How to Grow Hydroponic Lettuce Successfully

Of all the myriad of plants that can be grown hydroponically, lettuce is a great one to start of on. Hydroponic lettuce is low maintenance, hardy and forgiving and generally found in most hydroponic gardening selections. They will tolerate most of the inevitable mistakes made by beginner hydroponic buffs and take conditions in their stride that would put things like strawberries in the compost.

The humble lettuce's global popularity as a salad ingredient makes it a staple in most refrigerators across the world. It's also an old timer in most veggie patches. So it goes without saying that hydroponic lettuce has got to be a winner due to the reduced cost and labor involved in growing it and the attractive prospect of having a fresh lettuce on hand at all times. So, whether grown commercially or just for fresh salad makings at home, lettuce is a must in any hydroponic garden.

Just about the only problem experienced in growing hydroponic lettuce is the sheer size of the plants. Growth containers need to be placed a little further apart to accommodate the lettuce's large head. If this is not done overshadowing can result from crowding the plants.

This leads to reduced growth from lighting deficiencies. This may necessitate modifications being made to standard or existing systems that increase cost or space requirements marginally. The benefits are, however, well worth it.

The only system specific need of hydroponic lettuce is the plants water needs. Lettuces are thirsty and this makes flood systems such as ebb and flow and NFT systems ideal for growing lettuce. Lettuce grows under long daylight conditions naturally so in enclosed hydroponic gardening conditions they need approximately 18 hours of light exposure to grow well. You can install expensive metal halide lighting if you can, but normal fluorescent lights do the job just as well. They'll also cut the cost of growing the lettuce seeing as they are on most of the day.

One of the most appealing of hydroponic gardening benefits is the clean, soil free methods applied. Particularly with veggies like lettuce that are not subject to much preparation prior to consumption. It is great to be able to take the lettuce straight from the growth container to the chopping board without having to shake off and then wash excess soil out of the roots and plant base.

If all goes well, the turn around on lettuce is about a month. If you can set up a system with say 10 plants, you could realistically expect to have fresh, clean lettuce every day of the year. With 20 plants you could supply family and friends and have the system pay for itself. This is one of the real beauties of hydroponic gardening and will continue to add more and more hydroponic gardening scenarios to both commercial and private gardening each year.