Want to just pluck some fresh herbs and veggies right from the plant off your kitchen counter, but not want to worry about the soil and mud that messes it up. Then we have a solution for you. Grow your favorite set of herbs and veggies in water, without worrying about watering them on time, the seasonal effects, and adding soil. An alternative technique is transferring some of the soil-grown shoots of the plant to water and continue growing them. This method of growing plants in water, without soil is called hydroponics.
8 Handy Herbs That Can Be Water Grown
Herbs are potent health boosters with characteristics of being antibacterial, antiviral, and containing many essential minerals. Their illness-fighting and immunity boosting antioxidants are said to be more powerful than everyday fruits and vegetables. So why not have a few within your reach?
1. Peppermint And Spearmint
Mint has potent medicinal properties thanks to its menthol content, which gives your taste buds and skin a cooling touch. What’s more is these two forms of mints can be very easily grown in water! All you have to do is place a few fresh stems in water to grow them into new plants.
2. Lemon-Balm
This lemon-scented herb comes from the mint family and gives your drinks a healthy punch of flavor. Take a few fresh stems during spring or fall and keep it in containers of water located in a warm and brightly-lit place in your home. Keep the water clean and if it helps, keep the plant outside when the climate is warm. This may also lower its chances of molding. You can bring it indoors once it grows fresh leaves.
3. Basil
Thanks to the warmth of your kitchen, basil would grow wonderfully. All it needs is for a few stems to be put in a container of water with some light shed on it. Make use of cuttings which have not flowered yet. Growing them in water also preserves them during the cold winter seasons.
4. Sage
Pluck a few tender stems during spring and root them in water. You can grow one or two sage plants, as it takes very little to add flavor to your cooking. Make sure the plant has access to enough light and fresh air, as mold easily infects it.
5. Stevia
This herb has a sweet tinge to it and is a lovely addition to freshly brewed teas and drinks. Just break a few soft branches of some freshly grown stevia and put them in water. The plant needs to be grown in a warm place and get as much light as possible to keep it fresh with sweetness and healthy.
6. Oregano
This powerful Italian herb would be a lovely addition to grow on your kitchen window sill, so you can just pluck it and garnish any of your dishes. Take a few fresh cuts of oregano stems and put them in a pot of water. As they start to grow, you can pinch the new leaves for use.
7. Thyme
Pluck a few stems that are freshly sprouted and green in color during summer or spring before the plant starts to flower, as the old shoots would be brown and less likely to sprout. Thyme tends to dry out very quickly, so place them in water right after you cut them. Sprinkle it with water if needed and once it starts to grow, trim the stems so it grows new branches.
8. Rosemary
This part-woody plant of rosemary takes a little longer to root and shoot. However, plucking and placing some new spring cut stems in water, located in a sunlit place, may help it grow faster. Being such a flavor-filled herb, it is worth the hard work and patience.
4 Vegetables To Grow In Water
Some naturally water-borne plants include lotus, watercress, wasabi, and water chestnut, but there are few other soil-grown vegetables that can be grown in water very happily and not get infected by those bugs or bacteria found in the soil.
9. Leafy Vegetables
Leafy veggies like lettuce and spinach, are favorites among hydroponic farmers and are some of the easiest veggies to grow in water. All you need to do is grow the seeds in net-topped containers, and when they grow bigger, they can be placed into permanent water beds.
10. Tomatoes And Peppers
Start by putting some tomato or bell pepper seeds in individual cups of less water. After they sprout, the water can be increased as per the height. Hydroponic tomatoes usually give high yields.
11. Celery
After cutting the leaf stem base of celery, you can easily place them in a container of water to grow, without the annoying need to wash the mud off each time, which happens when growing them in soil.
12. Cucumbers
The bush-variety of cucumbers are a water-growing favorite as the creeper cucumbers would need additional support. Being such a hydrating veggie, this comes as no surprise. Place a few seeds in a shallow bin of water and as they sprout, keep increasing the amount it needs.
4 Things You Need To Grow These Plants In Water
Growing plants in soil gives them some mineral value for growth and keeps the roots sturdy, so growing plants in water alone may not have a similar root strength or give it nutritional support. So, add some sand, stones, gravel, clay, and even hydro-jelly. Getting some nutrients to add to the water of your hydroponic plants may help, as the special formula can give plants uninterrupted nourishment, a higher yield, and make them grow faster. Here are some planting tips to successfully grow your hydroponic plants at home:
Water
When growing herbs in your kitchen, you can root the herb stems in clean water. Make sure the water is not chlorinated, as the chemical may inhibit the plant’s tissues from growing. You can use tap water that’s left in open air overnight, collected rainwater, fresh spring water, or even water from a well, as they contain some enriching minerals that may foster plant growth.
Containers
Use slightly narrow-mouthed containers as they keep the shoots upright. But make sure they are not too narrow as that would not allow air to move freely in and out the container for the roots to breathe. Narrower it is, the less likely the plant can expand during growth too. The containers can be glass or plastic bottles, mason jars, and especially colored containers, because plant roots tend to move away from direct light. If not, you can wrap a piece of paper around any transparent or translucent bottle to keep the roots in the dark. If you’re using a wide-mouthed container, you can place a net mesh that has a few narrow holes, so you can place the cuttings upright in them so they get some support. A plus point is that the mesh will keep mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water and reproducing.
Plant Cuttings
Use soft and tender cuttings as they are the best to root in water. If you have some herbs already growing in the garden, cut around 6-inch stems from the growing ends down and put them in the water-filled containers. If not, you can easily buy the stems of herbs you get in the supermarket to replant and grow. First wash them in plain water, cut off the lower ends, remove the bottom leaves and snip the lower ends of the stems where the roots come out. After that, insert them into the water-containers making sure that the leaves are all above and not touching the water. If the leaves touch the water, they can decompose and spoil the water in the container. Herbs like rosemary take about 2 to 6 weeks to grow and need its water changed once a week, with minimal disturbance.
Fertilizing
Water grown plants will need additional nutrients to keep them healthy, since there is no soil to naturally provide it for them. You can dilute normal fertilizers in the water, but the residue left by it needs to be cleansed out of the containers and water regularly as it can hinder the plants growth.
