I totally disagree with you. It ain't ugly, it's beautiful! LOL I'm sorry for those folks who think blue plastic sand boxes should end up on the dump. I think they should all be converted into growing tables for nutritious lettuce. In fact, since my kids are all well grown and growing families of their own and I don't have any left over sandboxes, I just might go yard sale hunting for one this weekend. It would be perfect for a fall crop of lettuce. Thanks for sharing your ideas and the great pictures.

Sandy

Who says it ain't pretty? Ingenuity is always beautiful! Congratulations on overcoming the grit/bugs/heat problem.

Looks good to me!

Here's an idea: have a pig roast and invite your friends and family over for a giant salad. A few gallons of oil and vinegar, a couple of loafs for crutons, and a half a dozen red onions. Mix it all up, right there in the pool, and dig in! lol ;-)

I got a kiddie pool last year through Freecycle. I'm about to donate it to a time-lacking friend who hasn't gotten her bed built yet but wants to try a small garden. I'm going to send the pool along with the lettuce & spinach starts I have for her. Her tomato will go in a pot.
(It may seem late to plant lettuce but she lives at 8500' or so, it's cool up there).

Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener

Sweet!

Beautiful! what types of lettuce did you plant?

That's a great idea! I think it's lovely and very clever.

Ania

dang it! I just got rid of the dog's old baby pool. He must have known the possibilities because he thoughtfully chewed some drainage holes for me! :)

Definitely something to try for the fall!

Oh, I love it! The blue color is a great contrast for your greens, and very successful! Great idea to use the lid for germinating the seeds too.

It's a lot prettier than my wood salad table. Mine looks too industrial LOL... (this pic is old, and now it's too hot for salad)

{{gwi:64125}}

Thanks all for the complements. I planted Red Bibb, some sort of Roamine, also I think Red Sails and a Mesclun mix. I just took what I had for left over seeds and put them in. I'll be more didligent keeping records with the fall crop.

I also drilled a hole in each corner of the sandbox to accomodate a 6' stake with a hole drilled in the top for a screw. I drilled correspoding holes in the cover. I'll screw the cover to the stakes and use the cover to shade the lettuce.

In between lettuce crops I'm going to throw in some basil, cilantro and some golden beets. I haven't had much luck with golden beets so this will be another experiment.

Momma_s, could you tell me more about your lettuce table? What is under it keeping all the soil in? Is that enough depth for the roots? time to google!

I planted my lettuce seeds in the box and put the cover on.

Moose, it's gorgeous - green with envy here! What 'cover' are you referring to?

Hey I like it and I love salad greens.

luvsdierter,

for more info see:
http://www.growit.umd.edu/Salad%20Tables%20and%20Salad%20Boxes/index.cfm

Here is a link that might be useful: Salad Table

What lovely lettuce, sure looks beautiful to me and tasty too. Fresh grown lettuce is so good and so good for you, its great when you can find a way to grow it that works.

I have a large bowl planter (about 2' wide, 6" deep) that I plant early lettuce in. I can start on the counter and move either underlight or outside if its warm. Its easy to bring in and out, or even move to the porch when its warm but raining heavy or very windy. Its grown very well, I pick the outside leaves every 2-3 days and keep the plants small because they are closely planted (about 2-3"). I water every other day if we don't have rain, have not had to water much this spring.

Good gardening, Mary

It looks beautiful! I'm struggling with lettuce right now, planted in a large container. I understand why you don't have slug damage in a set-up that tall, but what about flying insects? My lettuce is being destroyed by Four-Lined Plant Bugs. If I weren't so disgusted by the appearance of my lettuce, I'd be amused at how these bugs run and hide when they see me coming.

I was hoping I could grow lettuce without spraying, but I'm beginning to wonder.....

ditnc - The sandbox came with a cover to protect it from animals using it as a litter box. If you look in the first picture, the round orange object is the cover.

alisande - I haven't had any issues with flying insect yet. Keep your fingers crossed.

thanks for the link! I just bookmarked it for a weekend project!