If you’re looking into starting an AeroGarden, then you might want to know how much lettuce you’ll get out of it. It’s a question that comes up often among new gardeners.
An AeroGarden is an amazing way to get fresh lettuce year round. It’s also a low maintenance garden that requires minimal space and effort. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is making sure to harvest lettuce to allow for new growth.
The general average lettuce yield is about 20 grams of lettuce every 3 to 4 days. That means you can harvest lettuce yield 1-2 times every week. After planting the first seed pods, it will take about 3 weeks before the time you can harvest lettuce from the AeroGarden.
To find out how much lettuce you can expect to harvest from your AeroGarden, keep reading!
How Much Does A Lettuce AeroGarden Yield?
The amount of lettuce that an AeroGarden yields will depend on the AeroGarden model you have because you can plant different numbers of seed pods.
| AeroGarden Model | Number of Seed Pods | Average Leaves Per Pod | Total Leaves Per AeroGarden |
| AeroGarden Sprout | 3 | 15 | 45 |
| AeroGarden Harvest | 6 | 15 | 90 |
| AeroGarden Bounty | 9 | 15 | 135 |
| AeroGarden Farm | 12 or 24 | 15 | 180 or 360 |
Each seed pod should have 2-3 seeds to get the most out of each pod. It’ll be a bit of trial and error with how many seed pods to grow for the number of people you’re feeding at home.
If you are making your own AeroGarden seed pods and you don’t have many people to feed, you can lower the number of seeds per seed pod. You can also increase it to 2-3 seeds per pod if you have more people.
Dangers That Will Decrease AeroGarden Lettuce Yield
There are some dangers when growing in an AeroGarden that will negatively affect the plants growing in an AeroGarden.. Here are some things that could decrease the yield:
- Use too little water or not enough fertilizer, the plants won’t produce as much lettuce. This happens because the roots aren’t getting enough nutrients. Look out for brown and yellow leaves or leaf tips for nutrient imbalances.
- Make sure to place the AeroGarden away from direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will cause the leaves to scorch and fall off.
- Make sure to prune lettuce and allow for younger leaves to grow.
- Follow plant food / liquid fertilizer directions when adding nutrient solution. If the fertilizer is too concentrated, lettuce yield will suffer. So be sure to dilute the liquid plant food if needed.
- Pest infestations will reduce lettuce yield, so be sure to watch over pest control as needed. Sometimes raising water temperature to at least 80°F will help deter pests.
- Be careful of diseases and infections from other plants. Keep away from any diseased plants, whether they are in an AeroGarden or not. Diseases can kill all of your AeroGarden plants, so you’ll want to be careful of diseases spreading from other plants.
How to Increase AeroGarden Lettuce Yield
Here are some ways to increase the yield of lettuce from an AeroGarden.
1. Cut leaves close to the base of the stem
Cutting the leaves closer to the base of the stems will let in more light and air to the younger, smaller leaves. That will help with constant growth of new lettuce leaves.
2. Keep the LED lights low and close to the lettuce
Don’t put the lights too high if the lettuce isn’t that tall. Placing the lights 4 to 6 inches higher than the highest leaves is a good distance.
That’s why it’s also important to prune the leaves evenly, so the leaves are at similar enough heights. That will help everything grow evenly and quickly.
If the lights are too low and close to the leaves, the leaves will start turning brown.
3. Place the AeroGarden in a cool area
Lettuce grows best in a temperature range that’s between 55° and 70°F. Depending on where you live and the climate, you may want to keep your plant in the coolest area of your home.
Keep it away from sunny windows, since the AeroGarden has its own lights already. Also keep it away from heating vents and other heat sources.
4. Use a fan to keep the lettuce cool
Having a fan running nearby will help airflow and air circulation for the plants. It will help keep the area cool around the AeroGarden if you live in a hotter area.
A secondary benefit of using a fan is your lettuce will come out crispier. The lettuce will feel the wind and start to strengthen itself to hold its form and structure.
5. Grow Salad Greens in the Winter
Lettuce grows better in the winter when compared to the summer. Lettuce usually generates seeds in the summer, so they don’t grow as quickly during that time.
There are many different lettuce varieties, so you may want to try some different cultivars to see what’s best for your local environment.
Lettuce will usually grow in 3 weeks from when you start because germination and growth are quick in AeroGarden gardens. You’ll usually get 3 to 4 months of lettuce with each AeroGarden seed pod.
AeroGarden Lettuce Yield Final Thoughts
All in all, growing lettuce in an AeroGarden is a great way to get fresh lettuce and salad greens every day.
It’s easy to care for, requires little maintenance, and produces lots of leafy greens.
You can grow and harvest lettuce throughout the entire year!
Find various seed pod options for growing different kinds of lettuce the AeroGarden website, including your ability to customize your own package of 6, 9, and more seed pods.
For other articles on growing plants in an AeroGarden, check these out:
