Monthly planting guide
Keep the system simple: fast greens, cilantro, and microgreens with clear harvest dates. The goal is to choose crops that fit the room you actually have: light, heat, reservoir size, and how soon you want a harvest.
Monthly planner
Use this board as a working plan, not a generic seasonal article. Indoors, the right month plan is about room conditions and cycle length.
Pair one reliable crop with one quick feedback crop so you learn fast without filling every slot.
Look for white roots, compact leaves, no algae in reservoirs, and no seedlings stretching toward the light.
Only expand after the first cycle proves the room, light, and reservoir are stable.
Choose the next crop before the current crop finishes so the system does not sit empty.
| Crop | Best role | Room fit | System fit | Planning action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettuce | Anchor crop | Good cool-room fit | NFT channel | Plant, then check again around day 7 |
| Cilantro | Support crop | Good cool-room fit | Kratky jar | Plant, then check again around day 8 |
| Microgreens | Fast feedback | Good cool-room fit | Tray | Plant, then check again around day 7 |
| Spinach | Support crop | Good cool-room fit | NFT channel | Plant, then check again around day 7 |
| Crop | System | Harvest window | Difficulty | Why it fits December |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettuce | NFT channel | 30-40 days | easy | fast repeat harvests for beginner indoor growers |
| Cilantro | Kratky jar | 30-40 days | medium | cooler herb cycles and succession planting |
| Microgreens | Tray | 7-17 days | easy | the fastest possible indoor harvest |
| Spinach | NFT channel | 37-47 days | medium | cooler leafy-green cycles |
| Week | Planting action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Start Lettuce and Spinach. | Pair one reliable crop with one fast feedback crop. |
| Week 2 | Check roots, light distance, and early leaf color. | Most beginner failures show up before the crop looks full size. |
| Week 3 | Start a second tray or jar if the first Lettuce crop looks stable. | Succession planting matters more than planting everything at once. |
| Week 4 | Review harvest windows and choose the next crop. | The tracker should tell you what needs to be seeded before the first crop finishes. |
Do not use outdoor planting calendars as the only guide. Indoor hydroponics can run year-round, but each crop still reacts to heat, light intensity, water temperature, and crowding.
If the room is warm, keep quick trays and herbs in rotation before committing to larger fruiting crops.
If you are unsure, start Lettuce first and add Spinach as the fast feedback crop. That gives you one reliable harvest window and one quick check that the grow area is working.
Use December to plan the following crop before the current tray finishes. Indoor growers lose momentum when the system sits empty after harvest.
Lettuce is the safest first pick for December, while Lettuce, Cilantro, Microgreens, Spinach all fit the indoor rotation.
Not usually. Indoor hydroponics depends more on room temperature, grow-light strength, crop size, and how much reservoir space you have.
Save the actual planted date, then calculate harvest from the crop cycle instead of guessing from the calendar month.