What can you grow with hydroponics?
Hydroponics is a wonderful industry where you can grow almost anything, although some plants take better to hydroponics than others.
Lettuce
Lettuce is probably one of the best plants to use for hydroponic farming, the shortness of their root systems mean that you are able to make the farms much more compact. As well as this the short root systems mean that there are no requirements for stakes in the ground to support the plant or guides. You can just leave it to grow on its own, although if you are only growing it for your lunchtime salad, it’s probably best to stagger the planting. The lettuce only takes ~30 days to grow
Spinach
Another good plant to grow is spinach, pop eye would be pleased! Spinach is another plant with a short root system which is able to grow relatively quickly without many variables needing to be changed to allow for grow. Although spinach does prefer temperatures around about 7-18 Celsius, if it is allowed to reach 21 celcius then it will do something called “bolting” which would leave the spinach tasting bitter. Overall it only takes about 30-45 days to grow although you can harvest small amounts each time as its growing if you want it with a salad 🙂
Strawberries
Strawberries are renowned for being seasonally grown. Strawberries love slightly warmer temperatures opting to grow best between 18-26 Celsius. Due to strawberries growing down the leaves, the nutrients travel a shorter distance. Overall (from seedlings) it takes about 2-3 years to grow, HOWEVER from basic plants it will take about a month or two before it starts bearing fruit.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are great to grow because they grow like vine. In all the tomatoes require very little ground space, only needing room to train them to the roof/ceiling. The ability to control the nutrients it recieves allows the grower to lavish in a continuous harvest throughout the year, without having to sacrifice the overall taste. From a seed it takes approximately 2-3 months to start growing fruit.
Cucumber
The beauty of cucumbers is that they love water, and the easy accessibility of water allows them to grow very quickly. Relying on being able to have enough space and support to grow. Normally from seed to fruit it will take approximately 3 to 4 months to start and 4 to 6 weeks after to begin bearing vegetable.
Spring onions
Spring onions are baby onions harvested before the bulb gets to large. A single pot of onions can sprout dozens of onions and be harvested every 3 or 4 weeks! From seed to plant it takes approximately 3-4 weeks. Onions also tend to grow in soil, so for the best results ensure that the roots are dipped in water with a good nutrient mix!
Carrots
Ordinary carrot varieties may not grow as well as their gourmet counterparts due to the depth of the growing medium. Try and plant the carrots approximately 1-2 inches apart if possible, it takes approximately 2-3 months to grow a full batch of carrots.
LETTUCE
The Boston and New York Lettuce varieties are the most popular type of lettuce to grow, however if you’re looking for quantity over quality then you’ll be intrigued by the leaf lettuce variety. If you grow head lettuce then its recommended that you get rid of the outer leaves because it allows you to increase your harvest. In all the lettuce itself takes approximately 6 weeks or less to grow, be careful over the first few weeks of growth. Lettuce is likely to bolt within this time if the light or temperature is too low. Planting them approximately 4 inches apart allow them to grow better.
Blueberries
Blueberries are another great plant to grow in hydroponic conditions, the ability to control the PH levels and nutrients make a much larger healthier crop. BlueBerries are well known for being relatively easy to grow in soil. But the tweaking of optimal conditions is excellent for hydroponic growth. It takes approximately 140 days to completely grow a blueberry plant from see to fruit bearing, althought a total of a 50% crop yield may make you more likely to consider it as an option!
Avocado
Now for the challenging plant…or should I say TREE
If you’re looking for a challenge when growing a plant, then here’s a good one. Growing an avocado is one of the more complicated things to grow using hydroponics, due to it being grown via a tree. The total growth time for the tree itself is approximately 4 years, and that is before any fruit is grown! There is an actual secret into growing avocado trees in hydroponic system. A fully grown avocado tree can grow up to 80ft high, but if you can dwarf your tree, it can become a more manageable size while still providing fruits.