Lettuce is the simplest vegetable to grow with the hydroponic method. Instead of growing lettuce in the soil, water, minerals, and another growth medium, such as gravel, are used. Once you've got your hydroponic system set up, you'll have your first lettuce crop in just a few weeks. This vegetable grows so fast, using the hydroponic method, that you can have lettuce grown indoors all year round. This article explains how to grow a lettuce plant in a small container.
Steps
Step 1. Choose a bucket or pot that has drainage holes at the bottom
The size of the container must be between 4.5 liters and approximately 22.5 liters.
Step 2. Purchase a pack of hydroponics nutrient mix at your local nursery or home and garden store
Do not skip this step: all plants developed by the hydroponic method must receive special nutrients.
Step 3. Decide what type of growth medium you want to use
Gravel is the most affordable, but if you use gravel, you will need to water much more frequently. Other common choices include:
- Sand
- Shavings
- Sawdust
- Vermiculite
Step 4. Fill the container with the growth medium of your choice
For best results, use an opaque container; excess light will favor the growth of algae in the water.
Step 5. Measure your pre-mixed nutrients according to the directions on the package, and add the amount of water needed for the container of your choice
Step 6. Stir the nutrient mixture into the water until it is completely dissolved
If you don't use the solution right away, mix it again before adding lettuce seeds or seedlings.
Step 7. Put lettuce seedlings or seeds in your solution
You will need 8-10 seeds or 3-4 seedlings for a small container.
Advice
- If you don't have an opaque container, you can cover the one you have with black plastic or aluminum foil to protect it from sunlight.
- If you are growing hydroponic lettuce outdoors in an interior courtyard or patio, be sure to protect it from rain so that excess rainwater does not enter the container and dilutes the nutrients.
- Check the water level every day; lettuce won't grow if the roots don't absorb water.
Warnings
- If you grow lettuce indoors or outdoors, you need to worry about insects, and remove them from the leaves. Aphids are the most common pests indoors, but if the lettuce container is outdoors, be sure to protect yourself from grasshoppers, snails and caterpillars.
- Do not forget that hydroponic lettuce, or any plant grown without soil, still needs the support of a growth medium in addition to water.
- Lettuce grown this way needs between 15 and 18 hours of light each day. If you grow lettuce indoors, you can place the container under a fluorescent lamp.
- If you want to grow hydroponic lettuce in a hanging container or on a window sill, be sure to choose a light growing medium, such as vermiculite, so that the container isn't too heavy.
- Plants that grow in a hydroponic environment require the support of water and nutrients, just like plants that grow in soil.
