Manage a Herd, Not Pets
I grow lettuce indoors year round for a family of 5 (sandwiches, tacos, hamburgers and salad) using Kratky hydronponics. But it’s not all sunshine and lettuce:
- Some yummy lettuce varieties bolt during indoor summer temperatures (think 24/7 AC for several months at 78° F).
- Decreasing germination rates because it can take a long time to go through multiple seed packets (I try to have multiple lettuce varieties available).
- Long lead time (40+ days) to grow lettuce plants to maturity.
Balancing starts with consumption is tricky. I could limit myself to bolt-resistant varieties, regularly replace seed packets or harvest lettuce plants sooner.
My aha moment was realizing that I have been treating my lettuce plants like pets. I buy small quantities of seeds and then plant, grow and harvest individual plants.
So I began experimenting with sprouts. 1 tablespoon of seeds (a mix of brocolli, alfalfa, radish and clover) in a glass jar with a canning lid. 5 days later I had a jar of sprouts I could use in place of lettuce on a sandwich.
Why not do something similar with baby greens? I can sprinkle a lettuce seed mix across a 1020 tray and harvest many smaller plants (baby greens) in a fraction of time and use them in place of mature lettuce leaves.
And if I seed more densely and harvest sooner: microgreens. The quicker harvest time means I have room to experiement with other types of leafy greens in the same space. Stir fried pea shoots or mustard greens anyone?
My aha moment can be summarized by a question: do you grow leafy greens like pets or a herd (of cattle)?
Buying Seeds:
- Pet: Individual seed packets like a gram of lettuce seeds for $2 or $3
- Herd: Larger quantities of seeds like a ¼ pound bag of lettuce seeds for $20 ($0.18/gram).
Planting:
- Pet: Plant 1 or 2 seeds per cell (or net cup) and plant (or move) individual seedlings
- Herd: Sprinkle a gram, teaspoon or some other measurement of seed in a 1020 tray (or fraction like 5 x 5)
Harvest:
- Pet: One mature plant per seed after 1 - 3 months (depends on leafy green)
- Herd: Many small plants from many seeds after 1 - 3 weeks