40 ft Vegetable Container Farm Loose-leaf Lettuce Programme
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
This 40 ft leafy green container farm compresses the Loose-leaf Lettuce cycle to 22 - 28 days, at 3,300 - 5,800 plants per cycle and 400 - 600 kg per cycle, with 13 - 15 cycles a year. Temperature, humidity, light and CO2 are controlled by the system, so the schedule no longer depends on weather.
CO2 is held at 800 - 1,200 ppm, enriched during the light period and ventilated at night to balance photosynthesis with humidity control.
Short cycle and fast turnaround, suited to high-frequency small-batch supply and salad mixes.
Schools use the unit as a working laboratory: students follow Loose-leaf Lettuce across its 22 - 28-day cycle, measuring light, EC and plant weight to understand how a plant factory works.
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
· Rotation and zoning reduce disease pressure and chemical inputs.
· 3,300 - 5,800 plants per cycle and 400 - 600 kg per cycle make output plannable against contracts.
· Seedlings account for roughly 5 - 12% of operating cost, keeping the cost structure transparent.
· The unit can be shared with other leafy varieties on a weekly rotation for a more flexible product mix.
· The closed hydroponic loop uses far less water than soil culture, which suits water-scarce sites.
· The 40 ft ISO shell ships on a standard flatbed and is lifted into place on site.
· The insulated envelope with fresh air and dehumidification holds recipe conditions all year.
· At 15 - 30 kg of fresh greens a day, one unit matches a mid-sized restaurant or community scheme.
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
Lighting is specified per tier rather than per room. Independent dimming keeps the daily light integral similar on top and bottom tiers, avoiding stretch or pale leaves in the lower canopy.
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.
CULTIVATION AND SCHEDULING
The Loose-leaf Lettuce schedule is split across the 22 - 28-day cycle - nursery or seeding, transplant, growing, harvest - with one batch rolling each week for continuous supply.
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 site needs a hardstanding, three-phase power and water; once set, the unit is commissioned and the first planting typically goes in within two to three weeks.
Warranty covers the envelope and insulation for 24 months and climate, lighting, pumps and controls for 12 months, with extension available.
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.
