40 ft Vegetable Container Farm Loose-leaf Lettuce Programme
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Loose-leaf Lettuce roots are sensitive to temperature and dissolved oxygen. The container manages root zone and air separately, setting solution temperature, EC, pH and photoperiod independently to avoid the root rot and bolting common in hot seasons.
A closed hydroponic or aeroponic loop monitors EC, pH and solution temperature by zone, with filtration and disinfection to limit root disease spread.
Short cycle and fast turnaround, suited to high-frequency small-batch supply and salad mixes.
Supermarkets and fresh retail site the unit behind the store or at the distribution centre, scheduling Loose-leaf Lettuce to store sales and cutting transport losses.
CROP AND OUTPUT DATA
Variety | Loose-leaf Lettuce (Leafy green) |
Growing cycle (transplant to harvest) | 22 - 28 days |
Unit weight | 100 - 150 g |
Plants per cycle | approx. 3,300 - 5,800 |
Yield per cycle | 400 - 600 kg |
Cycles per year | 13 - 15 |
Annual output (estimate) | 5,200 - 9,000 kg |
Propagation | Plug seedlings or direct seeding |
Crop difficulty | Easy |
Figures follow the 40 ft standard container baseline with about five growing tiers. Yield per cycle and annual output are estimates; actual results vary with tier count, light recipe, CO2 level and crop management.
KEY ADVANTAGES
· Controlled cycle: Loose-leaf Lettuce reaches harvest 22 - 28 days after transplant, more than 50% faster than open-field production.
· Rotation and zoning reduce disease pressure and chemical inputs.
· Batch records of temperature, EC, pH and light trace each harvest back to a specific tier.
· Per-tier LED recipes give more uniform leaf colour, plant shape and head weight.
· At 15 - 30 kg of fresh greens a day, one unit matches a mid-sized restaurant or community scheme.
· 13 - 15 cycles a year keep the same unit producing continuously without a seasonal break.
· No soil in the room means clean leaves and less post-harvest washing.
· Seedlings account for roughly 5 - 12% of operating cost, keeping the cost structure transparent.
CONTAINER CONFIGURATION
Footprint | 12.19 x 2.44 x 2.90 m (40 ft ISO container) |
Growing system | Approx. 5 tiers, hydroponic or aeroponic |
Scale per cycle | 3,300 - 5,800 plants |
Temperature | 18 - 24 °C, set per variety |
Relative humidity | 60 - 75% |
CO2 concentration | 800 - 1,200 ppm |
Lighting | LED recipe, dimmable per tier |
Nutrient solution | Closed loop with automatic EC and pH control |
Energy reference | 0.8 - 1.2 kWh per kg of fresh greens; electricity about 60 - 70% of operating cost |
Control and monitoring | PLC, touchscreen HMI, remote monitoring and alarms |
Delivery | Pre-commissioned at the factory, set and connected on site |
CLIMATE AND CONTROL
Nutrient solution runs from the tank through pumps and manifolds to each tier and returns via filtration, disinfection and inline monitoring. EC and pH are corrected automatically against the recipe, removing manual mixing drift.
The controller stores recipes by variety - temperature, humidity, photoperiod, irrigation frequency and nutrient targets - called up as a set. Changing crops loads a new recipe while batch history is retained.
CULTIVATION AND SCHEDULING
After harvest the room is cleaned and sanitised and the return line flushed, with downtime held under a day so the 13 - 15-cycle annual plan is not eroded.
The standard schedule assumes a 40 ft unit with about five tiers: plant one batch and harvest one batch each week, giving 13 - 15 Loose-leaf Lettuce cycles a year. Adjust to order structure and harvest labour.
DELIVERY, TRAINING AND SERVICE
The unit transports and relocates as a standard container, so a lease expiry or site change does not strand the capital.
Crop changes and expansion include recipe support, covering cycle validation and density recommendations for new varieties.
CONTACT AND DATA NOTES
Hangzhou Hengyu Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. designs, builds and delivers complete container farms. Share your site conditions, target varieties and daily volume, and we will return a layout, a crop schedule and an energy estimate. Figures in this document use the 40 ft standard container (about five growing tiers) as the baseline and are estimates; output varies with tier count, light recipe, CO2 level and crop management, and is not a performance guarantee.
