Growing Hydroponic Lettuce

Growing lettuce is a great way to start your adventure into the world of hydroponic gardening. Lettuce plants are not difficult to work with and can stand up to a fair amount of abuse by novice gardeners!

First start by gathering your equipment. You can skip this step if you already have an established hydroponic system, but I thought it would be a good idea to cover what you will need just in case. Find an opaque 5-gallon plastic container with a lid. It is important that it be opaque so the inside stays dark. This limits algae growth. In addition to this, you will also need to find a growing medium. Oasis root cubes, which are growth medium compressed into easy to handle cubes work very well when growing lettuce. Simply stick your seeds in the cubes and place them in a dish of water. Make sure this does not dry up while you are waiting for your seeds to sprout.

It should take about two weeks for your lettuce seedlings to sprout. While you are waiting, you can get the lid of that container we mentioned earlier ready for planting. Get some plastic planting cones and trace out their outlines onto the lid. You should be able to get 4 to 6 to fit on the lid, evenly spaced apart without getting too close to the edge. Cut out these circles and stick the cones through the holes you have just made.

Next comes the creation of the water nutrient solution. This solution will supply your plants all the nutrients they would ordinarily get from the soil, and it is the key ingredient in hydroponic gardening. Your best bet is probably to go with a premixed hydroponics solution, which you can find at your local hardware or garden supply store. This will be the base of your nutrient solution. For a 5-gallon container, use two teaspoons of premixed fertilizer solution, two teaspoons of calcium nitrate and one teaspoon of Epsom salts, aka magnesium sulfate. Let these ingredients dissolve into a cup of water, then pour that water into your container, one cup of water and ingredient at a time. Once you have all your nutrients in the container, fill it almost to the top with water.

When your baby lettuce plants have had about two weeks to grow, you can put them in the planters. To do this you should first put the lid with the planting cones in it on your container and strap it down with duct tape. Next, you can put the seedlings and root cubes down in said planting cones. Because lettuce needs a lot of sunlight, both direct and indirect, make sure you have your system set up near a window or under a good grow light. Keep an eye on your water level and top it up if it starts getting too low. Your plants should always be able to reach the water! Growth should take between four and five weeks, and then your lettuce plants will be ready to harvest.

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