Lettuce – Lolla Rossa

Lolla Rossa is a frilly, loose-leaf green/red lettuce variety.

Jun 18 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Botanical Interests).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot. Moistened with Seedling Blend, a dilute blend of fertilizers.  N-P-K (in ppm): 22-12-13.

Jun 22 = Day 4.  The plant has germinated, and was placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

Jul 1 = Day 13.  Installed plant into 3.5-gallon buckets using the MasterBlend-based Regular-Strength Blend.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  Plant moved to indoor grow room, receiving 9 hours LED grow light per day.

Jul 1 = Day 13

Jul 25 = Day 37

Aug 11 = Day 54.  The front side of the plant (left) gets direct sunlight, and the leaves have turned reddish.  The back of the plant (right) gets light mostly from the LED grow bulb, and these leaves are more greenish.

Aug 12 = Day 55.  Began harvesting lower leaves for use in salads.  Plant is getting too tall and top-heavy, so it was tied to a pole to keep it upright.  Also, grow room is very hot (above 80 °F during the day), so the use of the LED grow light was discontinued.  Plant is now receiving 3-4 hours of direct sunlight per day.

Sep 2 = Day 76.  All lower leaves have been harvested, and the plant has bolted, so the remaining upper leaves taste bitter.  This plant has grown to be almost 4 feet tall!  Plant was discarded at this time.  Total fluid used = 2.8 gallons.  Final pH = 5.0.

Sep 2 = Day 76

Lettuce – Salad Bowl

May 18, 2016 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Bountiful Gardens).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot.  Moistened with dilute fertilizer solution: 1.2 mL Dyna-Gro Liquid Grow, 0.8 mL pH Down per gallon of tap water.  N-P-K (in ppm): 22-12-13.

May 21 = Day 3.  Plant germinated, placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

May 28 = Day 10.  Installed plant into 3.5-gallon bucket.  Hydroponic solution composed of 3.5 gal (13.2 L) tap water, 7 g MasterBlend 4-18-38, 7 g calcium nitrate, 3.5 g magnesium sulfate, 0.7 mL Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt, 3.5 mL pH Down.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  pH =  6.0.  Plants moved to indoor grow room, receiving 8 hours LED grow light per day, plus 3 hours sunlight per day.

May 28 = Day 10

Jun 16 = Day 29.  3 plants are growing in the same net-pot.

Jun 28 = Day 41.  Began harvesting lower leaves.

Jul 6 = Day 49

Jul 16 = Day 59.  Harvested all remaining leaves.  Total fluid volume used = 2.1 gallons (0.7 gallons per plant).  Final pH = 7.0.

Lettuce – Red Sails

Apr 22, 2016 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Botanical Interests).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot.  Moistened with dilute fertilizer solution (1.2 mL Dyna-Gro Liquid Grow, 0.8 mL pH Down per gallon of tap water).  N-P-K (in ppm): 22-12-13.  pH = 6.0.

Apr 24 = Day 2.  Plant germinated, placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

May 2 = Day 10

May 5 = Day 13.  Installed plant into 1-gallon bucket.  Hydroponic solution composed of 1 gal (3.8 L) tap water, 2 g MasterBlend 4-18-38, 2 g calcium nitrate, 1 g magnesium sulfate, 0.2 mL Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt, 1 mL pH Down.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  pH = 6.0.  Thinned to 1 plant per net-pot.

May 13 = Day 21

May 14 = Day 22.  Moved plant to indoor grow room, receiving 8 hours LED light per day.

May 26 = Day 34

Jun 12 = Day 51.  Plant is getting tall, falling over.  Harvested all leaves.  Final statistics: Total fluid used = 7 cups (0.44 gallons).  Final pH of fluid = 6.5.

Lettuce – Salad Bowl

Salad Bowl is a type of green loose-leaf lettuce having deeply lobed leaves.  The last time I grew this variety, it was years ago when I had a raised-bed garden.  Let’s see how it does in the Bucket Hydroponics system.

I will also be comparing 2 different types of fertilizer blends:
1)  MasterBlend 4-18-38 + calcium nitrate + magnesium sulfate
2)  Jungle Juice 3-part liquid fertilizer (Grow 2-1-6, Bloom 0-5-4, Micro 5-0-1) + calcium nitrate

Mar 29, 2016 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Bountiful Gardens).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot.  Moistened with Seedling Blend, a dilute blend of fertilizers.  N-P-K (in ppm): 22-12-13.

Mar 31 = Day 2.  Plants germinated, placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

Apr 7 = Day 9.  Thinned to 2 seedlings per net-pot.  Installed plants into 11 cup plastic containers with the 2 different types of hydroponic solution:
1)  MasterBlend-based Regular-Strength Blend.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.
2)  Jungle Juice Blend.  N-P-K (in ppm): 113-35-122.

Apr 7 = Day 9.  MasterBlend (left), Jungle Juice (right)

Apr 19 = Day 21.  MasterBlend (left), Jungle Juice (right).  Thinned to 1 plant per net-pot.

May 2 = Day 34.  MasterBlend (left), Jungle Juice (right).

May 9 = Day 41.  Containers are almost empty, and lower leaves are starting to turn yellow, so all the leaves were harvested.  Comparing the 2 types of fertilizers, there was no clear winner here; the plant leaves and root systems both looked great.  Interestingly, the final pH levels of the solutions were quite different, but the plants did well in both cases, indicating that these Salad Bowl lettuce plants are resilient.

Final Stats:
MasterBlend:  Fluid used = 9.75 cups (0.61 gal).  Final pH of fluid = 8.0.
Jungle Juice: Fluid used = 9.25 cups (0.58 gal).  Final pH of fluid = 5.0.

May 9 = Day 41.  MasterBlend (left), Jungle Juice (right)

May 9 = Day 41.  MasterBlend (left), Jungle Juice (right).

Lettuce – Red Sails, Rouge Grenobloise

Rouge Grenobloise is a Batavian (crisphead) type of lettuce from France.  I will be comparing this lettuce to Red Sails, one of my favorites.

Mar 10, 2016 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Botanical Interests, Bountiful Gardens).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot.  Moistened with dilute fertilizer solution: 1.2 mL Dyna-Gro GROW 7-9-5, 0.8 mL pH Down per gallon of tap water. N-P-K (in ppm): 22-12-13.  pH = 6.0.

Mar 12 = Day 2.  Plant germinated, placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

Mar 19 = Day 9.  Red Sails (left), Rouge Grenobloise (right)

Mar 22 = Day 12.  Installed plants into 3.5-gallon bucket.  Hydroponic solution composed of 3.5 gal (13.2 L) tap water, 7 g MasterBlend 4-18-38, 7 g calcium nitrate, 3.5 g magnesium sulfate, 0.7 mL Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt, 3.5 mL pH Down.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  pH = 6.0.  Plants moved to indoor grow room, receiving 9 hours LED grow light per day, plus 3 hours sunlight per day.

Mar 29 = Day 19.  Red Sails (left), Rouge Grenobloise (right).  Thinned to 1 plant per net-pot.

Apr 7 = Day 28.  Red Sails (left), Rouge Grenobloise (right)

Apr 19 = Day 40.  Red Sails (left), Rouge Grenobloise (right)

Apr 26 = Day 47.  Started harvesting lower leaves.  Plants appear identical.

May 2 = Day 53

May 19 = Day 70.  Both plants were quite large and were falling over.  Harvested all leaves.

At the end of this comparison between Rouge Grenobloise and Red Sails, it is clear that there is no noticeable difference in yield, color, quality, or taste.

Lettuce – Buttercrunch

Feb 26, 2016 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Botanical Interests).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot.  Moistened with dilute fertilizer solution: 1.2 mL Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5, 0.8 mL pH Down per gallon of tap water.  N-P-K (in ppm): 22-12-13.  pH = 6.0.

Feb 29 = Day 3.  Plant germinated, placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

Mar 8 = Day 11.  Installed plant into 0.5-gallon glass jar.  Hydroponic solution composed of 0.5 gal (1.9 L) tap water, 1 g MasterBlend 4-18-38, 1 g calcium nitrate, 0.5 g magnesium sulfate, 0.1 mL Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt, 0.5 mL pH Down.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  pH = 6.0.  Moved plant to indoor grow room, where plant receives 9 hours LED grow light plus 3 hours sunlight per day.

Mar 9 = Day 12

Mar 29 = Day 32.  Thinned to 1 plant.

Apr 7 = Day 41.  Began harvesting lower leaves.

Apr 13 = Day 47.  Harvested all leaves.  Plant had grown very tall, and was having difficulty standing upright. Final statistics: 7 cups (0.44 gal) of fluid used, pH of fluid = 7.0.

Apr 13 = Day 47

Lettuce – Red Sails

Feb 10, 2016 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Botanical Interests).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot.  Moistened with dilute fertilizer solution: 1.2 mL Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5, 0.8 mL pH Down per gallon of tap water. N-P-K (in ppm): 22-12-13.  pH = 6.0.

Feb 13 = Day 3.  Plants germinated, placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

 

Feb 17 = Day 7

Feb 20 = Day 10.  Installed plant into 11 cup (0.69 gallon) plastic container.  Hydroponic solution composed of 0.69 gal tap water, 4.125 mL Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5.  N-P-K (in ppm): 111-62-66.  pH = 6.0.  No pH adjustment required.

Feb 28 = Day 18

Mar 1 = Day 20.  Based on information obtained in this post and this post, it seems that the pH of the Liquid GROW-based hydroponic solution tends to drop below 4.0 by the end of the growing period, which is not ideal for nutrient uptake.  Therefore, I have switched to a MasterBlend-based solution.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  pH = 6.0.

Mar 8 = Day 27.  Moved plant to indoor grow room.  Plant receives 9 hours LED grow light plus 3 hours sunlight per day.

Mar 19 = Day 38.  Leaves are ready for harvesting.

Mar 29 = Day 48

Mar 31 = Day 51.  Harvested all remaining leaves.  Final statistics: 9 cups (0.56 gal) of fluid used.  Final pH of fluid = 7.0.

Lettuce – Red Sails

Perhaps you don’t have a lot of room in your house, but you would like to try growing something, using the simplest method possible.  Then this post is directed at you.  Here is my plan:

1. I will be growing Red Sails lettuce, a fast-growing variety which has always done well for me in the past.
2. Plant will grow in a 1/2-gallon glass canning jar, and I will cut a 2-inch hole in the plastic lid to hold the net-pot.  I will need to monitor the fluid level to make sure it doesn’t run dry, and add more fluid as needed.
3. I will use the simplest fertilizer blend that I have: Dyna-Gro’s Liquid GROW 7-9-5, a 1-part liquid fertilizer concentrate.
4. The plant will grow beneath a fluorescent light bulb under my kitchen cabinet.  My bulb is a 2-foot T8 Daylight (6500K) bulb.

Jan 7, 2016 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed (Botanical Interests).  Seeds sowed in 1.5-inch rockwool cube in 2-inch net-pot.  Moistened with dilute fertilizer solution: 1 mL (1/5 tsp) Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5, 1 mL pH Down per gallon of tap water.  N-P-K (in ppm): 18-10-11.  pH = 6.0.

Jan 11, 2016 = Day 4.  Plant germinated, placed directly under a fluorescent light (2 ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 16 hours per day.

Jan 16 = Day 9

Jan 20, 2016 = Day 13.  Installed plant into 0.5-gallon glass jar (8 cups).  Hydroponic solution composed of 0.5 gal tap water, 3 mL Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5.  N-P-K (in ppm): 111-62-66.  pH = 6.0.  No pH adjustment required.  The glass jar was wrapped in foil to keep light out,  which prevents algae growth.

Jan 25 = Day 18

Feb 1 = Day 24.  Thinned to just one plant in net-pot.

Feb 6 = Day 30

Feb 14 = Day 38.  Plant has used almost half of the hydroponic fluid in the container.  Just over 4 cups of fluid remains.  Leaves can now be harvested at any time.

Feb 14 = Day 38

Feb 24 = Day 48.  Plant has used 75% (6 cups) of the original hydroponic fluid, only has 2 cups remaining.

Feb 24 = Day 48

Mar 1 = Day 54.  Harvested all leaves.  Final statistics:  6 cups (0.375 gallons) of fluid used.  Final pH of fluid < 4.0.

Mar 1 = Day 54

The final pH of this Liquid GROW-based hydroponic solution was very low (pH < 4.0) which is consistent with what was observed when I grew Marvel of Four Seasons lettuce in this post.  The root system looked better when I used the MasterBlend fertilizer, so I will probably switch back to using that for my hydroponic solutions, even in small-scale (< 1 gallon) applications.

In conclusion, I have shown how easy it is to grow a fine looking and tasty head of lettuce, using a very simple hydroponic set-up consisting of a small 0.5-gallon container, the Liquid GROW all-in-one fertilizer, and a standard fluorescent light bulb on my kitchen counter.  Give it a try!

Lettuce – Marvel of Four Seasons

Marvel of Four Seasons is a pre-1885 French heirloom variety.  It is a butter-head type of lettuce variety with long, slender leaves.  It supposedly resists getting bitter during warm summers.  Let’s be honest, lettuce doesn’t have tons of flavor to begin with, but to me the flavor of this one is actually quite pleasant.

Here I will be testing 2 different types of fertilizer blends:

1. MasterBlend 4-18-38 + calcium nitrate + magnesium sulfate.  This is my normal blend, and it works well.  Since it is supplied as a dry powder it is very inexpensive.
2. Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5.  This is a liquid concentrate which I normally only use for starting my seedlings.  It is more expensive than the dry fertilizers, but is much more convenient to work with, especially when making up small batches of hydroponic solution (< 2 gallons).

Dec 24, 2015 = Day 0.  Started from seed (Botanical Interests). Moistened with dilute fertilizer solution: 1 mL (1/5 tsp) Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5 per gallon of tap water.  N-P-K (in ppm): 18-10-11.  pH = 7.0.

Dec 27, 2015 = Day 3.  Seeds germinated.  Transferred to grow room, receiving 3 hours sunlight + 5 hours LED grow-light per day.

Jan 2, 2016 = Day 9

Jan 4, 2016 = Day 11.  To give plants more light, placed plants directly under a fluorescent light (2-ft. T8 bulb, 17W, 6500k) for 14-16 hours per day.

Jan 7, 2016 = Day 14

Jan 8, 2016 = Day 15.  Installed plants in 1.2 gallon containers:

Solution #1 composed of: 1.2 gal tap water, 2.4 g MasterBlend 4-18-38, 2.4 g calcium nitrate, 1.2 g magnesium sulfate, 0.25 mL Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt, 1.2 mL pH Down.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  pH = 6.0.

Solution #2 composed of: 1.2 gal tap water, 7.2 mL Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5, 0.25 mL Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt.  N-P-K (in ppm): 111-62-66.  pH = 6.0.  No pH adjustment needed.

Jan 9, 2016 = Day 16.  MasterBlend (left), Liquid GROW (right)

Jan 16, 2016 = Day 23.  Thinned down to 2 plants per container.  Transferred plants to indoor grow room with LED lights.  At this point, the plants in Liquid GROW seem to be doing slightly better than the plants in MasterBlend.  Interestingly, there is almost no root development on the Liquid GROW plants, while the roots are about 4-inches long on the MasterBlend plants.

Jan 16, 2016 = Day 23.  MasterBlend (left), Liquid GROW (right)

Jan 20, 2016 = Day 27.  MasterBlend (left), Liquid GROW (right)

Feb 2, 2016 = Day 40.  MasterBlend (left), Liquid GROW (right)

Feb 18 = Day 56.  Starting to harvest leaves from these plants.  At this point, the plant grown in MasterBlend has used more of its fluid than the plant grown in Liquid GROW.

Feb 20 = Day 58.  MasterBlend (left), Liquid GROW (right)

Feb 24 = Day 62.  Harvested all leaves from both plants.  Final statistics:

MasterBlend plant: Used 1.1 gallons of fluid.  Final pH of fluid = 8.0.
Liquid GROW plant: Used 0.8 gallons of fluid.  Final pH of fluid < 4.0.

Compared the root systems:

Feb 24 = Day 62.  MasterBlend (left), Liquid GROW (right)

Although the upper portions of both plants were not too different, it is clear that the root system of the plant grown in MasterBlend looks much better than the plant grown in Liquid GROW.  In both cases, the pH started out at 6.0, but neither system maintained a stable pH throughout the growing period.  It seems that the MasterBlend’s spike up to 8.0 was tolerated better than the Liquid GROW’s drop down to below 4.0.

Lettuce – Adriana, Red Sails

Red Sails, a reddish loose-leaf variety, has been a dependable lettuce for me in the past.  I will be comparing it to a new lettuce, Adriana, a green butterhead variety.  Since my 3.5-gallon bucket will hold 3 plants, I will grow 1 Adriana plant and 2 Red Sails.

Dec 2, 2015 = Day 0.  Plants started from seed: Adriana (Johnny’s Seeds), Red Sails (Botanical Interests).  Moistened with dilute fertilizer: Dyna-Gro Liquid GROW 7-9-5 diluted 1 mL (1/5 tsp) per gallon of tap water.  N-P-K (in ppm): 18-10-11.  pH = 7.0.

Dec 10, 2015 = Day 8.  Adriana is at lower right.

Dec 18, 2015 = Day 16.  Adriana is at top.

Roots are now visible growing out of the bottom of the rockwool cubes, so it is time to install these plants into a larger 3.5-gallon bucket.

Dec 19, 2015 = Day 17.  Plants installed in 3.5-gallon bucket.  Hydroponic solution composed of 3.5 gal (13.25 L) tap water, 7 g MasterBlend 4-18-38, 7 g calcium nitrate, 3.5 g magnesium sulfate, 0.7 mL Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt, 2.8 mL pH Down.  N-P-K (in ppm): 103-41-168.  pH = 6.5.

Dec 19, 2015 = Day 17.  Adriana is at top.

Dec 28, 2015 = Day 26.  Adriana at top.  Red Sails at bottom.

I thinned out the plants so that there are now only 2 plants growing out of each net-pot.

Jan 8, 2016 = Day 37.  Adriana (front), Red Sails (back)

Jan 20, 2016 = Day 49.  Adriana (front), Red Sails (back)

Feb 2, 2016 = Day 62.  Plants are ready for harvest.

Feb 28 = Day 88.  The entire Adriana plant has been harvested, only the 2 Red Sails plants remain.  The plant stems are getting quite long, but the leaves still taste fine.

Feb 28 = Day 88

Mar 10 = Day 99.  Harvested all leaves.  Final statistics:  3.2 gallons (12.1 L) of fluid used.  Final pH of fluid = 8.0.

Mar 10 = Day 99

Based on my experience, I conclude that Red Sails gives a better yield than the Adriana variety.  Both types of lettuce did well, but the Red Sails leaves were bigger and more plentiful than the Adriana.