growing hydroponic lettuce

Around October 2023, I started growing hydroponic lettuce in my basement. I first documented my setup at Kratky in the basement, but quickly switched to a four-bucket system since 25 gallons of water was far too heavy.

In 2025, I switched from 5-gallon buckets with 3 plants each to 2-gallon buckets with 2 plants each. I also switched from an off-the-shelf nutrient to a masterblend nutrient formulated for leafy greens.

The two changes together have been phenomenal! I'm now getting around 16oz/450g of harvested lettuce per week, with minimal waste when cleaning and preparing.

I never expected it, but I'm actually ahead on system cost relative to buying the same weight of lettuce!