A1 Question - lettuce under grow lights -- which kind is best

[Mark]

I live in the Pacific Northwest and the next few months we won't be able to harvest lettuce in the garden. Being we have a grow light system for seeding in Feb to April, I thought we'd try to use this system for growing salad greens now. Does anybody have suggestions on which salad greens will grow best (to maturity) under grow lights? We're a little unsure of which to grow - we've started lettuce under the lights early in the year but have always planted them outside as seedlings. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Gratefully, Mark and Patricia

[gunner]

Graham WA here @ the foot hills of Mt. Rainier.

The short answer: you would have no problems growing lettuces with "grow" lights. I grow Arugula, Bibb, Red and Green leaf in winter as well as keep my culinary herbs alive for year round cooking. Your Province( BC?) leads the way in this kind of thing.

The more detailed answers would require more info. Without specifics on your lights. setup, etc it is hard to give you specifics. Do you have Florescent, MH, or HPS light(s)? and what in wattage? What distance is the light source from the plant, do you have supplemental light( i.e. outside light, other ambient light)? How do you grow them? soil? Hydro?

What we use today for measurement is lumens, and bigger is still better until you can learn to fine tune for your requirements.

use these loose figures for approx. planning < 200W is good for a 2x2' area

400W 4x4' 600W 6x6' 1000W 8x8

Obviously, Florescents are a bit different planning than HIDs but can be just as attractive especially if using the newer T5s. CFLs are coming up in usage as are LEDs

I posted this site here on R.G.E a few days back for just such info:

remember there are alternatives to the "Garden/Organic/Feel Good " catalog prices.

[Mark]

"gunner" wrote in news:_OidnRSyzoLRmH3VnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

have

grow

of

early

seedlings.

lettuces with

winter as

Your

specifics

specifics. Do you

What

supplemental

you grow

still

requirements.

HIDs but can

such info:

"Garden/Organic/Feel Good

system using

No other

The varieties you suggested will be tried first and will let you know how things work out.

Thanks again for your help. [e-mail]