You can grow almost anything!
There is no plant species yet found that does not thrive in iAVs, with growth rates far exceeding traditional techniques.
The NCSU peer-reviewed research validated three crops across three different plant families; tomatoes, cucumbers and bush beans. Since then iAVs has been proven to grow an extremely diverse variety of plants.
- Salad greens & leafy things: Lettuce (all types), arugula, bok choy, kale, mustard greens, spinach, Swiss chard, cos lettuce
- Herbs: Basil, chives, coriander (cilantro), dill, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme
- Fruiting summer crops (the heavy feeders): Tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, eggplant, melon (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon), squash, zucchini, okra, bitter gourd, snake gourd
- Hot peppers: Cayenne, jalapeño, habanero
- Beans & peas (legumes): Bush beans, pole beans, wax beans, cowpeas, snow peas, winged beans
- Cabbage family (Brassicas): Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower
- Root vegetables: Beetroot, carrot, radish, potato, Chinese potato
- Berries & fruits: Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, papaya, kumquat
- Other: Maize (corn), amaranthus, marigold, chrysanthemum, groundnuts.
Important note: At least half your growing space should be fruiting crops. Don’t grow only lettuce because lettuce doesn’t absorb enough of the non-nitrogen nutrients.
Root vegetables grow, but they may come out ‘ugly’. Carrots, beets, radishes, onions, and turnips all grow – but they tend to produce small and misshapen roots because sand is denser than loose garden soil. The outcome varies by sand composition and other factors.
Don’t overcrowd. More plants does not equal more food. Overcrowding produces weak, spindly plants.
Stagger your planting ages. Don’t put all baby plants in at once, and don’t let everything go old at once. Young plants don’t clean much water; very old plants stop cleaning effectively. Keep most plants in their active growing phase.
You can experiment. The system works with different plants, different climates, and different feed rates. What matters is understanding the basic principles, and those are simple.