Best Plants for Hydroponics: What Can You Grow?
If you're wondering what plants grow well in hydroponics, the short answer is: a lot more than lettuce.
Leafy greens and herbs are some of the easiest plants to grow hydroponically, but tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, strawberries, beans and even melons can all be grown successfully without soil.
🌱 The simple answer: Most vegetables, herbs and many fruits can grow hydroponically. The bigger question is whether the plant is a good fit for your system, your space and your growing conditions.
We've been growing plants hydroponically and aeroponically for years, and one thing becomes obvious pretty quickly: just because you can grow something doesn't necessarily mean it's the best choice for every garden.
So rather than just giving you a giant list of plants, let's look at what actually grows well, what takes a little more work and what you should think about when choosing plants for your hydroponic system.
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What Are the Best Plants to Grow Hydroponically?
The best plants for hydroponics are generally crops that don't need a huge amount of root space and can get the water, nutrients and light they need from the growing system.
Some of the easiest and most productive choices include:
- Lettuce and other leafy greens
- Basil and other herbs
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Strawberries
- Beans and peas
That doesn't mean all of these plants require the same amount of space or attention. Lettuce and basil are very different from a mature tomato or cucumber plant.
If you're brand new to hydroponics, starting with leafy greens and herbs gives you a chance to learn your system before moving on to larger fruiting crops.
Leafy Greens: Some of the Easiest Hydroponic Plants
If you're looking for an easy place to start, leafy greens are hard to beat.
Lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, arugula and other greens generally grow quickly, don't take up a huge amount of space and don't need pollination to produce the part you're going to eat.
They're also great for regular harvesting. Rather than waiting months for a single crop, you can often harvest outer leaves and allow the plant to continue growing.
Some good choices include:
- Romaine lettuce
- Butterhead lettuce
- Leaf lettuce
- Arugula
- Kale
- Swiss chard
- Mustard greens
- Baby greens
🥬 Beginner tip: If this is your first hydroponic garden, lettuce and herbs are a great place to begin. They grow quickly and let you learn how your system behaves without dealing with pruning, support or pollination.
Herbs That Grow Well Hydroponically
Herbs are another excellent choice for hydroponic and aeroponic growing.
Basil is probably one of the most popular, but you aren't limited to basil. Many culinary herbs grow extremely well without soil.
Good options include:
- Basil
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Dill
- Mint
- Chives
- Thyme
- Oregano
Herbs are especially useful if you don't need huge harvests. Being able to walk outside — or across the room — and snip exactly what you need for dinner is one of the nicest parts of growing your own.
Can You Grow Tomatoes Hydroponically?
Absolutely. Tomatoes can grow extremely well in hydroponic and aeroponic systems.
The important thing to remember is that not all tomato plants are the same size.
A large indeterminate tomato can grow for months and produce long vines that need significant support. Compact and micro-dwarf tomatoes stay much smaller and can be easier to manage, particularly indoors or where growing space is limited.
Tomatoes also need strong light and pollination to produce fruit.
🍅 Short on space? Look for compact or micro-dwarf tomato varieties. They give you the fun of growing tomatoes without taking over your entire growing area.
Can You Grow Peppers Hydroponically?
Yes. Both sweet peppers and hot peppers can be excellent hydroponic crops.
Like tomatoes, peppers need plenty of light if you want them to flower and produce fruit. Larger plants may also need support as they mature.
Compact pepper varieties can be particularly useful for indoor hydroponic gardens because they're easier to keep within the usable area of your grow lights.
Can You Grow Cucumbers Hydroponically?
Yes — and cucumbers can grow incredibly fast when they're happy.
The challenge isn't usually getting the plant to grow. It's managing how much space the vines want to occupy.
Traditional cucumber varieties can produce long vines that need support, so smaller or compact varieties can be much easier to manage in vertical and indoor systems.
You'll also need to think about pollination. Some cucumber varieties require pollination to produce fruit, while others are parthenocarpic and can produce cucumbers without pollination.
What Other Fruiting Crops Can You Grow Hydroponically?
Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers tend to get most of the attention, but they're definitely not your only choices.
Depending on your space and growing conditions, you can also grow:
- Eggplant
- Beans
- Peas
- Squash
- Zucchini
- Melons
We've grown all kinds of fruiting crops in Tower Gardens over the years. The biggest consideration is usually not whether the plant will grow — it's how large it will become and whether you have enough light, support and space for it.
Can You Grow Strawberries Hydroponically?
Yes. Strawberries are another popular option for hydroponic and aeroponic systems.
They're relatively compact, which makes them a good fit for vertical growing, and the fruit hangs away from the soil.
As with other fruiting crops, strawberries need enough light to flower and produce well. Variety, temperature and growing conditions also make a difference.
What Are the Best Hydroponic Plants to Grow Indoors?
When you're growing indoors, plant size becomes much more important.
Your plants need to stay within the effective range of your grow lights, and a huge tomato or cucumber vine can quickly shade smaller plants around it.
For that reason, some of the easiest indoor choices include:
- Lettuce
- Leafy greens
- Basil and other herbs
- Compact tomatoes
- Compact peppers
- Smaller cucumber varieties
- Strawberries
If you want to grow fruiting crops indoors, choosing the right variety makes a huge difference.
We've put together a separate guide to the Best Compact Plants for Indoor Tower Gardens with varieties that are easier to manage in limited space.
Are There Plants That Aren't Good for Hydroponics?
Almost any plant can be experimented with, but some crops simply aren't very practical for most home hydroponic systems.
Large root crops and plants that need a lot of underground growing space are usually less suitable than plants grown primarily for their leaves, stems, flowers or fruit.
That doesn't necessarily mean they can't be grown hydroponically. It means another growing method may make more sense.
🌱 A useful rule: Don't choose a plant just because it's technically possible to grow it hydroponically. Think about how much room the mature plant needs, how long it takes to produce and whether the harvest is worth the space it occupies.
How Do You Choose the Right Plants for Hydroponics?
Before choosing a plant, think beyond whether it can grow without soil.
Ask yourself:
- How large will the mature plant become?
- How much light does it need?
- Will it need support?
- Does it need pollination?
- Is it suited to my temperature and season?
- How long will it occupy the growing space?
- Is it something I actually want to eat?
That last one sounds obvious, but it's easy to get carried away when you're planning a garden. The best hydroponic plants for your garden are the ones that fit your growing conditions and give you something you'll actually use.
What About Aeroponics?
If you're researching hydroponics because you're considering a Tower Garden, you'll probably also come across the word aeroponics.
The terms are closely related, but they're not exactly the same thing. Hydroponics is the broader category of growing plants without soil using water to deliver nutrients. In aeroponic systems, much of the root system hangs in air while water and nutrients are delivered to the roots.
Tower Garden uses aeroponic technology.
If you'd like to understand exactly how that works, we've explained it in our What Is Aeroponics? How Aeroponic Growing Works guide.
So, What Should You Grow First?
If you're completely new to hydroponic or aeroponic growing, you don't need to fill every available planting space on day one.
Start with plants you enjoy eating and choose a few easier crops while you learn how your system behaves.
Lettuce, basil and other leafy greens are excellent starting points. Once you're comfortable checking water, nutrients, pH and plant health, add some fruiting crops if that's what you want to grow.
And don't be afraid to experiment. We've grown a lot of plants over the years simply because we wanted to know if we could.
🌿 The bottom line: The best plants for hydroponics aren't just the plants that can grow without soil. They're the plants that fit your system, your environment, your available space and what you actually want to harvest.
If you're growing with a Tower Garden, our Seeds & Seedlings Guide can help you decide whether to start your own seeds or begin with seedlings that are already ready for a hydroponic or aeroponic system.
