Materials to Make a Container:
- 33 oz. or larger opaque coffee container
- Blade
- Hydroponic "net pots" in 2-inch and 3-inch size. (.50- .75 cents each at garden center)
- Liquid plant food
- Filtered water
Materials to Grow Lettuce Seeds:
- Rock wool cubes (garden center)
- Salad bar container with plastic cover or seedling grow tray
- Clay pellets called "hydrotone"
Instructions:
- Soak the rock wool cubes in water for 10 minutes.
- Use end of wet toothpick to pick up lettuce seeds and drop 2 per hole in rock wool.
- Cover small hole with piece of paper towel.
- Place rock wool in seed tray or in salad bar tray and cover with plastic top to create humidity.
- Set tray on top of warm appliance (TV, microwave) or grow mat for 1 - 12 days and check daily for growth and humidity.
- Buy hydroponic materials at a garden center or online.
- The container is filled with the "nutrient water" (water + liquid fertilizer) all the way up, covering the bottom ¼ inch of the planting cup that's filled with clay pellets and the lettuce plant.
- One gallon of nutrient water per plant is an optimal ratio when growing lettuce, so use the right size container.
- As the water recedes, the plant roots continue to grow down looking for water and wicks it up, as needed.
- The space between the water and the bottom of the grow cup is filled with humid air which provides oxygen to the roots.
- When the water level drops to the bottom (after 30 days), the lettuce plant is usually full grown and you can start a new plant.
- "Wet it and forget it!"
- Both. Lettuce is cool season plant so it can grow outdoors in mild winter areas.
- Indoors, place your container by a bright window or use a florescent bulb for 10 hours if you don't have natural light available.
Learn more about how to "grow food with style" at Shirley Bovshow's
FoodieGardener.com and on Twitter
@FoodieGardeners.
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