Summer and salads – what a combo especially if a thriving garden is part of your rural lifestyle.

Of course, the star of any green salad has to be the lettuce. But if growing lettuce is a little complicated and gets on your ‘wick’, here’s an effective approach to hydroponic growing from keen gardener, Gene Oh of Auckland.

After his retirement Gene turned to gardening to occupy his spare time. Interested in a scientific approach, he began looking for innovative growing methods.

Beginning with commercially available sub-irrigation systems, Gene pieced together ideas from existing methods to formulate his own approach. With his wick system (outlined below) ‘green Gene’ has successfully harvested more than 600 lettuces to date!

He has also achieved success, with such plants as African violets, orchids, poinsettia and chillies, growing indoors and out.

To make your own wick system you will need:

A black plastic container (the growing container)
Transparent container (the reservoir)
Black plastic bag
A short length of nylon rope

How to grow:

Punch holes in the bottom of the growing container (if necessary) and thread the middle of the nylon rope through.

Fill the container with 5% vermiculite, topped off with a good potting mix, and transplant lettuce seedlings from seed boxes after they have been growing for approximately four weeks.

Pour water into the reservoir and place the growing container into the top, ensuring the water level does not reach the bottom of the growing container. The two containers should fit together snugly with the ends of the rope dangling into the reservoir below.

Wrap the reservoir with a black plastic bag to discourage algae growth.

Care:

Add roughly ¼ cup of water daily for the first week, subsequently topping up the water level as required.

After one week, apply Neem spray, as an insect repellent, on a weekly basis. Also apply foliar fertiliser spray on the leaves, and a liquid fertiliser on the top of each pot once every 14 days.  That’s it! Because the lettuce will draw

water as needed through the nylon rope, little attention is needed until the plant is ready to harvest.