Hydroponic Lettuce
Need tips to grow your own yield of fresh hydroponic lettuce? This article will guide you through the steps as to how you can grow a healthy homemade bunch of lettuce, the hydroponic way.
The hydroponic way of vegetable production is gaining a lot of popularity these days. This method enables the growth of any terrestrial plant with the use of minerals and nutrients in only water and no soil! If this is your first time in the field of hydroponic gardening, then there can be no better choice than growing hydroponic lettuce! The reason why I say this is because, whenever we try a technique for the first time, it is more likely to make some mistakes, unintentionally of course! Not all vegetables have the capacity to take the beat. For example, if you end up making even the slightest mistake while growing strawberries the hydroponic way, you might not be able to reap any benefits from your efforts. However, in the case of hydroponic lettuce production, you can afford to make mistakes and still end up reaping some benefits of your efforts!
How to Grow Hydroponic Lettuce
Once you have successfully taken care of the initial arrangements, all you have to do is wait for the lettuce to beautifully grow under your care and supervision. In fact, growing lettuce in the hydroponic way gives you a better yield with more than 40% larger the size if the normal lettuce grown in the soil. This is because the roots of the lettuce are able to absorb the hydroponic nutrients directly from the water solution, whereas in the soil, it had to absorb the nutrients which were already absorbed by the soil. If you plant the seeds of the lettuce at every 4 weeks gap, then you will have your own supply of homegrown lettuce seeds all throughout the year. Here is what you need to do in order to grow hydroponic lettuce.
Step #1: Get a good set of Oasis Root Cubes, depending upon how much of lettuce you want to grow. Place one lettuce seed in each root cube and leave the cubes in a dish of water for 2 weeks, allowing the seeds to sprout. Keep a check on the water so that it doesn't try up.
Step #2: Get an opaque plastic container with a lid. The capacity of the container should not be more 5 gallon and it should have a tight fitting lid as well. It is important for the container to be opaque so that it limits algae growth. Reading through this article on homemade hydroponics would also be useful for your preparation.
Step #3: Get some planting cones made of plastic and place them evenly on the lid while giving enough space in between two seeds. The reason why you should take care of the space is because lettuce leaves tend to grow huge in size. Therefore, if the planting cones are placed too near, the lettuce plants may become overcrowded and overshadow other leaves preventing the plants from absorbing enough light.
Step #4: Trace the outlines of the planting cones on the lid and cut the outlines carefully. Once the outlines have been cut from the lid, place the plastic cones through these holes. Ideally, you should have at least 4-6 plastic cones fit on the lid.
Step #5: After 2 weeks when the seedlings of the lettuce have begun to sprout, it's time to take care of the water solution containing essential nutrients for the lettuce growth. You have many premixed hydroponic solutions available in the market for the purpose. For your 5 gallon water container, take about 2 full teaspoons of the premixed solution, and mix it up with 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt and 2 teaspoons of calcium nitrate. Mix all these ingredients in 1 cup of water until all these ingredients are dissolved properly. Pour this solution into the 5 gallon container with 1 cup water at the same time. Once the mixture is dissolved, fill the container up to the top with water.
Step #6: Once the container is ready with the nutrients and minerals solution, place your baby plants which have sprouted in the past two weeks in the planters. Place the lid containing the plastic cones in the container and use a duct tape to strap it down. This will prevent them to move from their place. After that, place the Oasis Root Cubes containing the seedlings in the planting cones. To take care of the water, you can also go for some homemade hydroponic systems like an ebb and flow or NFT water culture system, or you can constantly check the container and add more water to keep the level till the top.
Step #7: Once you have planted the lettuce seedlings, the next step is to take care of the sunlight. It would be ideal to place the container near a window so that your lettuce seeds get enough sunlight. You can also use a high intensity metal halide light or a fluorescent light, or a combination of both, as the lettuce plant needs a lot of light.
Once you have taken the necessary steps, all you need to do is to wait patiently for about 4 to 5 weeks till you actually reap the fruits... oops, I mean the lettuce of your labor. You know what's the best part of growing hydroponic lettuce is? You can harvest it and directly toss it into your salad, without worrying about cleaning it and removing the soil from the leaf.
By Shalu Bhatti
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hydroponic-lettuce.html
Need tips to grow your own yield of fresh hydroponic lettuce? This article will guide you through the steps as to how you can grow a healthy homemade bunch of lettuce, the hydroponic way.
The hydroponic way of vegetable production is gaining a lot of popularity these days. This method enables the growth of any terrestrial plant with the use of minerals and nutrients in only water and no soil! If this is your first time in the field of hydroponic gardening, then there can be no better choice than growing hydroponic lettuce! The reason why I say this is because, whenever we try a technique for the first time, it is more likely to make some mistakes, unintentionally of course! Not all vegetables have the capacity to take the beat. For example, if you end up making even the slightest mistake while growing strawberries the hydroponic way, you might not be able to reap any benefits from your efforts. However, in the case of hydroponic lettuce production, you can afford to make mistakes and still end up reaping some benefits of your efforts!
How to Grow Hydroponic Lettuce
Once you have successfully taken care of the initial arrangements, all you have to do is wait for the lettuce to beautifully grow under your care and supervision. In fact, growing lettuce in the hydroponic way gives you a better yield with more than 40% larger the size if the normal lettuce grown in the soil. This is because the roots of the lettuce are able to absorb the hydroponic nutrients directly from the water solution, whereas in the soil, it had to absorb the nutrients which were already absorbed by the soil. If you plant the seeds of the lettuce at every 4 weeks gap, then you will have your own supply of homegrown lettuce seeds all throughout the year. Here is what you need to do in order to grow hydroponic lettuce.
Step #1: Get a good set of Oasis Root Cubes, depending upon how much of lettuce you want to grow. Place one lettuce seed in each root cube and leave the cubes in a dish of water for 2 weeks, allowing the seeds to sprout. Keep a check on the water so that it doesn't try up.
Step #2: Get an opaque plastic container with a lid. The capacity of the container should not be more 5 gallon and it should have a tight fitting lid as well. It is important for the container to be opaque so that it limits algae growth. Reading through this article on homemade hydroponics would also be useful for your preparation.
Step #3: Get some planting cones made of plastic and place them evenly on the lid while giving enough space in between two seeds. The reason why you should take care of the space is because lettuce leaves tend to grow huge in size. Therefore, if the planting cones are placed too near, the lettuce plants may become overcrowded and overshadow other leaves preventing the plants from absorbing enough light.
Step #4: Trace the outlines of the planting cones on the lid and cut the outlines carefully. Once the outlines have been cut from the lid, place the plastic cones through these holes. Ideally, you should have at least 4-6 plastic cones fit on the lid.
Step #5: After 2 weeks when the seedlings of the lettuce have begun to sprout, it's time to take care of the water solution containing essential nutrients for the lettuce growth. You have many premixed hydroponic solutions available in the market for the purpose. For your 5 gallon water container, take about 2 full teaspoons of the premixed solution, and mix it up with 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt and 2 teaspoons of calcium nitrate. Mix all these ingredients in 1 cup of water until all these ingredients are dissolved properly. Pour this solution into the 5 gallon container with 1 cup water at the same time. Once the mixture is dissolved, fill the container up to the top with water.
Step #6: Once the container is ready with the nutrients and minerals solution, place your baby plants which have sprouted in the past two weeks in the planters. Place the lid containing the plastic cones in the container and use a duct tape to strap it down. This will prevent them to move from their place. After that, place the Oasis Root Cubes containing the seedlings in the planting cones. To take care of the water, you can also go for some homemade hydroponic systems like an ebb and flow or NFT water culture system, or you can constantly check the container and add more water to keep the level till the top.
Step #7: Once you have planted the lettuce seedlings, the next step is to take care of the sunlight. It would be ideal to place the container near a window so that your lettuce seeds get enough sunlight. You can also use a high intensity metal halide light or a fluorescent light, or a combination of both, as the lettuce plant needs a lot of light.
Once you have taken the necessary steps, all you need to do is to wait patiently for about 4 to 5 weeks till you actually reap the fruits... oops, I mean the lettuce of your labor. You know what's the best part of growing hydroponic lettuce is? You can harvest it and directly toss it into your salad, without worrying about cleaning it and removing the soil from the leaf.
By Shalu Bhatti
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hydroponic-lettuce.html
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