Hydroponic Plants in Australia: What You Can Grow
What plants can you grow hydroponically in Australia?
You can grow at least 73 different plants hydroponically in Australia — leafy greens and lettuces, fresh herbs, fruiting vegetables like tomatoes and capsicum, brassicas, cucurbits, alliums, strawberries and edible flowers. Fast leafy crops such as lettuce, rocket and basil are the easiest place to start. Fruiting crops take longer, but indoors they grow well all year, even through winter.
Think of this page as your home base for hydroponic plants in Australia. Every plant below opens a free LaNiTex grow guide written for Australian conditions: timing from seed to harvest, the nutrient and pH levels to aim for, and how to fix the usual problems like yellowing leaves and root rot.
What are hydroponic plants?
Hydroponic plants are plants grown in nutrient-enriched water instead of soil. Hydroponics replaces the soil with a solution carrying every mineral the plant needs — the roots sit in it, or are fed by it regularly, so growth no longer depends on soil quality. That is why the method works indoors, year-round, and in any climate — including a flat with no garden at all.
How hydroponic systems work
Every hydroponic system does the same job — hold the plant up and deliver water, nutrient and oxygen to the roots. They differ mainly in how the solution moves.
| System | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Deep water culture (DWC) | Roots hang in an oxygenated nutrient solution over a reservoir. | Leafy greens and herbs; the least to go wrong |
| Kratky | A non-recirculating version of the same idea: fill the reservoir once and let the level fall as the plant drinks. | Short, fast crops — no pump, no power |
| Nutrient film technique (NFT) | A thin film of nutrient flows continuously past the roots in a shallow channel. | Lettuce and greens grown in quantity |
| Aeroponics | Roots hang in air and are misted with nutrient solution. | Fast growth, but the most equipment to keep running |
The roots still need something to sit in. The growing medium holds the plant steady and keeps moisture at the root. It does not feed the plant, which is the job of the nutrient solution. Rockwool cubes and coco coir plugs are the usual choice for starting seed, and both sit inside a net pot. Clay pebbles (LECA) and perlite drain quickly, which suits deep water culture and drip setups. None of them is soil, and none of them contains nutrients.
Whichever system you use, the plant list below does not change. A crop that grows well hydroponically does so regardless of which method delivers the water — the differences show up in how much equipment you maintain, not in what you can grow.
Starting from seed
Seed does not go into soil. It goes into a small rockwool cube or coco coir plug, which sits inside a net cup and holds the seed at a steady moisture level; once roots show through the base, the whole plug goes into the system. Keep the plugs between 18 and 25°C while they germinate. Most crops on this page break the surface in seven to ten days: fast greens such as mustard and rocket in about four to seven, slower herbs like coriander and parsley closer to fourteen. No special seed is needed: the same packet you would sow in a garden bed works.
Find a hydroponic plant to grow
Showing all 73 plants.
Lettuce
Crisp salad leaves that grow fast in water, and the easiest crops for a first hydroponic harvest. Loose-leaf types like oak leaf and lollo can be picked leaf by leaf over several weeks, so a handful of plants keeps a household in salad. Hearting types like iceberg and cos want a bit more patience and space, and all of them prefer things on the cooler side.
Leafy & Asian greens
Nutrient-dense greens and quick-growing Asian vegetables for salads and stir-fries. Most are ready in weeks rather than months — and if you want something faster still, microgreen kits crop in days. Many can be cut and left to regrow. Bok choy and rocket are the most forgiving of the group; spinach is the fussiest, so it is worth leaving until you have a few harvests behind you.
Herbs
Fresh kitchen herbs on tap, whenever you need them. A supermarket bunch of coriander wilts in the crisper within days, while a living plant on the bench gets cut the moment you need it and keeps growing. Pinch basil out above a leaf pair and each stem branches into two, so regular harvesting makes the plant bushier rather than smaller.
Brassicas
Broccoli, cauliflower and the rest of the cabbage family. They are cool-season plants at heart, which explains most of what goes wrong with them: kept too warm they bolt, running to flower instead of forming the head you were waiting for. Indoors you control the temperature, which is exactly why they work through an Australian summer. Radish and kohlrabi are the quick wins of the family.
Fruiting vegetables
Tomatoes, capsicum and other fruiting crops that do really well indoors. They take months rather than weeks and want 12 to 16 hours of light a day, but they are not temperamental plants once established. Indoors there are no insects, so they need hand-pollination: a gentle shake of the flower truss, or a soft brush moved between flowers. Skip that and you get a healthy plant covered in flowers and no fruit.
Cucurbits
Cucumbers, melons and squash. They are climbers, and planning for that upfront is most of the job: give them vertical space and something to grab onto, or they will take over the bench. They are thirsty and light-hungry, and like the other fruiting crops they need hand-pollination indoors before they will set fruit.
Alliums
Onion-family crops you can snip fresh as you need them. Chives and spring onions are cut-and-come-again, so a single sowing can feed a kitchen for months; leeks are the patient one of the family and want a longer run before they bulk up. Grown indoors they stay clean and grit-free, which anyone who has washed soil-grown leeks will appreciate.
Fruit
Sweet hydroponic fruit, grown indoors. Strawberries take a few months to reach first fruit and need hand-pollination with no insects around, but they are not difficult plants, and fruiting indoors means no slugs and no birds getting there before you do.
Edible flowers
Bright, edible blooms for garnishes, salads and a bit of colour. Nasturtium leaves and flowers carry a peppery kick like rocket, calendula petals scatter over a salad like saffron-coloured confetti, and pansies and violas are mild enough to sit on a cake. They also make the system look like a feature rather than an appliance.
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The best hydroponic plants to start with
If this is your first soil-free grow, start with something fast. A crop that reaches the kitchen in a few weeks tells you quickly whether your light, water and nutrient levels are right — and it is far less discouraging than waiting months to discover something was off.
The plants most suitable for hydroponics when you are starting out are lettuce, rocket, bok choy, basil, mint, dill and parsley. They grow quickly, need little more than a top-up and a pH check, and tolerate the small mistakes every new grower makes. Among the edible flowers, marigold, pansy and viola, and amaranth are just as easy, and they make the system look like a feature rather than an appliance.
Tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers and strawberries are easier to grow than they look. They are slower — months rather than weeks — and they need hand-pollination indoors, but they are not temperamental plants once established. If you are happy to wait, they are a perfectly sensible first crop. Spinach is the exception among the quick leafy greens: it is less forgiving than it looks, so leave it until you have a few harvests behind you.
| If you want… | Grow these | Roughly how long |
|---|---|---|
| A first harvest, fast | Lettuce, rocket, bok choy | About 30–60 days |
| Kitchen herbs on tap | Basil, mint, dill, parsley | About 30–60 days to first cut |
| Something to cook with properly | Tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, eggplant | About 70 to 100 days to first fruit |
| Colour on the plate | Marigold, pansy & viola, amaranth | Varies by variety |
Found something you want to grow?
Everything on this page grows in the same kind of setup — an indoor hydroponic system with light, water and nutrient delivery built in. Have a look at what fits your space.
Browse hydroponic systemsWhat to feed hydroponic plants
This is the part that trips up most new growers, and it is simpler than it sounds. In soil, a plant scavenges minerals from what is around it. In a hydroponic system there is no soil to scavenge from, so every mineral the plant needs has to arrive dissolved in the water. That is all hydroponic plant food is: a balanced mineral mix made to be dissolved rather than dug in.
What is actually in the solution
A complete hydroponic nutrient supplies the three macronutrients: nitrogen for leaf growth, phosphorus for roots and flowering, potassium for overall vigour and fruit quality — plus calcium, magnesium, sulphur and trace elements like iron, manganese and zinc. Ordinary garden fertiliser is not a substitute: most soil fertilisers assume the soil is already supplying calcium, magnesium and trace elements, so used on their own in water they leave gaps.
Sources: Penn State Extension — Hydroponics Systems and Principles of Plant Nutrition; University of Minnesota Extension — Small-scale hydroponics.
The two numbers worth watching
pH controls whether the plant can actually absorb what is in the water. Get it wrong and the nutrients are present but locked out, which looks confusingly like starvation. EC (electrical conductivity) tells you how concentrated the solution is — how much food is dissolved in there.
Each LaNiTex grow guide lists the pH and EC range for that specific plant, because leafy greens and fruiting crops want noticeably different strengths. A 4-in-1 water quality tester reads both, along with TDS and temperature.
| Plant group | pH | EC (mS/cm) | Light (hours/day) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lettuce | 5.5–6.5 | 0.8–1.2 | 12–14 |
| Leafy & Asian greens | 5.7–6.5 | 1.5–2.4 | 12–16 |
| Herbs | 5.5–6.5 | 1.0–1.8 | 12–16 |
| Brassicas | 6.0–6.5 | 1.3–2.1 | 12–16 |
| Fruiting vegetables | 5.8–6.5 | 1.8–2.5 | 12–16 |
| Cucurbits | 5.8–6.5 | 1.8–2.4 | 12–14 |
| Alliums | 6.0–6.8 | 1.4–2.0 | 12–16 |
| Fruit | 5.8–6.2 | 1.5–2.5 | 10–16 |
| Edible flowers | 5.5–6.3 | 1.2–1.7 | 12–16 |
These are the typical working ranges across the guides in each group. Individual crops vary, so the figure on the plant’s own guide is the one to follow.
How often to feed and water
You do not water a hydroponic plant on a schedule the way you would a pot. The reservoir does that continuously. What you do instead is check it. Look at the level every two or three days and top it up with plain water as it drops. Check the pH at the same time; every three to four days is enough for most crops. Then replace the whole solution every one to two weeks for fast leafy crops, and every two to three weeks for slower fruiting ones, so mineral salts do not build up and the balance does not drift.
Topping up
Plants drink faster than they feed. As the reservoir drops, the remaining solution concentrates, so topping up with plain water — not more nutrient — is usually the right move, then a full change of solution every couple of weeks to reset the balance.
Growing hydroponic plants indoors in Australia
Growing indoors is what makes the Australian climate matter far less. A Brisbane summer that bolts lettuce in a week, a Melbourne winter that stops tomatoes dead, a rental with no garden at all — most of it stops applying once the light, temperature and water are under your control.
Light
Indoors, light is the limit rather than the weather. Leafy greens and herbs are relatively undemanding; fruiting crops such as tomatoes and capsicum need noticeably more light for longer each day before they will set fruit properly. A windowsill alone rarely does it for fruiting crops in winter, which is why the LaNiTex systems have LED lighting built in.
Pollination
Outdoors, insects and wind handle this. Indoors there is usually neither, so fruiting crops need a hand — a gentle shake of the flower truss, or a soft brush moved between flowers. Leafy greens and herbs are harvested before flowering, so this rarely comes up for them. It is the single most common reason an indoor tomato flowers beautifully and then sets no fruit.
Season
Indoors you can largely ignore the calendar, but the crops still have preferences. Brassicas and many lettuces genuinely prefer cooler conditions and will bolt if kept too warm; basil and fruiting crops want warmth. The individual grow guides note which way each plant leans.
Can you move hydroponic plants into soil?
Yes, but not abruptly. Roots grown in water develop differently from roots grown in soil. They are finer and adapted to constant moisture and oxygen. Move a plant straight into a dry pot and those roots struggle, which is why a healthy-looking plant can wilt within a day of transplanting.
The trick is to transition gradually:
- Pot into a light, well-draining mix rather than heavy garden soil.
- Keep it consistently damp for the first fortnight, while new soil-adapted roots form.
- Keep the plant out of harsh direct sun for that same fortnight.
- Only then treat it as a normal potted plant.
Younger plants adapt far more readily than mature ones. Herbs and leafy greens generally make the move well; fruiting crops well into production are best left where they are.
Hydroponic plant problems and how to fix them
Almost every hydroponic problem traces back to one of four things: pH drift, nutrient strength, light, or water temperature. Here is how the common symptoms usually map.
| What you see | Where to look first |
|---|---|
| Older leaves yellowing from the bottom up | Usually nitrogen running low, or pH drifted far enough to lock nutrients out. Check pH before adding anything. |
| Leaf tips browned or scorched | Often nutrient strength too high. Check EC and dilute rather than feeding more. |
| Wilting despite a full reservoir | Roots are not getting oxygen, or the water is too warm. Check the pump and the water temperature. |
| Tall, pale, stretched seedlings | Not enough light, or the light sitting too far away. |
| Green film on tubing or the reservoir | Algae — light is reaching the water. Block it out and the algae stops. |
| Plenty of flowers, no fruit | Indoor fruiting crops need hand-pollination. |
Each grow guide covers the problems specific to that plant in more detail, and once you are harvesting there are recipes to use the crop.
Frequently asked questions
How many plants can you grow hydroponically in Australia?
Almost any leafy green, herb, salad crop, fruiting vegetable, brassica, cucurbit or edible flower can be grown hydroponically in Australia — 73 of them are covered in the guides on this page. The easiest and fastest are leafy greens and herbs like lettuce, spinach, kale, basil and coriander, which can be ready in a few weeks. Fruiting crops like tomatoes, capsicum and strawberries take longer, but they grow well indoors too.
What are the easiest plants to grow hydroponically for beginners?
The most forgiving hydroponic plants for beginners are lettuce, rocket, bok choy, basil, mint, dill and parsley — they grow quickly and need very little fuss. Marigold, pansy and viola, and amaranth are just as easy if you want edible flowers. Tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers and strawberries are good beginner crops too: they take months rather than weeks and need hand-pollination indoors, but they are not difficult plants to keep alive. Spinach is worth leaving until later, as it is less forgiving than the other quick leafy greens.
What do you feed hydroponic plants?
Hydroponic plants are fed a complete nutrient solution dissolved in the water — nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium plus calcium, magnesium, sulphur and trace elements. Because there is no soil to draw from, the solution has to supply everything, so a general garden fertiliser is not a substitute. Keeping pH in range matters just as much as the nutrient itself, because the wrong pH locks nutrients out even when they are present.
Do hydroponic plants need sunlight?
They need light, but it does not have to be sunlight. Hydroponic plants grow perfectly well under LED grow lights, which is what makes indoor growing possible year-round regardless of the weather. Leafy greens and herbs need less light than fruiting crops like tomatoes and capsicum, which need more intensity and longer hours before they will set fruit.
Can you transplant hydroponic plants into soil?
Yes, provided you do it gradually. Roots grown in water are adapted to constant moisture, so a plant moved straight into dry soil often wilts. Pot into a light, well-draining mix, keep it consistently damp for about two weeks while new roots develop, and keep the plant out of harsh direct sun during that time. Younger plants transition far more easily than mature ones.
Do hydroponic plants grow faster than plants in soil?
Often, yes. Because nutrients arrive dissolved and directly available at the roots, the plant spends less energy on root foraging and more on leaf and fruit growth. Indoors the growing conditions are also stable year-round, so there are no weather setbacks. The size of the difference depends on the crop and on how well light, pH and nutrient strength are managed.
Are hydroponic plants as nutritious as soil-grown ones?
A hydroponically grown plant takes up the same mineral nutrients a soil-grown one does — the difference is that they arrive dissolved in the water rather than released from soil. Published comparisons of the two methods vary by crop, variety and growing conditions rather than showing that one method is consistently more nutritious. What does make a difference is how long ago the plant was picked: vitamin levels in leafy greens fall during storage and transport, so something cut in your own kitchen has not spent days in a truck first.
Can you grow tomatoes and other fruiting vegetables hydroponically in Australia?
Yes. Tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, eggplant, cucumbers and strawberries all grow well hydroponically in Australia. They take longer than leafy greens and need good light plus a bit of support as they grow, but indoors you can grow them right through the year, whatever the weather is doing outside. They do need hand-pollination indoors.
Do hydroponic plants need special seeds?
No. Hydroponic plants use the same standard seeds you would plant in soil, so there is no such thing as a special hydroponic seed. You start the seeds in a soil-free medium like a germination mat or grow plug, then move them into the system once they sprout.
How long do hydroponic plants take to grow?
It depends on the crop. Fast leafy greens and herbs like lettuce, rocket and basil can be ready to harvest in roughly 30 to 60 days. Fruiting crops like tomatoes, capsicum and cucumbers take longer, usually 50 to 100 days from seed to first harvest depending on the crop. Each LaNiTex grow guide lists the expected timeline for that specific plant.
Which plants are hard to grow hydroponically?
Large root crops and tubers like potatoes and carrots are harder to grow hydroponically, because they need room to develop underground. Very large or sprawling plants can be impractical indoors too. Most leafy, herb, salad and fruiting crops, though, are well suited to it.
Why are my hydroponic plants turning yellow?
Yellowing usually means one of two things: the nutrient solution is running low on nitrogen, or the pH has drifted far enough that the plant cannot absorb what is there. Check pH first, because adding more nutrient when pH is the real problem makes matters worse. If yellowing starts on the oldest leaves at the bottom, that points to nitrogen; patchy yellowing between the veins of newer leaves points to a trace element issue.
What can you grow in hydroponics?
Leafy greens, herbs, brassicas, alliums, fruiting vegetables, cucurbits, strawberries and edible flowers all grow well in hydroponics. Fast leafy crops like lettuce, rocket and basil are the easiest place to start — every plant listed above has a free Australian grow guide with its target pH and nutrient levels.
Questions about growing any of these? Call 1300 915 084, email office@lanitexhydrogarden.com.au, or use the contact page. LaNiTex Hydro Garden is an Australian-registered business based in Sippy Downs, Queensland, and every product is tested here before it is listed.
The easy-to-grow ratings on this page come from crops we have grown in our own systems on the Sunshine Coast, and every guide is written for Australian conditions. Last updated 31 July 2026. More about who writes these guides.
Grow any of these in one unit
Every plant on this page grows in a LaNiTex indoor hydroponic system — light, water and nutrient delivery built into one unit, so there is nothing to assemble. Pick the crop first; the system is the same either way.