HelpfulGardener.com

Recently someone called and asked if they could come to my home and buy lettuce. Although I declined, I asked my wife to check the price of lettuce the next time she was marketing. For "Specialty Lettuce" the local market is charging $3.99 for 5 ounces. I weighed the lettuce I picked yesterday and it was well over 10 ounces, or a market value in excess of $8.00. That was just yesterday, and I have three more bags in the veggie compartment of the fridge, and lots more to pick. I estimate the lights add about fifteen dollars a month to the utility bill, so I am more than breaking even by growing my own greens. Additionally, to grow lettuce commercial growers spray it with six different pesticides, but I don't use any at all. Taking the above into consideration, hydroponic growing makes sense. I have a specialty lettuce in process for Christmas dinner and it is not going to cost us anything, as we have more than saved the cost of growing it.

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Does the kind you are growing store well?

I ask because the Simpson elite wilts quickly and I don't see how it could even be stored for more than a day.

Delicious though!!!! BLT's last night were fantastic.

Halfway wrote:Does the kind you are growing store well?

I ask because the Simpson elite wilts quickly and I don't see how it could even be stored for more than a day.

Delicious though!!!! BLT's last night were fantastic.

I grow a lot of different varieties and store the vegetables in "Forever Bags". They help extend the life of fruit and vegetables by absorbing ethylene gases. We have stored lettuce for over a week, and it is fine. Also, I run fresh water through a system that is ready for harvest for several days. We pick the lettuce an hour or so before we are going to eat it, so there is no need to store it. What we don't eat I we share with family, so we really don't have any waste. As I think about it, the lights give off a small amount of heat, and the room is well insulated, so that the heating system rarely comes on unless the temps are near zero. So, I am getting some heat, supplemental lighting and fresh vegetables all at the same time. Not a bad deal.

You have achieved some high level efficiencies and that is the direction I am headed. Fun, stimulating, productive, efficient.

Love your blog!

The red salad bowl I planted for the holiday has been harvested, and it is excellent. I will definitely grow this variety again.

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