The best seeds for indoor hydroponics-Hydroponics may be the way to go if you’ve ever wondered if there was a way to make indoor gardening less messy (who wants dirt all over the counters and floors?).
You can grow almost anything you can think of in indoor seeds for hydroponic gardens during the fall and winter. Some plants grow better in hydroponics than others, and even within the same plant species, some varieties grow better than others.
Table of Contents
Best Seeds for Indoor Hydroponics
Basil
Basil is one of the best herbs to grow hydroponically, and it can be started from seeds or cuttings. Basil grows quickly. In a hydroponic system, the plant is usually ready to be picked after 28 days. Some types of basil do better in water than others, and if you want more basil, it’s often best to choose a type that grows quickly.
Newton and Prospera are two types of basil that grow quickly and well. Newton is a uniform variety with a traditional Italian flavor that you can taste in a lot of pasta sauces. It is also resistant to Fusarium. Prospera is also uniform and resistant to Fusarium and downy mildew. Everleaf and Elidia are good choices if you have time to wait and want to try a slow-growing variety with classic flavors.
Basil that is grown in water doesn’t need much more care than basil that is grown in soil. You should use liquid fertilizer to give the plant the nutrients it needs. It’s best to find one that’s recommended for hydroponic basil, and you should also make sure there’s enough airflow around the plant to keep problems from happening. Some other tips are:
- Using clean shears to prune regularly
- Giving off enough light and heat
- Choosing the best way to grow basil
Lettuce
Like basil, lettuce can be grown from seeds or cuttings in a hydroponic system. Most of the time, you can try to move soil-grown plants into a hydroponic system, but it may be hard and you’ll need to make sure all the soil is off the plant and roots before putting it in the system.
Over time, there are now more than a thousand different kinds of lettuce. The best ones for hydroponic growing are those that grow faster and are less likely to get sick, such as:
- Butterhead
- Little gem
- Romaine
Lettuce is easy to take care of and grows well with other leafy vegetables and herbs, like basil, spinach, arugula, and mint, that need the same nutrients. Most of the time, the best way to harvest lettuce from a hydroponic system is the same way you would harvest lettuce from a garden. You should pick the outer leaves first, when they are ready, so that the inner leaves can keep growing and your harvest lasts longer.
Peppers
Because they like it warmer, peppers are especially great to grow in hydroponic systems. What’s the point? If you like fresh peppers, you can grow them indoors in a hydroponic system and eat them in the fall and winter, when they can’t be grown outside. The best part is that they usually have less trouble with pests and diseases than plants grown in soil.
Different kinds of peppers will need different amounts of space between them to grow well. For example, even in a hydroponic system, bell peppers need to be 18 to 24 inches apart while chili peppers only need half that. Hydroponic peppers need 14 to 18 hours of sunlight a day to grow big and strong. The rest of the time is for the night cycle.
Most peppers grown hydroponically are mature and ready to be picked between 50 and 80 days. If you want your harvest to come at different times, you can plant different sets of seeds a few weeks apart so they mature at different times.
Oregano
Oregano can be grown hydroponically from seeds or cuttings, but most gardeners prefer seeds because the plants that grow are more true to the type of oregano that was planted. Most seeds sprout in one to two weeks, and once the plants are about six inches tall, you can start harvesting.
Whether you grow oregano in the ground or in water, you should pick it when the flower buds start to show because that’s when it tastes the best. If you want your herb to keep growing, and this includes basil, you should pinch it when you harvest it so that the plants don’t get too tall and leggy.
Remember that oregano that grows outside likes a lot of sun, so even in a hydroponic system, bright, indirect sunlight is best. If your home doesn’t get enough sunlight, you can also buy grow lights to help!
Rosemary
Rosemary is a herb that has a very low rate of germination. You can grow it from seed in hydroponic systems, but if you want the plants to have a better chance of living, you should use cuttings. Rosemary grows very slowly. It can take up to 15 months before it’s ready to harvest and years to reach its full size. This makes it even better to start from cuttings, since the plants will already be a little bigger than if you started from seeds.
Hydroponically grown rosemary that is kept inside will get at least 11 hours of sunlight per day. If you’re growing in a room with a lot of light, make sure the light is bright and indirect to keep the plants from getting burned. Once the plants are set up in your system, you can start picking them. For rosemary in particular, you should prune and harvest once a week to help the plants grow bigger.
Spider plant
Even houseplants can be grown this way. Spider plants don’t need a fancy hydroponic system, and they often grow better in water when they are started from a baby plant that grew on the parent plant. But why should a houseplant be grown in water? Well, for some of the same reasons that make you want to grow herbs and vegetables in water indoors. It makes less of a mess from the soil, makes it less likely that the plant will get too much water, and lets you care for the plant more consistently.
Spider plants are just as hardy in water as they are in soil. All they need is a good amount of light, some water, and some nutrients once in a while. They don’t care about the temperature as long as it’s not too hot or too cold that they’ll freeze. Remember that some tap water has a lot of chlorine in it, which isn’t good for plants. If you don’t have a water filter, you can let the water sit out for a night or two before putting the plant in it.
Pothos
Pothos are another great houseplant that grows well in water. They also do best when they are started from cuttings. As long as they are taken care of, they can live for years in water. Since they are hardy like spider plants and like a fair amount of humidity, it can be better to grow them in water.
Because you don’t usually grow houseplants in a hydroponic system, you will need to change the water every so often to give the roots more oxygen and make sure they are still getting everything they need. You’ll also have to watch out for algae growing in the pot, which can happen with both spider plants and pothos. Use something clear so you can easily keep an eye on the environment.
Using hydroponic systems to grow vegetables and herbs indoors is a great way to have fresh food all year long, especially in the fall when the growing season is coming to an end. You can choose which system you want based on how much space you have for indoor growing. Having houseplants that grow in water can make less of a mess and help you take care of them the same way all year round. If you like to grow plants inside, you might want to look into hydroponic systems.
