How to Grow Your Own Hydroponic Lettuce at Home

September 17, 2020September 23, 2020 by Joshua

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There are several methods and techniques that you can use to cultivate vegetables hydroponically. Let me give you and in-depth guide on how to how to grow hydroponic lettuce at home.

Hydroponic lettuce is the best hydroponic vegetable you can grow. Every hydroponic beginner should start with lettuce first before trying more difficult plants.

I started my first hydroponic garden with lettuce and have since then moved to kale, basil, celery, lavender, broccoli, and cucumber.

Table of Contents

Why Grow Your Own Hydroponic Lettuce at Home?

Hydroponic Lettuce Grows Quickly

Growing indoor hydroponic lettuce is the easiest way to start with hydroponics as lettuce can survive and thrive in a wide variety of environments.

It is also a quick-growing crop, so you can see the result of your hard work fast!

Food Safety

Lettuce and other leafy greens are the most dangerous vegetables to buy from the grocery store. They are only lightly washed with water and you eat them raw.

There have been many people who have gotten sick or have died from eating lettuce that has been infected with E. coli or other nasty diseases.

Lettuce that you buy in the store is often stored somewhere in a warehouse for weeks before it hits the shelf. There is no comparable taste to lettuce fresh off the plant.

Which Variety of Lettuce Should I Grow with Hydroponics?

All lettuce can grow with hydroponics so do not stress too much about the variety.

There are 4 main types of lettuce. Each variety brings different flavors and textures to your salad. Growing several types will make your salad stand out from the store-bought type.

Head lettuce:

This type of lettuce forms a tight ball if given enough room to grow. The most popular variety of this type of lettuce is Iceberg. If not given enough space to form a ball, it will be more like loose-leaf lettuce.

Butterhead lettuce:

This type of lettuce is light green and has leaves that feel like butter. They form into a circle more like a disc instead of a ball.

They are bolt resistant, rarely bitter, and are a great variety for the cut-and-come-again method. This is the method of cutting the outer leaves while leaving the inner leaves intact.

Another method is to cut the whole plant 2 inches above the base, which will allow the plant to regrow new leaves and be harvested again.

The most common variety of this type is butter-crunch and can be found in most areas in the US.

Romaine or Cos:

Romain is tall growing lettuce that forms sturdy leaves bunched together in a tube-like fashion. This variety adds a delightful crunch to your salad.

This type of plant is heat tolerant and not prone to bolting.

The most common type of Romain lettuce is Dark Green Cos.

You can regrow romaine that you have purchased from the store. The heart of the plant or about 3 inches from the base is placed in a container of shallow water where the bottom of the plant is touching the liquid.

Give the plant plenty of light and change the water every 2 days and eventually, the plant will shoot roots out and can be planted.

Loose Leaf lettuce:

Loose-leaf lettuce varieties are those lettuces that do not form a compact head. Their flavor tends to be mild and sweet.

Common varieties are oak leaf and black-seeded Simpson.

Loose-leaf lettuce is the least heat tolerant and most prone to bolting.

However, if you are an indoor hydroponic grower, then you can control the temperature in your grow room to prevent early bolting.

This type of lettuce is perfect for the cut and come again method. You can harvest individual leaves and allow the plant to continue to grow.

How to grow lettuce in a hydroponic system? Many things are similar to growing different types of lettuce. Here are the similarities:

Plant spacing

The cool thing about hydroponics is that you can change the spacing of the plants at any time and I do this throughout the growth cycle.

This is how I grow my lettuce. I usually keep the Rockwool cubes in a container while they germinate for about 2 weeks.

Then I insert them into net pots and place them into my 1020 grow trays closely spaced together for up to a month.

Finally, separate them to 1-foot square spacing until they are mature.

Another option is to leave the lettuce closely spaced and allow the plant to grow upwards instead of outwards.

This is the method I prefer for now for you can continually harvest off these plants until they become bitter instead of harvesting the whole plant once.

Transplanting is easy with hydroponics and the plants rarely receive transplant shock if they receive the same nutrients in different systems.

Just pull the plant out, net pot an all, and carefully place it into the new system.

If you do not have a lot of space and want to maximize the production and efficiency of your gardening area, I recommend using this system.

Hydroponic System:

Kratky is the best system to start with hydroponics. This is by far the most simple and practical of all the hydroponic methods.

All you need is a container and a way to suspend the plant’s roots in the water. There are many ways to do this DIY but I recommend buying some things from the store.

Its always easier to do something with the right tools.

I go further in-depth in my article about Kratky here.

Hydroponic Grow Mediums:

The number one choice for hydroponics is Rockwool. I use 2-inch net pots and 1.5-inch Rockwool cubes.

Most quick growing crops can be grown with these sizes because the roots are suspended in water, and the growing medium is there only to stabilize the plant and allow it to root to something.

To learn more about selecting grow medium check out my video here:

Light Requirement:

These plants do not need a lot of light to grow well.

There is no perfect answer to the light requirement of any plant as all plants grow towards the light you supply. The amount of light you give it will continually change.

Led full spectrum lights should be the only type of light you should be buying.

I write an article about grow lights here.

Start with a general range: If the manufacturer provides guidance, follow it. If you are unsure follow this chart:

Under 100W: Not advised
100W: 6-12 inches
200-400W:12-20 inches
400-600W:20-27 inches
600-800W:30-38 inches
1000w+:36-46 inches

Low wattage lights allow me to place them close to my place and stack several racks vertically.

Here is the light I use in case you want to know. I highly recommend this light.

Monitor plants closely, they will tell you what they need. Leggy, pale plants that fall over need more light.

Leaves that bend away from the light, become bridle, have yellow spots, or tip burn, have too much light.

What To Do If You Notice Leggy Plants?

Bring light closer to the plants
Have lights on longer
Leggy plants are very weak. Handle with care.

What To Do If You Notice Brittle Plants that Bend Away from Light?

Move lights further away
Reduce time lights are on
Remove damaged leaves after the plant has grown new, healthy leaves

Note: you are more likely to sunburn your plants with artificial light. I do it all the time.

How to Grow Different Hydroponic Lettuce at Home?

How to Grow Hydroponic Head Iceberg Lettuce.

(fun fact iceberg lettuce got its name because it was packed and transported in crushed ice during the 1920s. The round balls looked like icebergs in the ice.)

Days to maturity: 55-90 days/39-63 days due to a 30% growth boost growing with hydroponics.

Grow Medium: Rockwool

Temperature: Up to 70 Degrees

Spacing: 12 inches squared for adult plants to allow the ball to form.

Hydroponic nutrients: General purpose blend

PH: 5.5-7

How to Grow Hydroponic Romaine Lettuce

Days to maturity: 60-80 days/42-56 days using hydroponic methods

Spacing: 6-10 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart

Hydroponic nutrients: General purpose blend

Temperature: Up to 85 Degrees.

PH: 5.5-7

How to Grow Black Seeded Simpson or Loose-Leaf Lettuce

Days to maturity: 45 days/32 days using hydroponic methods

Spacing: 8-10 inches in rows spaced 12-18 inches apart

Hydroponic nutrients: General purpose blend

Temperature: Up to 65 Degrees

How Long Does it Last After it is Cut?

The best time to eat lettuce is directly after harvesting. 30% of the beneficial nutrients of the veggie is lost after 3 days.

If you have extra, you can store it in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks before they start looking like store-bought lettuce.

As a note, loose-leaf lettuce does not last long compared to an adult iceberg or romaine lettuce. The tightly packed leaves seal in moisture and keep the plant fresh longer.

Conclusion:

You can’t go wrong growing hydroponic lettuce and is a great plant to experiment with different setups and conditions.

Once you get this plant down, have fun expanding to more difficult plants.

Tell me in the comments below what your favorite type of lettuce is and what you like about it.

See you in the next blog!

Ruddshomefarming

How to Grow Your Own Hydroponic Lettuce at Home