Lettuce

The canonical first hydroponic crop: fast, shallow-rooted, happy in cool water and passive systems. If a setup can’t grow lettuce, it can’t grow anything. In Canberra it’s close to a year-round crop — the summer heat, not the frost, is what ends a run.

Start here — 4 curated links

Lettuce in non-circulating systems, seed to harvest Video youtube.com/@hoocho

Complete Kratky lettuce run with Australian seed varieties and real timelines.
Hydroponic lettuce handbook Research cea.cals.cornell.edu

Cornell's production handbook — the numbers everyone else quotes, from the source.
Tipburn: cause, prevention, varieties Extension guide edis.ifas.ufl.edu

The one disorder every hydro lettuce grower eventually meets, explained properly.
Heat-tolerant lettuce trial results Community reddit.com/r/hydro

Which varieties actually resist bolting — useful for Australian summers specifically.

entry added 2026-06-08 · links last verified 2026-06-25 · 4 links