while inside the grocery store, or perhaps a trip altogether. In this lesson, we describe how to propagate romaine lettuce, which can be a great base for a delicious salad!
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to...
Propagate romaine lettuce from a used head of lettuce
Increase their own food security
Academic Vocabulary
head [of lettuce] /hed/ noun. - the unit to describe a singular collection of lettuce leaves connected in a circular pattern at the base of the plant
propagate /ˈpräpəˌɡāt/ verb. - using the stalk of a parent plant to create new growth or new plants altogether
Directions
1. Gather your materials. You will need the following supplies:
head of lettuce (1) · knife (1) & cutting board (1) · wide mouth mason jar or other suitable container (1), filled with water
2. Watch the following YouTube video to see a demonstration of how to propagate romaine lettuce. Then, follow along with the remainder of the lesson by reading the steps below.
3. Place your head of lettuce on the cutting board. Remove the leaves by chopping them from the base of the lettuce head, being sure to leave at least 2 inches of material attached to the base. Use the lettuce leaves for a salad or other dish.
4. With your mason jar full of water, place the base of the chopped head of lettuce into the jar. Make sure that the lettuce’s base is in full contact with water, but do not submerge the entire head.
5. In a few days’ time, you’ll be able to observe new growth from your head of lettuce. In a week or so, you will need to plant your romaine lettuce head outside since it will not reach full growth potential in the confines of your jar and home environment.
Additional Resources:
Download the PDF version of this lesson plan: