Last Updated on October 31, 2021 by Phil
Hydroponic gardening is a great way to plant if you don’t have a lot of outdoor space or rich soil around you. Thanks to technology, you can almost grow anything hydroponically. While this gives you a clean slate of what you can choose, some work better than others. So, here are the best plants for indoor hydroponic gardens.
Because of its setup, hydroponics doesn’t require soil and some of the other things that traditional gardening uses. But, this also limits you to a degree with what you can plant. Not so much because hydroponics doesn’t work with these plants, but more so it may be difficult to do at home.
Best Plants for Indoor Hydroponic Gardens
In general, leafy greens are great for hydroponic gardening. They’re easy to grow and don’t require a lot of space. This makes them ideal for home growing.
Other small fruits and veggies work as well. That’s why you’ll see quite a few of them in our list. While bigger fruits and vegetables can be done by larger scale hydroponic systems, they can get costly for homeowners.
Finally, we skip the root vegetables and those that grow vines. This makes them harder to grow because they require deeper spaces or larger areas to cling on.
1. Lettuce
Lettuce are very healthy and easy to add with food. We like them for home gardening because they don’t take a long time to grow. Within 30 days, you’ll see them in full bloom. Plus, there’s a wide variety of lettuce available ranging from the ever-popular romaine all the way to the iceberg lettuce.
Lettuce grow well in pH levels of 6.0 to 7.0. And, they can continuously grow because you’ll just be harvesting the leaves. This lets you plant once and keep coming back for supply.
2. Spinach
Spinach is another amazing green leafy veggie perfect for hydroponics. Because it is darker than lettuce, it is more abundant in iron. This makes it a good addition to any healthy diet since it helps fight anemia.
Spinach is much like lettuce in that you can plant once and keep harvesting them. They’re easy to use with food and are filled with nutrients.
Just like lettuce, spinach comes in a wide variety. So, it’s a good idea to choose the specific type of spinach you like eating.
3. Bok Choy
Bok choy isn’t as popular as lettuce or spinach. It also isn’t a staple in most salads. That said, it’s filled with nutrition and delicious to eat.
Bok choy belongs in the leafy green family as well. It has many of the same characteristics of spinach and lettuce. Because it doesn’t require a lot of space to plant and grow, it is easy to add to your indoor hydroponic garden.
4. Kale
Kale has long been the lesser known cousin of spinach. Until recently, not many people have been eating. But, because of its high nutrient value and low calorie count, it’s now become a popular veggies for health enthusiasts.
One of the reasons people aren’t as big a fan of kale as they are spinach is because of its more bitter taste. Spinach on the other hand, is easier on the palate.
Kale is easy to plant in soil, hydroponics or aquaponics. It has a few varieties as well which makes it a good plant to grow at home.
5. Bell Peppers
From greens, we move into other colors. Bell peppers are a great addition to any indoor garden because they’re edible. More importantly, they’re loaded with vitamin C that makes them very healthy.
One reason we like growing peppers indoors is because they grow easily. They don’t require a lot of work. And, all you need to make sure is that they’re positioned in an area where they can get a good amount of light, be it from the sun or grow lamps.
6. Cucumbers
If you like something refreshing, go with cucumbers. These are one of the zero calorie foods that won’t let you gain weight even if you eat a lot of it. The reason is that it contains very high concentration of water.
This lets you stay hydrated, eat well and not gain any extra weight. What more can you ask for.
7. Tomatoes
Like peppers, tomatoes are a popular choice for indoor hydroponics. The main reason is that they’re very easy to grow. In addition, they’re very healthy.
We like tomatoes because they’re very versatile. You can add them to your salad, use them for pasta or include them with a lot of dishes.
Thanks to their vitamin C and lycopene content, they’re also very healthy for your family.
8. Basil
Next up we have basil.
Here, we enter into the herb section.
Herbs are great because they’re healthy and offer a lot of medicinal benefits as well.
In case you didn’t know it, basil, mint and a few other herbs also repel mosquitos. This makes them a great choice if the area you live in tends to experience mosquitos during certain times of the year.
Like other herbs, basil can easily be added to food. It adds a lot of flavor without having to use salt or sugar. Both of which are unhealthy when used in large amounts.
9. Mint
Mint is another herb that thrives in hydroponic environments. You can choose form the wide range of mint herbs around, although most people will go with peppermint.
That said, this gives you the freedom to grow different kinds of mints at home. We suggest choosing the ones that you like to add with your food.
After all, one of the best reasons for growing herbs is that you can use them as ingredients in food and cooking.
10. Strawberries
You’ve probably noticed that there aren’t many fruits on our list. The reason for this is that most fruits grow on trees. That makes it more difficult to grow indoors.
In addition, most fruits also need a lot of space to grow. This is true of things like melons and other delicious fruits.
Their size makes them a bit more challenging for smaller, home hydroponic systems.
That said, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any fruits you do grow indoors. strawberries are great because they’re awesomely delicious and don’t take up a lot of room. Plus, you can eat them in so many ways.
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