this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2024
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Hydroponics

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A community dedicated to every form of hydroponics, a technique for growing plants without soil.

Everything regarding hydroponics is welcome here - from your houseplant in LECA to big scale commercial farming.

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Plants with small growth that are not salad? (self.hydroponics)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by poVoq to c/hydroponics
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I have been contemplating to set up a small vertical hydroponic system, but I am struggling a bit to come up with plants I would actually like to eat that would fit well.

Stuff like tomatoes or pepper just seems to grow way too big to function well in a typical vertical setup, and I am not a big fan of leafy salads to eat.

I found a nice small cabbage (Japanese Tatsoi), which is quite ok, but other suggestions would be welcome.

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[โ€“] Guenther_Amanita 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Hi, fellow salad-non-enjoyer ๐Ÿ˜

While I don't have much against leafy salad, I still grow some. Why?

It is very low demanding, and I like to grow it rather passively with Kratky, for example with my army of used wine bottles or other small containers.

They fit nicely in spaces nothing else fits, but I would never waste my precious balcony space for something like salad.

But here are a few ideas. Most work for active systems and can be treated as annuals, but those with * do better in LECA and over longer periods:

  • Pak choi
  • Garlic/ chives/ cnions/ spring onions
  • Parsley
  • Basil
  • Mint, especially varieties like strawberry mint*
  • Lemon balm*
  • Strawberries*
  • Ginger, Tumeric*
  • Small tomatoe or chili varieties (e.g. bottle tomatoes or bottle chilis).

I grow herbs and ginger next to my window, and it works great! Even without grow light, just in LECA pots!

If you are fancy, you can also try to grow saffron, horse radish or wasabi.

Or, just for fun, as decoration, carnivorous plants, but without fertilizer in your "nutrient" "solution" (aka. pure water).

[โ€“] poVoq 3 points 1 month ago

Yeah that Tatsoi is a kind of Pak choi I think. That would work nicely for sure.

I guess I need to search a bit for smaller tomato varieties... my current cherry tomatoes grow easily 2 meter or higher (with a support pole) if I don't cut them back all the time.

Ginger might be interesting ๐Ÿค”