You can try it, plants will be wimpy if they don't get enough light. A simple trough shaped container which should be at any garden center will do. Usually 6" wide, 6" deep and 24-36" long. Kind of a nice shape for a flouro light too.

75F is perfect.

Best results will likely come if you have them where they get window light plus the flouros. I did it once in my basement under HPS lighting and they did OK, but grew fairly slowly, at least compared to the out of doors. The light spectrum of HPS isn't ideal for lettuce though.

Donna - when growing indoors under lights, it's good to know that the blue end of the spectrum helps stimulate vegetative growth while the red end helps with flowers/fruiting. Since you're looking for only vegetative growth, cool white bulbs are rich in the blue end of the spectrum and the best choice, offering the brightest, least expensive light (from shop lights). Warm white bulbs have more more red light and are generally not as bright as the cool whites.

Fertilizer choice: I think I would use a 30-10-10 fertilizer along with a micronutrient source like Earthjuice MicroBlast (or other). Since you won't have the wind/sun influence to help dry any excess water from containers, it's important that you use a soil that drains well. Perhaps initially using a wick to drain any excess water if you're using a heavy, bagged soil would be appropriate.

Good luck - save a buck! ;o)

Al

here Is a picture of my lettice growing inside, under lights I got at HGT supply.
http://www.samshuford.com/ebay/100_0392.JPG

Thanks for all your responses, y'all. I'm going to try it and see what happens. Al, do you happen to know what kind of light the "grow light" fluorescents are? I'm pretty sure that's what I put in the last time I replaced them.

They are supoposed to be 'full spectrum'. The commonly found Sylvania 40 watt Gro-Lux, 48" bulbs concentrate most of their light in the red end (far-red [700-800nm], red [600-700nm] and blue [400-500nm]) of the spectrum, but most important to the lettuce is that their initial light output is only 1,700 lumens, compared to 3,200 in some cool whites. The cool whites are inexpensive & prolly well worth the investment.

Al

Got it. Thanks so much, Al.

The lighting may be the most difficult aspect. I got a light meter at a local hydroponics shop for about $35. Full sunlight is about 10,000 foot candles, but the meter only goes up to 5,000 foot candles (that's what $35 gets you, LOL; but it is good enough for indoor lighting). At a minimum, you will want 1/10 solar, or about 1,000 foot candles. 1/5 to 1/4 solar, or about 2000 to 2500 foot candles, would be much better and will suppress leggy growth. These readings should be those measured at the level of the soil in our pot, as the seeds germinate. As the lettuce grows, the lights should be raised to maintain these values at the growing tips.

I think that metal halide lamps are a better option than sodium lamps. At a hydroponics shop, you will need to purchase a reflective frame, a ballast (preferably, one of those new fangled electronic ones), and a lamp; each of these will be from $100 to $150. I don't think that you have to have a fancy metal halide lamp from the hydroponic shop, you can get a run of the mill metal halide lamp at a local electrical supply shop for $20 to $30. Aquarium shops may be an alternative to hydroponics shops. So for various metal halide options, we are talking about $230 to $450.

Fluorescent systems capable of delivering 2500 foot candles, at either hydroponics or aquarium shops, will be at the same price as the metal halide option. These may use super bright "T5" bulbs, which are usually only found at hydroponic or aquarium shops. Or they may use "T8" bulbs which are more easily found at Home Depot or Lowes. Conventional "work shop" fluorescent fixtures found at places like Wal-Mart use the old fashioned T12 bulbs. If you put a light meter directly on the glass of a T12 bulb installed in a work shop fixture, it may not even reach 2500 foot candles!

If you feel skilled with do-it-yourself wiring, you can purchase a cheap work shop fixture, a cheap ballast, and cheap T8 bulbs; and rewire the fixture to "overdrive" your lamps. This would come to about $100. I personally have some plants under metal halide and some on overdriven fluorescents. Garden Web has a forum on indoor plant lighting. I was on that forum about 2-3 years ago, and there were some posts about overdriving back then. Aquarium forums are another source of info; especially those dealing with marine corals (or reefs). When I was on the lighting forum, I was quite interested in optimizing the light spectra, but I now just use "daylight" or "cool white" T8 lamps from Home Depot.

About 1 to 2 years from now, the price of Light Emitting Diodes may drop enough to be considered. With these, you won't have to change your bulbs every 6 months to 2 years.

I'm trying to start bibb lettuce indoors. I'm using a burpee seed starting kit. I removed the plastic top as soon as the seeds sprouted. Unfortunately the plants are very leggy. What am I doing wrong?

Prolly not enough light.

Al