Growing Lettuce Indoors in the Summer

A few weeks ago, I thought I read someone's post here that mentioned they had gone to growing their lettuce indoors through the summer. I can't remember the thread and am not having any luck finding it through search.

If you do or ever have grown lettuce indoors during the hot season, how do you do it? What equipment do you have? Any secrets to share?

We're at 94 degrees today and will be hot all week so I'm betting my lettuce will be heading south soon :-( I have a new batch starting in my flower baskets on the front porch and anywhere I can sow them in the shade. I'm a rabbit... I love my salads!!!

Funny. I just posted something about growing my lettuce indoors over the summer in another thread.

I'm new at gardening, so I have no clue. However, the guy at the hydroponics store here in town does grow lettuce indoors and I will be consulting him when I go get some worm castings later this week. I can ask him and share with you what he says, if you'd like.

That would be great!

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:That would be great!

okie dokey then. Probably be wednesday or thursday before I go. I'll let you know.

btw, I love what you're doing with the wood chips. I love reading that thread. I'm hoping to do something like here, in my backyard. I'm learning a lot from you and the other forum members who are using those techniques.

Hi audrey jeanne,

Yes - we love salads too! I've been growing lettuce indoors hydroponically for over a year. It's WONDERFUL lettuce, sweet and tender. Plus is grows faster in hydroponics than outside in the soil. My system is very small, only 18" x 24" with 8-netpots for lettuce plants. I have a modified "deep water" system with the roots suspended above nutrient enriched water. It uses a tiny fountain pump to provide continuous water circulating. It seems to work well.

Here's a picture of the setup plus one of the "Grandpa Admire's" lettuce plants I picked.
Hope this helps.
Gloria

I would love more details on your setup, Gloria! Please..I love salads but I have never tried hydroponics.

That lettuce looks amazing! I'm growing Grandpa Admire's in my garden. The lettuces are barely coming up however, so I may go ahead and get started growing them indoors in May. Hopefully it won't cost too much, since I already have the lights.

Gloria, your lettuce is glorious (forgive me, I couldn't resist saying that). Wow, those plants are a salad lover's dream. I have never hear of Grandpa Admires. It looks so lush. Congrats on such success!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the kind comments about my lettuce. Yes - I really like my little hydro system.

I'm happy to share what I did to make my system, however, I really encourage you to go to a local hydroponic store so you can see a system in operation and discuss the "how to's" directly with someone who's more experienced than I am. My system is "home made" but I make a lot of start-up mistakes that could have been avoided.

Basically, I have a "2-tank" modified deep-water system made of locally sourced plastic bins. A flat tank that's about 18" x 23" x 6" deep and a nutrient tank that's about 4"W x 10"H x 11"D. My flat tank is a "bus" box from a local restaurant supply store. My tall tank is a rubbermade "cereal" container and came from our grocery store. The most important criteria is that no UV light can get through the plastic to prevent algae growth. I used a tiny fountain pump and a small fish tank air pump to circulate and aerate my water. The tanks are connected with 1/2" pvc pipe through two "bulkhead fittings". There are also two hoses to fit the pumps - one for the air and one for the water. Plants are grown in hydroton filled "net pots" that are suspended through holes in the lid of the plant tank. Nutrients and pH balancing liquids are added to the nutrient tank. I use a ph/ec/tds meter to test and balance the solution weekly.

If you will PM me your email address I will be happy to send you a set of instructions that I put together for my niece, but it's a 10-page word document and I don't think it's fair for me to post it here.

Again, I would encourage you to visit a local hydroponic shop to really see how it's done - even if you make one at home.

Hope this helps,
Gloria