My friend's hydroponic lettuce in Phoenix grew twice as fast as my soil setup

We both planted the same seeds 6 weeks ago, but his indoor system with liquid nutrients had full heads while mine were just sprouting. Is the initial cost of a hydroponic kit really worth it for a home grower, or should I just stick with dirt?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_ben5d ago

Honestly, is lettuce a race? You got sprouts, he got salad. The real question is if you even eat enough lettuce to make a fancy water setup worth the hassle and cash. Dirt is cheap and hard to mess up.

matthewsullivan5d ago

But have you seen what happens when you get it wrong? A small pump fails or the pH drifts and your whole crop turns to slime overnight. Dirt gives you a buffer, a margin for error. That fancy setup might look cool, but it's like keeping a pet that dies if you look at it funny.