Hydroponic systems, which grow plants without soil, accelerate plant growth by bringing the nutrients directly to the plants, so they don’t have to develop large root systems to seek out food. All plants will grow more quickly under these conditions, but some plants do so well that they can go from seed to harvest in just a few weeks. If you are new to hydroponics, don’t be afraid to try different plants to see which ones grow best for you.
Many common greens will grow much faster in a hydroponic system than they will when grown in soil. Arugula, a slightly peppery salad green, is ready to harvest as little as three weeks after planting. Mustard greens, Swiss chard, spinach, kale and watercress are all fast-growing plants that will thrive in a hydroponic system, and typically you can begin harvesting them within a month of planting. Harvest them early, when they are small, to get tender young greens, or allow them to get larger if you prefer your greens to have more size or a stronger flavor.
The most commonly produced salad green plants which are easily grown in hydroponics systems alongside lettuce are listed below. Many are grown for their appearance or color while others such as rocket, corn salad, and various types of cress are grown more for their distinctive flavors. Most of these plants are highly productive and withstand harvesting of a few leaves (always harvest the outer leaves from salad green crops) every week while continuing to grow.
Chicory and Endive: Mediterranean salad plants - The most common type of Italian chicory produced hydroponically is radicchio which has a sharp, tangy flavor and is red and white in coloring. Endive salad greens have tender, finely divided and curled leaves that look great in salad mixes.
Hidroponics With Bottles Part 1
Hidroponics With Bottles Part2
Chicory and Endive: Mediterranean salad plants - The most common type of Italian chicory produced hydroponically is radicchio which has a sharp, tangy flavor and is red and white in coloring. Endive salad greens have tender, finely divided and curled leaves that look great in salad mixes.
- Kale: Red and Green varieties are available - smaller leaves are used in salads, larger leaves as garnishes or decoration.
- Mustard Greens: Small, quick growing varieties are suitable for salad greens, they add a tangy flavour and come in both red and green types.
- Mizuna: Very quick growing in hydroponics, Mizuna is a commonly grown Japanese green. Grows into a large clump of finely dissected leaves which can be harvest from many times.
- Cresses: Water cress, land cress, winter cress and common cress are very easy to grow and produce at a rapid rate in hydroponic systems. Cresses have a distinctive peppery flavor and can be added to many salad types or used on their own as a vegetable. Watercress is a semi aquatic plant and can be grown from seed or cuttings and is particularly well suited to NFT, raft, float and similar systems.
- Rocket (Arugula): Rocket, sometimes called Arugula, roquette or rucola, is an ancient medicinal plant which is now becoming a very popular salad green crop. Both annual and perennial forms can be grown in hydroponics. The leaves have a distinctive nutty, peppery flavor that some say is reminiscent of peanuts. The flavor can be strong in older plants and those which are flowering (rocket flowers are also edible and can be used in salads).
- Chard: Baby leaves of Swiss chard (red, orange yellow, white and green) are commonly grown and used in salad mixes as they add a distinctive splash of color. Harvest young from hydroponic systems before any strong flavors develop.
- Spinach: Baby spinach leaves used raw in salads should be used as older plants can become bitter. Orache or mountain spinach (Artiplex hortensis) is also a useful plant as it comes in green, red and yellow varieties and is more easily grown in hydroponics than common spinach.
- Corn salad (Lambs lettuce): A plant that certainly looks like a small, hairy weed - but corn salad has a distinctive flavor (nutty, sharp and a little corn like) which blends in well in salad mixes.
- Miner's Lettuce: Grown more for its unusual leaf shape and crisp texture, Miner's Lettuce is an incredibly fast grower in hydroponics. Miners lettuce isn't actually a lettuce, its a member of the Portulacaceae family and is also called winter purslane. It formed a valuable part of the diet of miners (hence its common name) during the gold rush of the 1850s, helping prevent scurvy in times when fresh vegetables were scare. This is an annual plant, grown from seed.
- Amaranth: Several members of the Amaranthus are used as leafy salad plants. Both red and green amaranth are heat tolerant and good for summer conditions. The flavor is similar to spinach and most need to be harvested while still quite young for use in salad mixes.
These are just a few of the wide range of salad green plants which thrive in hydroponic systems. Keeping a regular check on seed catalogues is a good idea to see what the latest and greatest new salad green plant is!
