Grow Hydroponic Lettuce

Lettuce is the easiest vegetable to grow hydroponically. Instead of growing your lettuce in soil, you use water and mineral salts and another growing medium, such as gravel. Once you set up your hydroponic system, you’ll have your first crop of lettuce in a matter of weeks. This vegetable grows so fast using the hydroponic method; you can have home grown lettuce all through the year. This article explains how to grow one lettuce plant in a small container.

Steps

1. Select a bucket or pot that has drainage holes in the bottom. The size of the container should be between 1 and 5 gallons (4.54 to 22.7 l).
2. Buy a package of hydroponic nutrient mixture from your local nursery or home and garden store. Don't skip this step; all plants grown hydroponically have to receive special nutrients.
3. Decide on what type of growing medium you want to use. Gravel is the most advantageous, but if you use gravel, you will have to water much more frequently. Other popular choices include:
   • Sand
   • Shavings
   • Sawdust
   • Vermiculite
4. Fill your bucket with the growing medium of your choice. For best results, use an opaque bucket; too much light will encourage algae growth in the water.
5. Measure your premixed nutrients according to the package directions and add it to the amount of water needed for the container you have chosen.
6. Stir the nutrient mixture into the water until it is dissolved. If you don't use the mixture right away, stir it again before placing your lettuce seeds or transplants in it.
7. Place lettuce transplants or seeds in your mixture. You will need 8 to 10 seeds or 3 to 4 transplants for a small container.

Tips

• If you don’t have an opaque bucket, you can cover your container with black plastic or aluminum foil to block the sunlight.
• Check the water level daily; your lettuce will not grow if the roots are not getting water.
• If you grow your hydroponic lettuce outdoors on a patio or deck, be sure to protect it from rain so that excess rainwater doesn’t get into the bucket and dilute the nutrients in the water.

Warnings

• Lettuce grown this way needs between 15 and 18 hours of light every day. If you are growing your lettuce indoors, you can place the bucket underneath a fluorescent light.
• Don’t forget that hydroponic lettuce, or any plant, that is grown without soil, still needs support of a growing medium in addition to water.
• Whether you grow your lettuce indoors or out, you need to watch for insects and pick them off the leaves. Aphids are the most common indoor pest, but if your lettuce bucket is placed outside, be sure to watch for grasshoppers, slugs and caterpillars.
• If you want to grow your hydroponic lettuce in a hanging basket or window box, be sure to choose a lightweight growing medium, such as vermiculite so that the container doesn’t get too heavy.
• Plants that are grown in a hydroponic setting require water and nutrient support just like soil-based plants.

Things You’ll Need

• Lettuce seeds or transplants
• Bucket or other container
• Growing medium (gravel, sawdust, vermiculite, etc.)
• Water
• Nutrient salts
• Spoon (for mixing nutrients)

Related Articles

• Grow Hydroponic Tomatoes
• Build a Homemade Hydroponics System
• Grow Hydroponic Vegetables
• Build a Hydroponic Garden

Sources and Citations

• http://www.easyhydroponics.net/how-to-grow-hydroponic-lettuce.html
• http://www.hydroponics.com/gardens/lettuce.html
• Charles E. Sherman and Hap Brenizer, Hydro-Story, The Complete Manual of Hydroponic Gardening at Home, (Berkeley, Ca: Nolo Press, 1976)

See also

• Plant Lettuce
• Grow Lettuce Indoors
• Grow Iceberg Lettuce

What links here

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