Here in Texas, it's too hot for at least half the year to grow lettuce and other greens outdoors. So we have an indoor hydroponics setup for that. Using these 3 gallon Rubbermaid totes, we can fit 54 plants on a small wire rack shelving unit (six plants per tote, three totes per shelf, three shelves high).
If you stagger your plantings right, you can keep a continuous supply of fresh greens coming indefinitely.
You don't even need special grow lights for growing leafy greens. We just use inexpensive LED shop lights.
You don't need pumps and valves and plumbing. The very simple Kratky method works just fine for lettuce, spinach, etc.
Basically, what I'm saying is, if you have electricity and four square feet of floor space, you can grow more lettuce than you'll want to eat. We sell the surplus to neighbors, who love having access to greens that are literally harvested just minutes before they receive them (you can't get fresher than that) and have never been sprayed with any pesticides, etc. We don't sell a ton of it, but more than enough to offset the costs of electricity and nutrient mix, so whatever we keep for ourselves is basically free.
#garden #homesteading #growfood #hydroponics #grownostr #farm