With my indoor gardens, I grow everything from seed.
I prefer to use my own seeds for lots of reasons:
- it’s cheaper
- it gives you more flexibility
- it teaches you how to seed start
- it helps prevent pests*
* Nursery garden seedlings can often have gnat eggs or other bugs inside the growing medium.
When I got my Lettuce Grow Farmstand, the vertical garden came with free seedlings.
They would pre-select options that would suit your growing zone and you could select them at checkout.
For a beginner, the Lettuce Grow seedlings are great.
Each plant is selected to work well with their hydroponic gardens, and the company’s mobile app gives you tailored recommendations, tips and monitoring advice.
But over time, at $2.99 a seedling, the costs can add up!
So I learned how to make my own seedlings for a fraction of the cost and have a lot more control over what I grew.
Here’s how I make my own Lettuce Grow seedlings.
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I like to start seeds outside the Farmstand and then transplant them when they’re about this size
Why Buy Your Own Seeds
The beauty of growing your own seedlings is you can choose what plant varieties you’d like to grow.
There are hundreds of different herbs, greens and vegetables in the world.
It blew my mind when I realized the vegetables we see at the grocery store are a very limited fraction of the plant kingdom’s biodiversity.
Home gardeners and small farmers often choose completely different seed varieties than what the grocery store chooses to stock.
That’s because grocery stores and large scale farms are primarily concerned with shelf life, storage and durability during the transport process, and pest resistance.
Actual taste is low on their priority list.
So when you buy your own seeds, you can select for flavor, size, color, uniqueness – things that probably matter more to you than shelf life.
Often the best tasting vegetables are too delicate for transit!
Some of my go-to companies to order seeds from include:
I also have a full list of my favorite heirloom seed companies here.
Just one seedling from Lettuce Grow costs $2.99.
You can buy a whole pack of seeds for that price and grow dozens if not hundreds of plants.
While it will take you some time, the cost savings are so worth it!
Read more: My True Leaf Market Seed Haul: Everything I Bought!
Best Seeds for Lettuce Grow
Lettuce Grow has two products: the Farmstand and the Nook.
The Farmstand is larger, designed for outdoor use, and can easily grow herbs, greens and large fruiting plants. I’ve even seen some people grow cauliflower and large brassicas!
The Nook is smaller, designed for indoor use and primarily meant for growing salad greens.
Regardless of which hydroponic tower you have, I would suggest buying plant varieties that are geared for small space gardens.
Look for words like ‘space saving‘, ‘container friendly‘, ‘compact‘, or ‘dwarf‘ in the seed descriptions.
DIY Lettuce Grow Seed Pods
I have the Farmstand which I currently use entirely indoors, so my guide for making your own Lettuce Grow seed pods is for their larger vertical garden.
I’m not sure if the Nook’s seed cups are the same size or designed differently. If someone has both, can you let me know?
the Farmstand grows plants SO quickly! here’s what the tower looked like at seedling transfer to harvest ready in ~60 days
How to Make Your Own Lettuce Grow Seed Pods
The Farmstand’s proprietary seed cups are a unique size.
They’re roughly 2.25″ wide at the top by 2.25″ tall.
But, the bottom portion of the cup narrows to 1.25″ wide, so you’ll need to use a growing medium that’s slightly tapered.
If you’ve lost any seed cups, I’ve found that a 2″ net cup is a decent replacement.
To make your own seedlings, you’ll need sponges that fit the seed cups and some seed starting trays.
save the seed cups to reuse them! if you lose any, these 2″ net cups are a decent replacement
Sponges
Several brands make squarish shaped sponges, roughly 1.25 inches tall.
They don’t fit in Lettuce Grow’s seeds cups as perfectly as the brand’s seedlings.
But these sponges are the closest compatible size that I’ve come across and work great!
Lettuce Grow Compatible Sponges
| Cost | Quantity | Unit Price | |
| Organi Plug | $29.23 | 100 | 29 cents |
| Rapid Rooter | $17.99 | 50 | 36 cents |
| Root Riot | $16.49 | 50 | 33 cents |
| Viagrow | $32.99 | 100 | 33 cents |
| Generic | $14.24 | 50 | 28 cents |
Prices fluctuate, but on average expect to pay around 32 cents per sponge.
I just buy whatever’s cheapest at the moment.
Seed Starting Trays
I typically grow my seedlings outside the Lettuce Grow machine, by planting seeds in the sponges and germinating them in seed starter trays.
I find that this method is fastest and easiest.
Most trays come with clear humidity covers that help speed up the rate of germination. Some even have heat mats and built-in LED lights.
It’s much easier to keep an eye on seed progress when they’re all grouped together in a compact tray.
The Benefits of Seed Starting Outside the Lettuce Grow
If you want to get maximum production out of the Farmstand, seed starting outside the garden is essential
I let the Lettuce Grow tower focus on growing plants and I have a separate “nursery” section with my trays for starting plants.
Sprouting seeds and growing them to a baby seedling phase can take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the plant type.
Save Time
If I were to start seeds directly in the machine, I’d waste both time and electricity.
Once the seedlings get large enough to have roots growing through the sponge (usually at 3-4 weeks), I’ll harvest an old plant from the tower and transplant in a new seedling.
This means the Farmstand is always growing plants and running at peak efficiency.
It also reduces my electric bill.
Save Electricity
Seeds don’t need strong LEDS to sprout, and certainly not lights as strong as the Lettuce Grow glow rings.
My larger hydroponic systems tend to cost anywhere from $5-10 a month to run.
Meanwhile, a seed starting tray that doesn’t use lights is… free.
So although you spend $10-20 buying seed trays, it’s a one-time investment that pays off in the long run.
Seed Starting Organization
Make sure to label your seed trays so you remember what you planted in each cell.
I always think I’m going to remember.. and I never do.
You can use washi tape, a label maker or just plain old pen and paper.
What I like is to make a little ‘Garden table’ in Notion.
I swear by Notion for staying organized and I like that it auto saves and syncs easily between my computer, phone and ipad. Notion’s free too!
Other Helpful Accessories
I’ve found a couple other items to be helpful with my Lettuce Grow Farmstand.
Lids
I always try to block the surface area of the seed cups, to prevent light from leaking into the interior of the tower.
Lettuce Grow doesn’t make lids, but these reflective discs neatly cover the seed cups.
The reflective finish also helps disperse the grow lights.
They’re small, clear and waterproof so they work well for the Farmstand. Plus, when you remove tham they don’t leave any sticky trace!
Cloning Collars
Often I like to propagate cuttings.
It’s a nice way to get ‘free’ plants and gives you a head start on the growing process.
For any cuttings, you can place them directly in Lettuce Grow’s seed cups (no sponge needed), but you’ll want something to hold the plant stem in place.
For that, I recommend these collars.
They’re made from a thick sturdy neoprene to grip the plant and hold it firmly in place.
Caps
If you leave any spaces on the Farmstand empty, you’ll want to make sure to cover the hole.
I haven’t found any great DIY solutions yet, but third party sellers make these sleek round covers that are sized to fit the Farmstand grow spaces.
Dolly
I find it really handy to be able to move the Farmstand around and would highly recommend getting a dolly.
The dolly allows me to turn the hydroponic tower like a lazy susan and check on the plants in the back of the machine.
I also layered this water mat on top, as sometimes water will drip as I refill the garden.
The one thing I haven’t found a good product for?
Labels.
If you purchase seedlings through Lettuce Grow, each baby plant comes with a cute tag to pin to the seed cup button.
For now, I just leave my plants unlabeled on the tower but it would be nice to have neat labels that don’t leave any residue when removed!
If you have suggestions, drop me a comment!
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do you sanitize the grow medium prior to adding your seeds?
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the sponges are sterile so i don’t! but if you wanted to, you could