To provide a method for cultivating a plant, by using polyurethane foam chips as a clean substrate for cultivating the plant, without using soil, and to provide the substrate for cultivating the plant, capable of being used for a long period, regardless of whether a seedling, etc., is cultivated therein in a short period or not.

The method for cultivating the plant comprises cultivating it by using the substrate comprising the open-cell polyurethane foam chips of which the main part has a particle diameter of 0.2-25.0 mm, wherein the substrate is controlled to have a water-holding capacity of 0.4-0.7 g/cm3. The substrate for cultivating the plant is chipped out of open-cell hydrophilic polyurethane foam so as to have the particle diameter of 0.2-25.0 mm, wherein the polyurethane foam has a density of 10-100 kg/m3, an elongation percentage of ≤ 130%, an air permeability of 5-400 cc/cm2/sec, a compression strength at 50% of 0.8-20.0 N/cm2, a water-suction height of ≥3 mm, and a water absorption speed of ≤10 sec as physical characteristics.