40 ft Vegetable Container Farm Butterhead Lettuce Programme
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Based on a 40 ft standard unit with roughly five growing tiers, Butterhead Lettuce reaches 150 - 200 g per head and 580 - 870 kg per cycle, with 12 - 14 cycles a year. The same footprint delivers several times the output of open-field planting.
Roughly five growing tiers with per-layer dimmable LED recipes give Butterhead Lettuce a stable daily light integral across the 25 - 30-day cycle.
Harvested as whole heads with consistent unit weight, well suited to specification-driven food service and retail orders.
Restaurants and hotels order against the menu; Butterhead Lettuce finishes in 25 - 30 days and reaches the kitchen on harvest day with dry leaves and a longer shelf life.
CROP AND OUTPUT DATA
Variety | Butterhead Lettuce (Leafy green) |
Growing cycle (transplant to harvest) | 25 - 30 days |
Unit weight | 150 - 200 g |
Plants per cycle | approx. 3,300 - 5,800 |
Yield per cycle | 580 - 870 kg |
Cycles per year | 12 - 14 |
Annual output (estimate) | 6,960 - 12,180 kg |
Propagation | Plug seedlings |
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
· Rated Easy in difficulty and run from process cards, the crop is workable by general staff.
· The insulated envelope with fresh air and dehumidification holds recipe conditions all year.
· No soil in the room means clean leaves and less post-harvest washing.
· Controlled cycle: Butterhead Lettuce reaches harvest 25 - 30 days after transplant, more than 50% faster than open-field production.
· At 15 - 30 kg of fresh greens a day, one unit matches a mid-sized restaurant or community scheme.
· 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.
· 3,300 - 5,800 plants per cycle and 580 - 870 kg per cycle make output plannable against contracts.
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 nutrient recipe shifts by stage: lower EC after transplant to encourage rooting, higher potassium and calcium later, and tighter water before harvest to improve shelf life.
The standard schedule assumes a 40 ft unit with about five tiers: plant one batch and harvest one batch each week, giving 12 - 14 Butterhead Lettuce cycles a year. Adjust to order structure and harvest labour.
DELIVERY, TRAINING AND SERVICE
Training centres on four tasks: planting and harvest, nutrient maintenance, recipe calls and common alarms. Most teams run shifts independently within a week.
Consumables are stocked regionally - filters, nutrient salts, plug trays and channel parts - with standard items shipped within five working days.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is pre-cooling needed after harvest?
Leafy greens should be cooled to 4 - 8 °C quickly after harvest; an optional pre-cooling zone in the unit shortens the gap between cutting and storage.
Where do the seedlings come from?
Either plug seedlings or direct seeding. Plugs arrive with intact roots and no transplant shock; direct seeding skips the nursery at lower cost but occupies the bed longer. Seedlings are about 5 - 12% of operating cost.
How many units can one operator manage?
Under a standard schedule, one operator can cover daily rounds, nutrient top-up and harvest coordination for two to three units, with extra hands at harvest peaks.
Can several varieties run in one unit?
Yes. Allocate varieties by tier or zone with separate recipes, keeping neighbours' temperature and nutrient needs similar so neither is compromised.
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.
HENGYU | Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | www.henvic.net | Model HY-LG-40-02 | Doc HY-PDS-LG-002
