Did you know that most of the salad greens consumed east of the Mississippi River are grown on the west coast of the United States? Even with the local food movement going strong, most home gardeners and small farmers will admit that it’s hard to grow fresh vegetables year round if you live in less-than-perfect conditions. Lettuces and other salad greens grow best in cool temperatures, with moderate sunlight, and plenty of water. These are optimal conditions in many parts of the United States, but only for a few months out of the year. Using hydroponic methods, gardeners and salad-lovers can grow their salad greens year-round.
Why use hydroponics?
Hydroponics allows for a climate-controlled environment that produces optimal growing conditions despite a frigid winter or sweltering summer outside. A soil-less system uses significantly less water and fertilizer than traditional gardening methods, and the system is space-efficient as well. Using staggered planting methods, gardeners are able to harvest salad greens all year, bypassing the supermarket altogether.
Hydroponics also allows city-dwellers to get in on the action, growing nutritious crops inside apartments, condos, and townhouses. Because lettuce and other salad greens are a staple in almost every home and quite easy to grow, they make a perfect crop for beginners.
Tips for growing great salad-greens indoors
•Lettuce seed will sprout in temperatures as low as 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the seeds have sprouted, the temperature should be raised to 70 degrees.
•Salad greens need between 14 and 18 hours of light each day. A sunny window will work during the day, but make sure to supplement with a fluorescent light when the sun goes down.
•Use an opaque container for your growing container to keep algae from forming on your growing medium.
•Aphids are a typical indoor garden pest. Spray infested plants with a weak solution of dish-soap and water. This will suffocate them.
•Harvest your plants by cutting individual leaves every week or so, or you can harvest the whole plant in about five weeks.
With a little planning and a few basic supplies, you can grow fresh, delicious salad greens throughout the year. Local food has never tasted better.
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