I wanna share with you the so called "Kratky method", a hydroponic way of growing herbs, leafy greens and all sorts of stuff without any growing media.
I use glass bottles, which I made a nice 3D-printed adapter for. It fits an optional wick (useful for the start) and holds everything in place. You can even refill them later on!
Plant roots need both oxygen and water. If you only put them into a full glass of water, they'll die due to suffocation ("overwatering"/ root rot).
In the Kratky method, the level of the nutrient solution drops as the plant grows, and oxygen is provided that way.
I really like this method for growing lettuce on my balcony.
The main benefit, compared to a classic growing medium like coco coir (or even soil), is that you don't even need any growing media you have to dispose of later on. Zero waste.
And of course all those neat other hydro benefits, like fast growth, less pests, and so on.
Kratky is a very approachable way to start with hydroponics, but with the lack of aeration, I'd just start with something like deep water aquaculture to begin with because it's not much more complicated. It takes up more space but works better for plant health (especially with longer-lived plants) and is easier to measure and manage nutrients.
Sure, but for short lived, disposable stuff like leafy greens or herbs it's perfect! There's basically zero cost, and it's totally passive. You also don't need to wash/ waste any growing medium.
But for other more high value stuff, like weed or chillis, I use other, more sophisticated methods.