GrowingHQ

What actually grows well without soil

Soilless systems suit fast leafy crops and long-season fruiting crops, and are a poor use of equipment for anything grown for a swollen root. This is the honest short list rather than the equipment-supplier one — set to the strict verdict, because at the inclusive setting it returns forty-six crops of which most say 'works if', and a page promising what grows WELL cannot be built out of qualified yeses. The eighty-five assessments behind it were authored in Sprint 22 and most of them say no.

How this list was built

Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 14 of the 102 edible plants qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.

14 plants
PlantTypeLightSpacingMin. pot depthIn a container
BasilOcimum basilicumHerbSome care neededFull sun20–25 cm15 cmwell suited
ChicoryCichorium intybusVegetableSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade25–30 cm45 cmworkable
Chilli pepperCapsicum annuumVegetableSome care neededFull sun40–45 cm20 cmwell suited
CucumberCucumis sativusVegetableSome care neededFull sun45–60 cm30 cmworkable
EndiveCichorium endiviaVegetableSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade25–30 cm20 cmworkable
Garlic chivesAllium tuberosumHerbStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade20–30 cm20 cmwell suited
LettuceLactuca sativaVegetableStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade15–30 cm15 cmwell suited
MintMenthaHerbStraightforwardPartial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade30–45 cm20 cmwell suited
SpinachSpinacia oleraceaVegetableSome care neededFull sun, Partial shade15 cm20 cmwell suited
StrawberryFragaria × ananassaFruitStraightforwardFull sun, Partial shade35–45 cm20 cmwell suited
Sweet pepperCapsicum annuumVegetableSome care neededFull sun45 cm25 cmwell suited
Thai basilOcimum basilicum var. thyrsifloraHerbSome care neededFull sun25–30 cm20 cmwell suited
TomatoSolanum lycopersicumVegetableSome care neededFull sun45–60 cm25 cmwell suited
Vietnamese corianderPersicaria odorataHerbSome care neededPartial shade, Full sun30–40 cm20 cmwell suited