One of the most common vegetables grown in AeroGarden is lettuce. Lettuce is nearly the ideal crop for your AeroGarden. This is because it germinates quickly, grows quickly, is delicious, and you can use it in a variety of ways.
You can grow lettuce in a home environment and harvest it at any time you like. It is also resistant to pests and makes a fantastic fresh salad. Add some juicy tomatoes grown in an AeroGarden, and your salad will be the talk of the lunch table.
Your own hydroponic garden will give you lettuce heads the size of baby greens two weeks after you plant it. It usually takes three to four weeks for larger salad-sized leaves to grow and be ready for harvest.
AeroGarden sells a wide variety of lettuce pods, from classic heirlooms to modern hybrids.
The basic requirements are easy:
- An AeroGarden, if growing hydroponically
- If you’re planting seeds in the soil, you’ll need seed trays and potting soil.
- Lettuce seeds or seedlings
- A grow light or sunlit window if grown inside
Process of planting your crop in Aerogarden kit
Step One:
Select a lettuce type.
Choosing the best type of lettuce to grow indoors is an important first step toward getting a good harvest. You can grow two types of seeds indoors:
Leaf lettuce
Mesclun, red leaf, green leaf, and arugula are all types of leaf lettuce. Growing leaf lettuce is easier because it needs space and less light. It’s frequently the best option for indoor growing.
Head lettuce
Butterhead lettuce, romaine lettuce, and iceberg lettuce are all popular head lettuce varieties.
Step Two:
Select a spot
Even though lettuce doesn’t need as much light as some veggies do, it still needs a spot that gets a lot of sun, like a windowsill or a south-facing room. Here are a few light-related pointers for lettuce:
Many people who try to grow plants indoors need to resort to the use of a grow light, which emits a more intense and complete spectrum of light.
Lettuce must have at least six hours of sunlight daily; the more, the better.
Step Three:
Choose your method of growing
The AeroGarden is a hydroponic system that you may use to grow lettuce indoors, but you can also use soil.
- Soil
You just need some lettuce seeds, a seed tray or other shallow container that will work, and some good seed starting mix. If you have a lot of extra room inside, growing in the soil can be the best option.
- Hydroponic
Growing trays, grow lights, seed pods, and nutrient solutions are part of many home hydroponic garden packages. Hydroponic growing systems are your best bet if you need a simple, space-saving method. Hydroponically grown lettuce is done and ready to be picked 30 to 50 percent sooner than soil-grown lettuce.
Step Four:
Plant the seeds
Planting seeds in an AeroGarden is as simple as placing the seed pods in the tray, filling it with water, and turning on your grow light. Return the garden to its original water level and feed the plants as directed.
Step Five:
Keep an eye on the progress of your seedlings.
It takes 7 to 14 days for seeds to germinate on soil, but only one to four days in an AeroGarden. Here is what you should do after you notice lettuce seedlings:
- Light
You should prioritize windows that face west or south. Plants need to have grow lights placed six inches above them and left on for roughly 14 hours a day.
- Water
Water the soil regularly, but keep it from becoming soggy. Make sure the roots are never allowed to dry out and the water temperature remains stable in a hydroponic system.
- Spacing
One seedling should be placed per square inch once they reach around 2 inches in height.
Step Six:
Harvest your lettuce
With an AeroGarden, you may begin harvesting lettuce in as little as three weeks and grow completely mature lettuce in just four weeks.
You can pick the lettuce leaves when they reach a height of around four inches. Consistently picking lettuce leaves as they grow will maximize yield.
Head lettuce will sometimes develop another head from the stem, and leaf lettuce can normally be picked multiple times.
What lettuce grows well in AeroGarden?
AeroGardens operate with the lettuce seeds included in the official seed starter kits. Here are a few types to consider:
- Parris Island, Marvel of Four Seasons, Deer Tongue Amish Green, Rouge d’hiver, Red Sails, and Black-Seeded Simpson are just some of the heirloom salad greens you can find.
- Salad Greens AeroGarden Kit (Romaine, Butterhead Lettuce, and Green and Red Leaf Lettuce)
How long does it take for lettuce to sprout in AeroGarden?
With the help of the Salad Greens Seed Pod Kit, you can grow and enjoy wonderful, fresh lettuce all year round. The seeds germinate in only a few days, and you can begin harvesting them daily in as little as 2 weeks and a half. All AeroGardens can use this kit.
How many times can you harvest AeroGarden lettuce?
Lettuce grown in an AeroGarden is ready to harvest in about 3 weeks; however, this will vary with the specific variety(s) you choose. But the lettuce grown in this high-tech garden is known for its rapid height gain.
Three weeks after inserting the grow baskets into the seed pods, you can harvest and enjoy the salad greens at your convenience.
Do I need to wash my AeroGarden lettuce?
After each time you plant, give your AeroGarden a thorough cleaning and disinfect it. It helps stop the spread of crop-ruining pathogens in the plant’s roots.
When should I harvest my AeroGarden lettuce?
It’s a common question among new AeroGarden owners to wonder how to know when to begin reaping your crops.
It’s safe to assume you’re prepared if your plants have reached the age at which you can pose the question. When lettuce leaves are about three inches tall, harvesting can begin.
Just harvest the leaves you intend to consume. Take at most a third of the plant at a time.
Because the smaller leaves receive more light due to the larger ones being plucked, they also grow more rapidly. Delaying the harvest of lettuce for too long reduces harvest quality.
Start with a smaller harvest for sandwich or snack toppings and work your way up to salads as your plants mature.
Growing lettuce in an AeroGarden: some helpful tips
Here are some basic tips for growing AeroGarden lettuce:
- After three to four weeks after sowing the seed, the larger lettuce leaves are ready for picking.
- The plants have matured and are now considerably larger. Continue taking one-third of the leaves off the plant at a time, or chop it off at the root. The larger leaves are ideal for salads.
- LED grow lights should be held at a height of 4 to 6 inches above your plants.
- If the light is closer than 4 inches, the lettuce will grow faster, but it may “bolt” and produce seeds rather than leaves. When the lamp arm attains its maximum height, trim the leaves so their tips are roughly four inches from the bulbs. Because of this, the leaves won’t be able to get too close to the lights and turn brown as quickly, and the plant will take longer to bolt.
- Young lettuce greens are ready for picking when the plant is three inches tall.
- Trim some of the larger outer leaves from each plant using clean, sharp scissors. Avoid removing more than a third of a plant’s leaves at once. When used as a taco or sandwich topping, baby leaves are fantastic.
- Lettuce grown indoors is tender
- Let a small fan blow over the AeroGarden while the lettuce grows for crispier results. To better withstand gusts of wind, the plants will have stronger, crisper stalks.
- Put your AeroGarden somewhere cool inside the house.
- Lettuce grows best in a mild climate with temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.You shouldn’t put the smart garden near an interior heat source or in a sunny window if you’re trying to cultivate lettuce pods.
Lettuce is one of the few vegetables that will thrive in any AeroGarden. Larger models with more powerful grow lights often result in faster lettuce plant growth.
However, this may also stimulate bolting, or rapid growth, followed by rapid death. You can grow lettuce year-round, and it thrives in any AeroGarden.
Get fresh lettuce from an Aerogarden kit
Having the ingredients for a fresh, crunchy salad bowl or savory lettuce wrap on hand at any time makes growing lettuce indoors a pleasant and tasty pastime. Growing vegetables from seed is a great way to get the whole family interested in eating healthier.
The AeroGarden makes it simple, clean, and handy to grow your own greens indoors. The AeroGarden removes the guesswork from cultivating safe and healthy produce.
A little bit of water and some plant food are all that you need. You can have a continuous supply of fresh lettuce every month with no greenhouse required if you have an AeroGarden. This is because it will inform you just when to apply water and plant food.