I have NEVER succeeded growing lettuce here: too wet, too many bugs/slugs etc. - so I decided to try this method -



I did try this hydroponic method a few summers ago and was NOT at all successful - it was too hot and the lettuce bolted.

GREAT success now. Now I am growing about 20 heads of lettuce, and about to put in another 8 heads of another variety. When it gets too hot for this looseleaf type, I'll switch to Yukina (like bokchoy). I prefer using these bottles/jugs to keep them out of the landfill ... it makes me feel really virtuous!!!!!

So - here's the inspiration: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ha...

IN A NUTSHELL: once you set up the system (plant your bottle/jug/box) you simply walk away. NO watering, weeding...4-6 weeks later you harvest. In the meantime, you can cut off the outer leaves to use while the lettuce matures some more.

Here's a photo of a row of jugs I set up to plant along with what the 'net pot' and the forestry tube look like. After they are planted (or sewn with seed) I cover them with black plastic as in the first photo.



Here's an old ice chest (lid came off so I used a sheet of styrofoam to hold the pots) along with some jugs (used to hold kitty litter) already planted. The opaque jugs don't need to be covered with plastic.



Here's how I adjust the neck of the milk jugs to hold the small peat pots: make a mark around the neck of the jug where the widest part of the pot is, and then cut just inside of that mark. The pot will just nestle down in the hole.



If the opening in the jug is too large, I cut a 'collar' out of the bottom of a piece of junk plastic (yogurt/cottage cheese containers etc.) to hold whatever pot I am using.



Next project is going to be tomatoes growing in 4-5 gal. buckets....I have seen them growing and it is brilliant!!!! I am also going to try spinach this way too. Chard I can grow in the raised bed.

I use a Peter's Hydroponic fertilizer to which I add Calcium Nitrate and a bit of epsom salts.

Why so much lettuce? Well - I can share with friends and hopefully use it to barter for fresh eggs and perhaps other veggies I don't have room to grow.

BENEFITS? Quite a few from my point of view: EASY. Repurposing/recycling junk. Uses less water in the long run (not my problem here with 150" of rain per year). Can be done in a VERY small area like a balcony or a back porch. Easy to control nasty critters. Virtually don't need to worry about dirt and grit on the leaves.

Can you imagine how any plastic containers could be diverted from the Landfills?

Great idea!

That is interesting, is the nurtrient solution the same for each type of plant? If not, how do you calculate for each plant.

The nutrient solution is per gallon of water....and yes, it is the same for each plant. That old ice chest has 15gal of water. Just planted 6 'asian greens'....

Love this!! Good job, Carol!

Yup - necessity being the mother of invention!!! Hydroponic lettuce is about $2 a head here... I am starting to use lettuce en lieu of bread in sandwiches, as wraps (Larb Gai) so I like as much as I can grow!!!

Trying to source an organic fert that would work...don't know of any right now.....

Dave would love love to get into hydroponics, but we just aren't ready to jump in just yet. Have you seen the videos on the set-ups with fish and the veggies? Brilliant.

A great idea, Carol.
In Northern climates we use the one gallon (four liter) milk jugs to start
our seedlings. It is called "winter sowing" , but we do it all year around.

Trish...yes, I've seen that set up....Aquaponics they call it here. Too much work in my book. I like the idea of setting it up and walking away.... Here's photos of the top and the underside of the 'cooler' tank:


The roots going after the water....

(not thrilled with the type of lettuce in here...a really lose leaf like Bib is so much better).

Thanks Carol, this is really interesting, and I'm going to read that PDF you linked to. You are an adventurous gardener, for sure!

Where did you buy your "Peter's Hydroponic fertilizer"?

At a local garden store here. I would rather use 'organic'...but it would be too high in protein and start to smell awful.... alas.... It's called Peters Hydro Sol. To one gallon of water you add 1 teasp. of fertilizer = 1/2 teasp. Peters, 1/4 teasp. calcium nitrate and 1/4 teasp. epsom salts. After the veggies are done...use left over water/fert in the garden and start afresh. I think that PDF file will blow you away...growing crops on 4' x 8' sheets of plywood in beds 4" deep!!!!

Would love to know what you think. Hey the kids could have their own lettuce farm for the market!!!!!

Thanks for sharing this, Carol -- I'd never heard of a "non-circulating" hydroponic system, thought it would be too complicated to try because of the pumps and such; this looks like it could be set up pretty easily indoors under lights, as well, and not having to worry about watering would be a huge plus. Heaven knows I have plenty of those kitty litter jugs!

Not hydroponic, but I wanted to share this photo of lettuce that I grew under my fluorescent lights, planted on 2/6 and the photo was taken on 4/2; I've now moved the planter out to my greenhouse, where the lettuce is still going strong, and have some more started under the lights. Never thought it would grow so well under the lights, there is obviously no reason I can't have my own lettuce growing all winter!! (the varieties are Winter Density (on the left) and Black Seeded Simpson)

Very good, Sandy!!

Our problem is heat....I'm finishing up my spring lettuce now, and going to trial some more greens for the summer...other than chard, we've never really gotten anything else to take. I'm going to keep plugging away at it, though...I *love* lettuce salads!

Trish, your climate is so completely different than mine that I'm not sure I can even comprehend it... can you grow lettuce outside in the winter? (or whatever winter is where you are...) At any rate, I also love lettuce, and there are so many different varieties to try!

Trish...There are some asian greens that I use for lettuce/spinach that seem to tolerate the HOT. HORENZO is one of them...tolerates heat very well, tastes just like english spinach and easier to grow. Kitazawaseed.com is a great site - and they have some cool recipes too!!! I am going to grow Akarenso, a hybrid.... Johnny's Seeds sells something called Vitamin Greens and also Yukina which I grow in the summer for salads.... Horenzo is great cooked or raw...just like spinach!! Looks different...but then so do humans!! I normally could grow lettuce thru May but...??? The weather guessers say we will have an unstable summer = overcast and cloudy and humid and.... Not all of Hawaii just our side of the island...unique from most other places in HI excapt Hana on Maui. - so it may be cool enough to grow it all summer....the real loose leaf kinds. The 'Vitamin Green" (what a name! how clever ) is really 'just like spinach'..

Thanks for those names, Carol! The weather gurus are predicting a hot, dry summer for us this year. I'll check those out.
Carol

They are a family run business...and very open to talking to you about the right seeds for your conditions - or - even the best vinegar to use in their pickled daikon recipe!!! (I use Philippino Sugar Cane Vinegar... ) and the seeds are excellent.

Sandy- that's right- I grow all through the winter. To be fair, the frost will zap them back for several weeks, but they almost always stay alive and bounce right back. So, I can't actually harvest all winters most years. I think if I were really on the ball, I could do row covers and actually harvest all year, but I haven't been that good yet.

Carol- I'm off to check them out! I'm anxious to trial some out. I would do a full on trial with shade cloth....but that's not gonna happen this year. There's always next year for that! This year we'll just see what can be a survivor

Trish, I made really simple covers out of PVC conduit and plastic sheeting, and kept lettuce alive all winter here (same zone, very different climate). Also had chard, spinach, pac choi, and a few other things in there. No frost damage except in a few places where the leaves were touching the plastic.

I can get about an extra month of lettuce in the early summer by moving the plants into full shade. I'm not sure if that would help in Texas, though, since your summers are much hotter than mine.

(Not to derail the thread, but I just noticed "soon to be 6"! Congrats!)

Carol, thanks so much for the tutorial. This looks like a great idea to try, a nice introduction to hydroponics for those of us who are intimidated by pumps and fancy equipment. Sorry if I missed this, but what is inside the net pot? Soil, or some kind of special media? And do you actually use the peat pots without them disintegrating?