Speed up sprouting and lettuce sowing frequency

[chainedangel]

I'm starting a bit late in the game... *blush* And of course I'm new to the whole vegetable gardening deal.

I've grown cat/pet grass for my guinea pigs before and for those you cover the sown seeds in the container with plastic wrap to speed up the process. (which reminds me- must buy more cat grass for the piggers)

My question is can/should I do that with my veggies and herbs? I've got lettuce, basil, dill, parsley and carrot.

I have huge windows in my southward facing living room so I'll be taking advantage of that. but I do not have the opportunity for adding any artificial lighting. That being said- I do expect to transfer them to the front yard in containers as soon as they are big enough. Any thoughts?

Also the lettuce says to sow every 2 weeks throughout spring again in late summer and again in fall. I'm assuming that's to ensure enough crop for the full growing season. How much/often should I do so this late?

[chainedangel]

i decided to plant directly in the containers outside. but i'm still curious about covering in plastic wrap to get things growing faster.

[CariOfOz]

I would imagine at least until the seeds germinate it wouldn't hurt. I've seen tons of seed starting containers at garden shops that have plastic lids which is about the same thing. I'd suggest a few teeny holes for air flow though

[mindymom]

Originally Posted by chainedangel

Also the lettuce says to sow every 2 weeks throughout spring again in late summer and again in fall. I'm assuming that's to ensure enough crop for the full growing season. How much/often should I do so this late?

The every two weeks thing is so that you don't have lots and lots of lettuce to eat all at the same time. I would just plant whatever amount you think you'll need for two weeks, every two weeks. This never works for me because of the (usually) short spring and fall we have - no matter when I plant it I only have time for one crop of lettuce and everything else just bolts/freezes when it's tiny. But I think if you live somewhere with a decent cool season you'd do just fine.