Wheat grows well hydroponically. Most plants do. But the main reason to grow anything hydroponically is that your crop will be larger and better controlled than if it were grown traditionally. To get a decent harvest of wheat you would need acres of hydroponic setup, and that's out of the realm of possibility for most people.

So why are we even discussing it? Well partly because it’s just an interesting experiment, and also because lots of universities, government agencies, and research organizations grow it that way.

For instance, NASA has been studying the hydroponic farming of wheat for decades because it’s part of their Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Program. They’re working out how to farm food for long space flights and extraterrestrial projects, as in when we go to Mars. That is pretty fascinating.

Other institutions find it easier to grow wheat hydroponically so they can study it year-round. These research organizations and universities are also looking into vertically farming wheat as a way to expand global production. This is important because as the population increases worldwide, we will need to increase how much food we produce without using more land to farm it.

That being said, they do warn that hydroponic wheat will probably never be economically competitive with traditionally farmed wheat, but it’s still an important way to make more food.

However, there is one way you can grow wheat in quantities that are useful for your household or as a crop for sale: wheat grass. Wheatgrass is the newly sprouted leaves of your standard wheat plant. It has many beneficial properties and is a source of potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and a host of other nutrients. You can grow a lot in a small space, and harvest very quickly. Now that sounds like a job for a hydroponics setup!

So let’s get into it.

Also Read: Most Popular Hydroponic Herbs

What is Wheat?

Firstly, wheat is an extremely ancient agricultural product. We’ve been farming it since farming was invented. But the wheat we all know today is not the same as the plant cultivated in the Levant 10 000 years ago. It has been bred to have much bigger ears, shorter stems, and to be much more disease resistant.

Around 7 species, divided into 20 varieties, are grown around the world. Most farmers won’t be aware of exactly what species they are planting, so unless you get your seeds from a place that specifies, neither will you.

The most common forms are red and white wheat, but you can also get black, yellow, and blue wheat.

Growing Conditions for Hydroponic Wheat

Temperature

In soil, wheat will need 110 - 130 days between sowing and harvest. One experiment found that wheat grown indoors and hydroponically only needed 70 days from seed to harvest if kept at 73 F. Theoretically, this means you could get around 5 harvests a year from the space.

Nutrients

Too much nitrogen and your plants will grow too tall. This could lead to them falling over when the wheat ear grows too big for the stem to handle. However, most varieties grown these days have been genetically modified to prevent this, so it’s not so much of a problem.

However, for wheatgrass, which loves potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, you can just invest in a good fertilizer from your hydroponics goods store. Liquid kelp is highly recommended.

Light

Wheat can be grown under lights 24 hours a day, but that could become expensive and you can still maximize growth with 20 hours a day of light. It was estimated that the largest cost of growing wheat hydroponically was the electricity costs. But if and when large-scale hydroponic wheat farming goes ahead, solar power will bring down the costs enormously.

Growing Medium

You should stick with the growing medium that is recommended for the hydroponic system you choose, but a good start is coco coir.

Best Hydroponic Systems For Wheat

In soil, wheat has roots that can extend six feet, so your best options would include systems with a lot of space for them to spread.

NASA started off by using the nutrient film technique (NFT) because it really maximizes the number of plants you can grow in a given space.

This system is also useful because feeding the plants is easy, as is making sure the water pH stays in the right range. If you need to disinfect the roots, you can access them without much trouble, and your water and electricity consumption costs are lower than with the other methods.

In general, the most economical solution would be to go vertical, which NFT lends itself to nicely, but you can also try an ebb-and-flow system.

This is the simplest method for growing anything hydroponically. And you won’t be pigeonholed into any specific growing medium, because most of them work brilliantly in this system. Ebb and flow setups are also great for plants with large root systems, such as wheat. And if you decided to scale up production, you can easily add on to your current system.

The drawback of growing wheat in an ebb and flow system is that scaling up can get pricey, quickly. Also, if you get a pathogen in your water, you’ll need to take apart the whole system for disinfecting, from flood trays to net pots, grow media, and reservoirs.

The last good option is to go aeroponic. The frame makes it simple to grow vertically and your wheat will grow quickly. The major drawback here is that it costs a lot to get this system going. Thereafter your costs are minimal compared to other hydroponic systems.

However, if you’ve decided to go the wheat grass route, then your options are pretty much endless, but simpler is definitely better.

Wheatgrass needs very little root space, is low on water, and needs barely any nutrients. Your best bet would be to maximize your plant/space ratio, and to succession plant so that you’re getting a regular harvest.

A wicking system might be your cheapest and best option here, but even germinating your wheat seeds in a bed of wet cotton wool will do the trick.

Check out the top-rated hydroponic systems for 2023

Starting Your Wheat Hydroponic Crop

In order to start your wheat or wheatgrass crop, you need to soak your wheat berries for 8-12 hours. This helps get rid of any pesticides on the berries and hydrates them, which makes the seed coat soft. After soaking, drain out the water and rinse off the seeds well.

Next comes sprouting. You can either put your seeds into a grow tray and sprout them there, or you can sprout them directly in your hydroponic system. If they’re in the grow tray, simply wet the seeds well and cover them with cardboard for 24 hours. You can add some liquid fertilizer at this stage. Once they’ve spouted, cover them in coco coir to a depth of about an inch. Make sure to dampen the coco coir, but don’t drown it. It should take about four days before they break the surface of the coco coir.

If you’ve opted for growing wheat grass they can stay in this tray for the rest of their growing cycle. But if you want to grow full-sized wheat now would be a good time to transplant it into your net pots.

If you started the seed in the hydroponic system, combine your grow medium with some sphagnum peat moss or kelp fertilizer and wait for them to sprout to about an inch. You can now move them to a sunny spot or turn your lights on.

Maintaining Your Hydroponic Wheat

If you are growing wheat there are two main systems that are used to determine the stages of growth that it goes through. They are the Feekes scale and the Zadoks Scale. You can use these scales to determine what nutrients are necessary at certain growth stages.

The last leaf on the stem, known as the flag leaf, will determine the quality of the wheat ear. This leaf is highly photosynthetic and provides the carbohydrates the ear needs to grow big and fat. So if your last leaf is healthy, you know you’ll get a good ear out of the plant.

It’s important to keep temperatures stable and low in the period between when the flower has just fully opened (anthesis) and when it reaches maturity. Temperatures that are too high will not be good for pollen formation.

Wheat is a self-pollinating plant, which means it has both male and female parts on the same plant. Because wheat doesn’t make an attractive flower or give off a tasty smell, insects and birds won’t pollinate it. To get the pollen off the stamen and onto the sticky stigma, all you need is wind or you can shake the stems.

If you are growing wheat grass all you need to do is maintain your light and temperatures for about 10 days, or until the wheat is around 10 inches tall.

Harvesting

For full-sized wheat you’ll want to harvest when the stalks are just changing from green to brown. Cut them just above the growing medium.

Next, tie the stalks together with twine and leave them to dry out for about two weeks. You can leave them flat or hang them. You’ll know they are ready if the ears crunch when you bite down on them.

Now spread a sheet on the ground and put your stalks onto it. Beat the stalks with a wooden dowel or stick (known as threshing), then collect the seeds into a bowl. Set the bowl in front of a fan, and let it blow the chaff away. Now your wheat grains are ready for storing.

For wheatgrass, when you’re happy with the length, snip it off as close to the grow medium as possible. Use immediately.

What We’ve Learned About Growing Wheat In a Hydroponic System?

While it’s not financially rewarding to grow full-sized wheat in a hydroponic system, it can be an interesting project. There are a few different systems that lend themselves well to growing wheat successfully, and with improved technology, this could be a great way to grow large quantities to meet global demand.

But as a home grower, you’re better off growing wheat grass. It's easy, startup costs are low, and the reward is a crop that’s great for your health.

Lavender is a fantastic plant for those looking to create oils and attract bees, or anyone who want’s to use it as an herb for cooking/baking. But even if you don’t have a use in mind, many just love having lavender around the garden to create borders.

Lavender is easy to grow and perfect for garden beds and pots. With its silvery-green foliage and purple upright flowers, the plants are also wonderful for creating what some may refer to as informal hedges.

But what if you want to grow them indoors using hydroponics? While it might be surprising for some, you can grow lavender hydroponically, as it is a plant perfect for arid climates.

Now, what are the perfect growing conditions for a lavender plant?

Also Read: Best Hydroponic Plants

Perfect Growing Conditions For Lavender Plants

Lavender is a part of the genus of Lavandula, which is part of a larger family of 42 flowering plants in the mint family. Initially, it was only found in the Cape Verde and Canary Islands. But over time, it spread to Africa, the Mediterranean, and parts of Asia.

Lavender will sometimes expand its reach outside of the gardening area. But this is usually harmless. However in Australia, the Lavandula stoechas is now considered a pest, and in Spain, it’s also called a weed. Both these environments offer dry, well-drained, sandy, or gravelly soils, with dry heat. Exactly the climate that lavender thrives in.

When selecting a lavender, there are three main types you can grow hydroponically. These are:

• True English Lavender, which can grow in cooler weather
• Portuguese or Spike Lavender, which can handle extreme temperatures
• Munstead Lavender, which is like the English but smaller, perfect for hydroponics

Lavender does need good air circulation, as it is prone to root rot and fungus infections in areas with high humidity.

It’s worth noting that fertilizer is not crucial for the success of the plant. And Lavender will need little to none throughout its life.

The perfect soil pH should to be around 6 - 8, although this varies between cultivars.

Now that we understand the optimum growing conditions for lavender, let’s focus on how to replicate that for a hydroponic system.

Growing Lavender In Hydroponics

With a plant like lavender, you need to monitor the amount of water it takes into the substrate around the roots. A growing medium like Rockwool, which is great for germinating seeds, will need to be reduced due to its ability to hold water.

We’d strongly recommend using lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA). LECA will imitate the natural rocks that Lavender roots latch onto in their natural environment.

If you plan on germinating seeds indoors, the success rate is relatively low, with approximately only half growing into a seedling. But this shouldn’t matter as the plant will produce 850 to 1300 seeds per gram - again, this varies depending on the cultivar of the plant. During germination, you will need to maintain a high temperature of between 65°F to 70°F.

Thereafter the plant takes around two years to start bushing out.

But what type of hydroponic setup should you go with? The main two are nutrient film technique (NFT) and deep water culture (DWC). Some also recommend the Kratky method for small plants.

Using the Kratky method, you will be rooting the cuttings, which you’ll be able to plant out when the roots are established.

With a larger crop you’d do better with an NFT setup, as they usually require less space than a regular DWC system. This being said, DWC is the system we’d recommend due to the size of the plant.

A DWC system is usually utilized to grow a single plant, but you can expand on it and create a joint system. Although we recommend you start with one first before expanding to an entire crop.

Check out our top recommendations for hydroponic systems in 2023

The number one cause of lavender dying in the garden is overwatering. This means that growing it in a system that is entirely water-based it’s going to be a tricky grow.

You will want to program the air pump to generate a lot of bubbles and invest in a fan because of the aforementioned root rot and fungus issues; installing fans to ensure that air circulation is constantly moving is key to a healthy crop.

Lavender also needs heat and sun. Its optimum temperature is between 68°F and 86°F. For this you can invest in a heater, as well, to ensure the air is dry.

You could also boost the temperature by investing in a high-intensity grow light. Usually, the heat emitted from the bulb is an issue, but when growing lavender, this becomes a bonus.

However, the energy bill might cause you some concerns as the grow light will need to run for around eight to ten hours a day. Coupled with the fans and heater, this is an expensive operation to run.

To cut down on unnecessary costs, you can ensure that the room you’re using is well ventilated, has ample sunlight to warm the room, and you can switch the high-powered light to an LED setup.

Lavender does not require a lot of fertilizer. You will want to maintain the pH at around 5.5 - 7, and the parts per million (ppm) in the nutrient solution should be around 700 to 980. And if your plant looks a little limp, you can add a fertilizer with more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium.

A general-purpose solution will do, or you can go the organic tea route.

Make sure to test the nutrient levels daily and that pruning is done correctly. Lavender needs to be pruned once a year to maintain its structure. If you don’t the plants become overly woody and sprawling. When pruning, make sure to prune back by ⅓ to ½ the height of the stems.

As the plant matures, its lower stems will become woody. Find that woody part and trim above by 2 inches. And when the flowers start to fade, you can trim them off to encourage new growth.

Overall, lavender is not the most difficult hydroponic crop, but it can be expensive, as the daily energy bills can quickly add up. But on the plus side is, if you’re growing it indoors, your home will smell amazing.

Growing Lavender - Smells Lovely - Is Costly

As a hydroponic project goes, growing lavender is going to be a challenge to tweak all the environmental factors just right for a decent crop.

But once you’re in the swing of things, it should be straightforward and only require monitoring.

And as always, it promises to be fun.

If growing a banana tree in your garden might seem impossible and mad. Growing one hydroponically will seem worse, but it is vital to the specie’s survival.

Currently, banana production is undergoing a significant crisis.

The industry is reliant on a single cultivar of banana, called the Cavendish. It was bred in the 1950s to beat a deadly fungal pathogen that destroyed the world’s banana plantations, which were called Gros Michelle, and were reportedly better tasting than the Cavendish. Then they were wiped out and the Cavendish was introduced. But this disease has evolved.

Black Sigatoka and Panama diseases are now contaminating soil and spreading rapidly amongst production areas.

While there are estimates that bananas are grown in 150 countries, and there are more than 1,000 different types in cultivation, 95% of Americans eat the Cavendish banana.

However there is hope for your kids favourite fruit: Since the pathogen has spread via soil, this means that growing bananas hydroponically will circumnavigate the issue.

But as you’d expect when growing a tree hydroponically, there are difficulties.

Also read: Best Fruit To Grow Hydroponically

Challenges Of Growing Banana Trees Hydroponically

When growing a banana tree hydroponically, the number one issue is the size. The average height of a banana tree is roughly 16 feet tall. Unless you’re growing in a warehouse, you must select a dwarf tree version.

But if you have the space to grow your banana tree indoors or are planning on growing it outdoors, the next issue is nutrients and water. Trees need loads of water and essential nutrients.

It should be said that a banana tree is technically not a tree but a herbaceous flowering plant in the genus Musa. Banana trees are a vascular plant with no woody stems. And just to be more confusing, the fruit is botanically a berry.

Also, the lifecycle of a banana tree is not the same as other trees.

The tree’s trunk (referred to as a false stem) is what the leaves pop out of. When it starts to fruit, the leaves stop being produced, and flowers spike. This then develops into a bunch of bananas.

One flower from the plant can produce upwards of 60 fruits or berries. The fruit production takes roughly 16-18 months.

Whether or not the fruit is harvested, the trunk dies. They then produce pups (small trees) at the base of the mother plants. And this is how the plant reproduces.

Older species, or cultivars, of the banana tree had hard seeds within the fruit. But with human intervention, they have been bred out. Those little black spots you sometimes see in the banana are all that is left, and they won’t produce new plants.

So it’s up to the pups to create the next year’s crop.

When the tree is producing pups, they need to be maintained to ensure that the nutrients is being used in the correct area. Bananas planted into the ground will require rich soil that drains well.

Bananas are also very sensitive to frost and require heat, humidity, and loads of light.

Those who have built a hydroponic system can attest that these are all elements which require a lot of power and money.

But luckily, when horticulturists discovered how to make dwarf trees, bananas were included. You can order a Dwarf Cavendish, which will now only reach a height of nine feet tall, with the Super Dwarf Version only growing to four feet.

Now that we’ve discussed what will be the main hurdles for growing bananas hydroponically, let’s focus on what is required when growing them this way.

Conditions Needed To Grow Bananas Hydroponically

Bananas originated from, or are native to, tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and were domesticated in Papua New Guinea. This means hot, humid weather, and rainforest type terrains.

When planning a hydroponic setup, you need to take into account that you will need to provide the plants access to loads of water and nutrients. And your pot will need to be big enough to accommodate the extensive roots, or rhizomes, of the plant.

We’d suggest using a container that is between 2.5 to 5 gallons. Depth-wise, you need these containers to be at least 24 inches deep.

The potting medium will also need to support the weight of the plant, as well as the root system.

So we’d suggest using either coco coir, as it is able to hold loads of water and nutrients, or lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA).

LECA is able to hold large plants in place, which is useful when growing banana trees.

As we mentioned, temperature control is key to growing bananas. While they can withstand some temperature fluctuations, you want yours to grow at an optimum level.

Keep your indoor grow area between 70ºF to 80ºF to ensure that the trees grow well. This will mean investing in a heating system, which can be either a mat or a heater.

You will also require a mister to ensure that humidity is kept high enough. If you’re looking at harvesting the best quality bananas, some research suggests a humidity level of more than 

90%. This high humidity will ensure that the fruit doesn’t fall off prematurely.

Water pH should be between 5.5 to 6.5 pH, with a ppm of around 1260 - 1540 because the plant is prone to root rot due to the high humidity and temperature.

As for lighting, the banana plant needs to around four to six hours a day, if you can afford to run your lights for eight hour, that would be the best. We’d suggest using an LED lighting system, as it is more cost-effective to run when compared to old school methods.

We’d also suggest steering clear of using organic fertilizers within the system as they tend to produce pathogens when subjected to these conditions.

Bananas need loads of potassium, especially when producing fruit. It also needs a wide variety of other nutrients such as:

• Nitrogen
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus

And you should ensure that the electric connectivity reading is around 1.6 to 1.8 so that the plant is able to absorb the high quantity of nutrients it needs to produce good-sized fruit.

The hydroponic system best suited for growing bananas is the deep water culture (DWC). While you could just utilize an adapted drip irrigation system, DWC though will provide enough water and will make monitoring of levels, a daily task, easier.

Now You’re Ready To Go Bananas Hydroponically

Bananas are a fantastic crop and adventure to grow. Also, if you do grow then you will go a long way to ensuring that the world's most popular cultivar is kept alive.

While it is an expensive crop to grow, if it is tweaked correctly, it could be a great earner, specially as you can produce bananas all year round.

So, go on and save the bananas.

Spinach is a fantastic crop to grow at home whether or not it is done hydroponically. But if grown in a hydroponic system, it is recommended to beginners as the best plant to learn the craft because it’s fast-growing, lightweight, and nutritious.

And as everyone wants to be able to eat from their own garden, you can grow enough spinach, even in a small space, for your family’s needs. While many might refer back to spinach’s best spokesperson, Popeye, we’re also fans of spinach. Here’s why!

Also Read: Most Popular Fruits and Vegetables To Grow Hydroponically

Spinach Is A Great Homegrown Crop

Spinach is part of the Chenopodiaceae subfamily, which sits in Amaranthaceae's flowering plant family. Beets, chard, and quinoa are all part of this family. But arguably, spinach is the crop you want to grow in your hydroponic system.

This leafy green contains all the vitamins and minerals you need. These include iron, vitamins K, A, C, and folate. Also jammed inside are vitamin B2, magnesium, and manganese. All this is crammed into one high-quality veggie.

In 2020, the world production of spinach was 31 million tonnes. China alone produced 92% of this crop. While it is lovely to see that the world is embracing the production of spinach, the fact that it needs to be transported over such distances isn’t reassuring.

Spinach loses a lot of its nutritional value if it isn’t cooked immediately, and to extend its life, is often packaged with nitrogen gas.

Bearing this in mind, there’s no reason to subject yourself to subpar spinach from the other side of the globe when you can easily grow it in a hydroponic system at home.

Now, let’s talk about the perfect growing conditions for spinach.

Perfect Growing Conditions For Hydroponic Spinach

Spinach loves to grow in conditions that are not too warm or cold.

Too hot, and they will bolt or produce flowers and seeds. When the plant does bolt, it becomes bitter and inedible.

It’s best sown in the early days of spring because frost will also damage the crop. This means growing spinach outdoors gives you only a small window of opportunity. Basically, spinach can only be grown during spring and fall.

From germination to harvest, the plant takes around eight weeks. When sowing the seeds, it is in your best interest to take a temperature reading of the soil. The optimum soil germination temperature is between 45⁰F to 68⁰F.

For atmosphere temperature, you want to avoid anything above 75⁰F, with the best range being between 65⁰F to 70⁰F. Seedlings can tolerate low temperatures around 15⁰F to 20⁰F.

If temperatures do reach 80⁰F, spinach will bolt. And if the temperatures drop quickly, this can also cause the spinach to bolt.

Spinach will require regular watering and fertilizer that is high in nitrogen. There’s also no need for trimming back.

As with all domesticated crops, there are a number of varieties to choose from at the garden center. These include:

Baby Leaf

This variety is great for containers and is heat-tolerant as well as resistant to mildew. The leaves are tender and petite in size.

Savoy Spinach

With curly and crinkled dark-green leaves, this variety is best grown in fall and is tolerant to mosaic viruses.

Semi Savoy

Defined by its slightly crinkled leaves, it is resistant to a number of viruses and mildews. It can also be grown during spring, summer, or even fall.

Smooth or Flat Leaf

As the name indicates, this variety is known for its spade-shaped leaves. Some of these are even bolt-resistant.

Now that we know what the perfect growing conditions are let’s talk about the conditions your hydroponics setup needs to meet.

Hydroponic Needs For Spinach

Spinach is a great crop to grow hydroponically. Also, no system is head and shoulders above any other, as the roots of the plant are very shallow and will flourish in most setups.

Whether you’re using an ebb and flow system, nutrient film technique (NFT), or deep water culture (DWC), spinach will do well.

When transplanting seedlings into a hydroponic system, ensure that the pH of the nutrient solution is between 5.8 to 6.0 pH.

The growing medium can be any of the usual suspects, but make sure that they don’t damage the roots, which are easily damaged. These potting mediums include lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA), Rockwool, and coco coir.

Also, the potting medium needs to be able to retain enough water as spinach wants moist roots.

As for light requirements, your spinach will need light for around 10-12 hours daily to reach its full potential. While you can use traditional high-wattage grow lights, electrical bills and heat are two main issues you want to be aware of.

Rather switch to using a full-spectrum LED grow light instead. They are cheaper to run and don’t give off heat. Maintaining the temperature around 757F is key to harvesting a large crop. Check out our top recommendations here: Best Hydroponic LED Grow Light

When starting your crop in the hydroponic system, it will require little nutrients, and fertilizer that is not too high in nitrogen, as this can burn their leaves. The nutrients spinach mainly needs are calcium and magnesium.

Also, you should lower the amounts of nutrients you are feeding from about two weeks before harvesting, as the strength of your fertilizer can cause the plant to retain some bitterness.

From seed to harvest, your system could potentially produce spinach that’s ready to eat within 52 days. This is lightning quick in the agricultural world.

When honed in, your system could potentially feed a family all year around, which isn’t always possible with some crops.

There’s never been a better time to grow your own spinach.

Growing Spinach Hydroponically is a Must!

With consumerism forcing crops to be packaged far away and sent long distances into urban hubs, spinach is a crop you can simply grow in a kitchen.

Spinach is an easy crop to grow when you control the temperature, and with a hydroponic system, it should be plug-and-play for an organic crop that doesn’t need to be trucked in.

So, get started with the hydroponic crop that will feed your family.

Rice is one of the world’s most important crops as it is a staple for millions if not billions of people. This being said, it is also an extremely tricky crop to grow outside of its natural environment.

The crop requires lots of water, constantly sunny conditions, and heat. These combined elements make it very difficult to grow rice in most regions of the USA. But not impossible. For most growers, growing a rice crop will likely be for self-interest and not for sustenance.

Rice also requires a lot of space to produce enough for a family. If you do have a large area and live in an incredibly humid area with a dramatic amount of rainfall, you could consider growing it in the backyard.

But, this all being said, wouldn’t it just be easier to grow this crop hydroponically? The simple answer is yes. And while it is still in its infancy, we think it would be a great candidate for industrial hydroponics.

Let’s talk more about the perfect conditions for growing rice.

Related: Most Popular Hydroponic Vegetables

Perfect Conditions for Growing Rice Hydroponically

As a staple crop, planting it is not a challenge (harvesting is where it gets tricky). If you are growing your own rice, you will need to plan for at least 40 days of continuous warm temperatures of at least 70°F.

While rice plants don’t need much care when growing, they have certain requirements that must be seen to, such as having at least two inches of water above the soil. When the plants develop over five to six inches tall, you will need to up the water level to four inches.

Then over the rest of the lifespan of the plant, you should reduce the water level slowly until harvest time, when the plant should not be standing in water at all.

However, while many rice varietals need to be grown in water, some don’t require being submerged.

Rice takes around four months to go from seed to harvest ready. When the stalks turn a golden color this is an indication that it is ready to be harvested.

When harvesting, you will want to cut the stalks and wrap them in newspaper and allow them to dry out completely for two to three weeks. Once the rice has dried out, roast them at a low oven temperature for an hour. Finally, you need to remove the hulls by hand, and you will get perfect rice for you and your family.

Even though this is a crop that spends most of its life submerged in water, it is actually quite challenging to replicate that environment within a hydroponic system. So, what elements do you need to be aware of when growing rice hydroponically?

What You Need To Know When Growing Rice Hydroponically

A major bonus for rice to be grown hydroponically is it will use less water and space. According to Rice Today the advantages they discovered were:

• The hydroponic seedlings recovered quicker, produced tillers more vigorously, matured at the same time, and had a higher yield
• Crops matured faster
• Used 95% less water
• Was good for late monsoon
• Hydroponic systems promised a more uniform crop

And there are multiple types of rice that can be grown.

These include:

• Basmati Rice
• Wild Rice
• Jasmine Rice
• Stocky Rice
• Valencia Rice
• And Rosematta Rice

All these grains of rice need different growing conditions, but generally speaking, they all require loads of sunlight, heat, and humidity.

They all need at least 10 hours of sunlight.

Rice is pretty resilient to pH changes, surviving well in anything between 3.5 to 8.5 pH. And due to the fact that rice is grass, it thrives on nitrogen. Out of all the nitrogen fertilizer options, the best to focus on is ammonia-based nitrogen, which is abundant in urea and urine.

When feeding your rice, also make sure not to neglect feeding potassium and phosphorous too.

And as it is grass, there’s no need to prune your crop. Rice also loves a fertile growing medium, tapping into rotting material. One plant will produce between 70 to 100 grains of rice.

Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s focus on what hydroponic system you’ll need to grow rice.

Selecting A Hydroponic System For Rice

While most will assume growing rice in a deep water culture (DWC) would be best, it’s not always the most efficient option. In fact, hydroponic systems like the nutrient film technique (NFT) have been highlighted as the method to use.

NFTs allow for the seedling trays to tap into a nutrient-rich solution. In NFT systems, the water levels rise and fall. Mimicking rice’s natural environment. Also, a mixture of water and air makes it a perfect system for rice, protecting the plant’s roots from overexposure to the sun.

Also, NFTs allow for large scalability.

For those not keen to utilize an NFT system, you can also use one of the following hydroponic systems:

Static Solution Culture

The technique’s name indicates that the solution is static, so the plants just float in it. It is the simplest form of hydroponics.

Nutrients are fed into the reservoir and used when the plants need them. The only maintenance required is to stir the solution periodically. While the roots of most plants would suffocate over time, rice is more tolerant to lower levels of oxygen.

This being said, make sure the roots are exposed to some air.

Continuous Flow System

Again, pretty self-explanatory; water is piped around the system for the whole day. You will need to ensure that the roots are in constant contact with the nutrient solution.

This constant motion also ensures that the water is oxygenated.

Ebb and Flow Hydroponics

With an ebb and flow system, the water flow is turned on and off to drench the roots of the plants. The plants are placed on top of a tray, and the water flows underneath.

While you could use aeroponics, aquaponics, and fogponics, these require more maintenance and setup costs. Aeroponics and fogponics sprayers can get clogged and cause issues, while aquaponics requires keeping fish alive.

So overall, we’d strongly suggest sticking with an NFT.

Now, let’s focus on the steps you need to follow to grow rice hydroponically in an NFT system.

How To Grow Rice Via An NFT System

Before setting up the actual system, you need to do some seed preparation. Germinating seeds requires soaking them for at least 36 hours and then allowing them to dry out for an entire day.

Germinating the seeds can take place in a bucket with a potting medium that has a 50/50 split between soil and compost. Germination should take around two weeks.

When the seedlings are around two to three inches high, wash off the growing medium and pot them into the system. The hydroponic growing medium can be rice husks.

Make sure that the temperature is kept at 77°F to ensure that the rice develops quickly, and keep the grow light for ten hours a day. You should invest in a full-spectrum LED grow light to cut down on electrical costs.

When the rice starts to turn golden in color, it’s time to harvest.

Growing Rice Hydroponically Is Possible

While it is possible to grow rice hydroponically, the scale you’ll need to make it profitable is immense. A lot of research is being put into growing rice hydroponically, as it will save water and time.

For now, if you are interested, have fun and experiment.

Growing trees in a hydroponic system is a tricky project to undertake. But out of all the fruit-bearing trees, growing lemon trees are arguably the easiest.

This is because the lemon trees, and other citrus trees, have relatively easy roots to manage. Also, they are readily available from garden centers as dwarf trees, which are created to be smaller in structure.

As with all plants grown hydroponically, you will need to replace the soil with a nutrient solution that balances all their nutritional needs.

Growing plants hydroponically does normally mean you’re saving space, conserving water usage, being more efficient with nutrients, and protecting plants from soil-borne diseases. But when the plant you’re growing is a tree, these beneficial elements (except the soil-borne diseases) are not as substantial as with other plants like vegetables.

And the fact is citrus trees require lots of water, sun, and root space - no matter if they’re dwarf versions or not.

But growing citrus trees hydroponically is one of the best projects for a keen horticulturist, so it’s worth putting up with the extra work.

Now, let’s investigate the perfect growing conditions you’ll need to mimic when growing hydroponic lemons.

Also Read: 

• How To Grow Hydroponic Oranges
• Best Fruits and Vegetables to Grow Hydroponically

Perfect Hydroponic Growing Conditions For Lemon Trees

Lemon trees are considered a generally low-maintenance plant, and certain varieties can live in the home during harsh winters.

Citrus trees as a whole love sunlight and will lap up 6 to 8 hours of direct light and more a day. And when potting them outdoors, it is best to do it during early spring to avoid the harsh conditions of winter and summer.

But with hydroponics, you will most likely be growing them in a large indoor space. A generalization with citrus trees is they don’t like having their roots sitting in water and will require good drainage.

The climate you want to mimic is tropical to semi-tropical climates, like those in the USA citrus belt in California and from the Gulf Coast to Florida.

You can grow lemons in colder conditions, but for your hydroponic setup, the key to a large crop is to recreate the perfect environment. Lemon trees are happy between temperatures of 75°F to 85°F.

And as you can imagine, they love a little humidity, so try to get as close to 50% as possible.

Lemon trees are hungry, fruit-bearing plants. They will require a constant supply of nutrients in your system, with a complete NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilizer. And if they are struggling to produce fruit, a top-up with Epsom salts will help immensely.

Be aware that citrus trees do have sensitive roots. This means adding too much of a nutrient mix to the solution might cause a decrease in access to oxygen in the system. To ensure that the nutrients are balanced, you will need to conduct pH and electrical conductivity (EC) testing, regularly.

Your pH should be around the standard 5.5 to 6.5. Citrus trees are not salt tolerant so when testing EC levels, ensure the readings are below 2,200ppm. This will require flushing the system when levels exceed optimal intensity.

When growing hydroponic lemon trees, the variety can make a large difference. Let’s have a look at some of them.

Different Lemons Trees You Can Grow

There are roughly 30 varieties of lemon trees in the world. Each of these varietals will have certain unique characteristics. Some of these trees will handle the cold better and be smaller in size.

The small size of some of these trees puts them in the top selection for hydroponics.

Lisbon Lemon

One of the most popular lemon trees in the world, these produce the fruit you can buy on the shelf. As a tree, it can tolerate huge swings in temperature and will produce fruit non-stop after its first successful crop.

These can also be made into dwarf trees.

Meyer Lemon

While the fruit of a Meyer lemon tree will be smaller than those on a Lisbon tree, they produce a delicious fruit which is a crossbreed between a sour lemon and a sweet orange, making them popular.

Meyer lemon trees require little space to grow and can be happily grown indoors. And due to their smaller size, they require less water and nutrients, a bonus if you’re growing an indoor crop.

While the Meyer lemon is ready for indoor hydroponic growing, the Lisbon lemon will need to be grown from a dwarf version of itself.

But what is involved in creating a dwarf lemon tree?

Creating a Dwarf Lemon Tree

Lemon trees are perfect candidates for creating dwarf versions of themselves. You can even grow citrus trees from their own cuttings. To root a branch, you need to snip off a branch that is not brand new or too old and established; the best are green, semi-established branches. If it is hyper-flexible, it’s too young; if it snaps, it’s too old.

Cut the branch off and remove the lower leaves. Then place it into a small pot with potting soil with fertilizer, and watch it root. Make sure to put your cuttings in a sunny window.

While purchasing a small lemon tree from a garden center isn’t too much of a challenge, you can also create your own dwarf tree through grafting, which is when you join a cutting (also known as a scion, to rootstock that suits your growing needs.

When mating the rootstock with the scion, you will be blending two different plants with distinct properties. Your rootstock could be excellent for handling colder conditions, while the scion promises to deliver a specific type of fruit.

Grafting takes time to master, and you should expect to fail a few times.

With rooting cuttings or grafting, you will shorten the waiting time for your first fruit. If grown from seed, the tree can take up to 5 years to produce, and the result is not guaranteed.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s talk about what hydroponic system you’ll require.

Hydroponic Requirements for Lemon Trees

When growing lemon trees, most will suggest selecting between a deep water culture (DWC) system or drip irrigation. We’d suggest selecting the drip irrigation system, although others would suggest going with the DWC.

We believe using drip irrigation allows for more flexibility regarding pot size. Also, when it is time to move the trees, it is simpler to do so with a dripper system. Just wheel in a trolly, move the tree, and place the dripper back in place.

A major consideration is also the height of the grow light. With all trees grown hydroponically, the height and size will dictate where and how you install the grow light. If you’re growing trees you’ll need to adjust the grow light throughout the early stages of growth.

The next factor to consider with lemons is they require a lot of sunlight.

Choosing a hydroponic full-spectrum LED light will assist with this. Also, it will help with power bills. Your lemon tree will require at least six to eight hours of sunlight daily, with the optimum level being 12 hours.

Your growing medium will likely be a coco coir substrate, but smaller trees can be rooted in Rockwool. You can vary these growing mediums between stone wool or rice husks, but as long as it allows for good drainage, you should be good.

The constant flow of water can often bring down the temperature in a grow room. For this reason, you might want to invest in a small aquarium heater to ensure the temperature doesn’t drop too low.

Now it’s time to walk through the process of setting up your hydroponic setup.

How To Assemble Your Lemon Tree Hydroponic System

As we mentioned, most will suggest using a DWC system to grow a lemon tree, but the margin for error is more significant with DWC when compared to a more straightforward drip irrigation system.

With a drip irrigation system, you will connect the drippers to the water source, dripping the nutrient solution at the tree's base. And you can always add more drippers if required.

The potting medium should allow quick drainage through the substrate into a catchment area that will flow back into the main reservoir.

Set the water timings at five to eight times a day, with watering intervals of 10 minutes.

Harvesting is a simple process of picking the fruit straight off the tree. You can leave the fruit on the tree for months, keeping them fresh. But the longer you wait, the longer it takes for the next flowering cycle to occur.

And to ensure the fruit does develop, you will need to hand pollinate the flowers on the trees. A paint brush will do to transfer the pollen from flower to flower.

Now You Know How Grow Lemons Hydroponically

Growing a tree hydroponically will mean spending more than usual on your initial setup. You will need more water, fertilizer, space, light, growing medium, and more parts for the system. But we think it’s worth it for the fruit!

But you get it right; you could harvest a crop of oranges all year round. For those lusting for that zesty citrus aroma and fresh is a must, then growing your lemons in a hydroponic system is worth it.

There’s nothing like the smell from peeling the skin off a fresh orange to put you in a good mood. That spritz of zingy citrus scent is enough to transport you to sun-drenched orchards. But oranges, and other citrus trees, can be grown in an indoor environment all year round, hydroponically.

Growing trees hydroponically will always be challenging as they require loads of water, light, and space. For this reason, all hydroponically grown trees need to be dwarf trees.

When looking for dwarf trees, you must investigate what type you need for your hydroponic setup.

Let’s investigate what type of dwarf orange tree is the best and what rootstock you need to select for the best results.

Related:

• How To Grow Hydroponic Lemont Trees
• Best Hydroponic Plants, Fruits, and Vegetables

Dwarf Orange Trees

Citrus trees have a relatively flexible root system and can conform to suit your needs. This means that dwarf orange trees will be easier to find than other dwarf trees.

Dwarf trees don’t naturally occur and are a product of human intervention. These trees grow to their full size when reaching only 18 - 22 feet. But even at this small size, they will produce full-sized produce.

Commonly, dwarf oranges are marketed toward those living in small homes with minimal space in their yard. Growing them in the soil requires little to no maintenance. As long as the tree has loads of sun, moist soil that drains well, and is fertilized regularly, you should be good to go.

The same is basically true for hydroponics, except that you need to keep a light on the trees and manage the nutrients in your system.

There are several varieties to choose from when considering growing a dwarf citrus tree in your hydroponic system.

These include:

• Calamondins
• Tangerines
• Clementines
• Owari

Citrus trees are perfect candidates for creating cloned dwarf versions of themselves. And there’s no need to purchase a new rootstock and graft a cutting yourself.

Young citrus trees, like your hydroponically grown orange, are a perfect candidate for softwood cuttings. These are the branches that are not brand new shoots or a lot older and established; they are green, semi-established branches. If it is hyper-flexible, it’s too young; if it snaps, it’s too old. With cuttings, you will shorten the waiting time for your first fruit.

If you want to clone the plant, just cut these softwood branches off and remove the lower leaves. Then you can place them into a small pot with potting soil and fertilizer and watch them root. Make sure to put them in a sunny window.

But if you can’t find the exact dwarf orange tree you want at your local garden center, you can perform a grafting technique, joining a cutting (also known as a scion) to rootstock that suits your growing needs. This also cuts down the waiting time for fruit.

When mating the rootstock with a scion, you will be blending two different plants with distinct properties. Your rootstock could be excellent for handling colder conditions, while the scion promises to deliver a specific type of fruit.

Make sure to cut the mating branches at 45° and use sterilized equipment to lower the risk of transferring diseases. Bind them together, using plastic tape. Make sure to wrap tightly.

Grafting takes time to master, expect to fail a few times.

The alternative will be growing an orange tree from seed, and it can take up to ten years before it starts producing fruit.

Now that we know the type of plant required for growing oranges hydroponically. Let’s focus on what conditions orange trees love.

Best Growing Conditions For Hydroponic Orange Trees

Originating from the northeastern region of India, they are now grown worldwide. Orange trees have been domesticated for thousands of years. According to research conducted in the 80s, oranges are the most cultivated fruit tree in the world.

Now you can find them in most tropical and subtropical climates worldwide. All citrus trees belong to a single genus of Citrus and are almost entirely interfertile. This means cross-breeding is pretty straightforward and commonplace.

Citrus trees do well at moderate temperatures of between 59.9 °F and 84.2 °F. Oranges are sensitive to frost, but you can move them indoors for the chillier months. To combat this in the early part of the 20th century, farmers developed a smudge pot, which is a pot and chimney device that burns oil to keep the frost from forming. Luckily today, this can be replaced by an intense grow light.

Oranges need lots of water, fertilizer, and a good draining substrate.

Outdoors in an orchard, oranges will require up to 40 to 45 inches of rain annually but they can tolerate up to 60 inches. With extreme downpours, the trees will need the water to drain away. If not, they can suffer from mold and root rot.

In drier conditions, the fruit will develop a more intense color. At the same time, there won’t be as many oranges on the tree.

Now let’s focus on the requirements for growing an orange tree in a hydroponic system.

Hydroponic Requirements for Orange Trees

When growing orange trees, you must choose between a deep water culture (DWC) system or drip irrigation. With growing trees hydroponically, we’d suggest selecting the drip irrigation system.

Drip irrigation allows for more flexibility regarding pot size. Also, if you are required to move the trees, you can with a dripper system.

Check out our top recommendations for purchasing a hydroponic system: Top Rated Hydroponic Systems

A major consideration is also the height of the grow light.

With trees, the height and size of the plant determine how you install the grow light. The gardener will need to adjust the grow light throughout the early stages of growth.

The next factor is citrus trees require a lot of sunlight.

Choosing a full-spectrum LED light will assist with this. Also, it will help with your power bills. Your orange tree will require at least six to eight hours of sunlight daily, but the optimum level is 12 hours.

With citrus fruit, you may be tempted to maintain the pH level reasonably high, but reducing the pH level from 7.0 to between 6.0 and 6.5 results in better absorption of nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, zinc, and iron.

Nutrients need to be an even 20-20-20, so a generic all-around fertilizer will do. The growing medium will likely be a coco coir substrate, with the smaller trees rooted in Rockwool. You can vary these growing mediums between stone wool or rice husks, but as long as it allows for good drainage you should be good.

The constant flow of water can often bring down the temperature in a grow room. For this reason, you might want to invest in a small aquarium heater to ensure the temperature doesn’t drop too low.

Orange trees are also not a fan of high humidity, which will require you to purchase a small fan to circulate the air around the plant. Humidity can lead to mold and fungi forming on your tree.

Now it’s time to walk through the process of setting up your hydroponic system.

How To Assemble Your Orange Tree Hydroponic System

While many suggest using a DWC system to grow an orange system, the margin for error is more significant when compared to a more straightforward drip irrigation system.

With a drip irrigation system, you will connect the drippers to the water source, dripping the nutrient solution at the tree's base. You can always add more drippers if required.

The potting medium should allow quick drainage through the substrate into a catchment area that will flow back into the main reservoir.

Set the water timing to five to eight times a day, with watering intervals of 10 minutes. Also, ensure that the ventilation works so mold and fungi don’t take hold.

Harvesting is a simple process of picking the fruit straight off the tree. You can leave the fruit on the tree for months, keeping them fresh. But the longer you wait, the longer it takes for the next flowering cycle to occur.

And to ensure the fruit does develop, you will need to hand pollinate the flowers on the trees. A paint brush will do to transfer the pollen from flower to flower.

Now You Know How Grow Oranges Hydroponically

Growing a tree hydroponically will mean spending more than usual on your initial setup. You need more water, fertilizer, space, light, growing medium, and more parts for the system.

But you get it right; you could harvest a crop of oranges all year round. For those lusting for that zesty citrus aroma and fresh taste, then growing your oranges in a hydroponic system is worth it.