Hyproponics Of the five essential requirements for good plant growing, three are supplied in hydroponics normally by the same means as they arc in soil gardening. Water, light, and air are in Nature's gift and may be obtained in the home as part of our surroundings or through the ingenuity of man. But the last two—mineral salts and a support for the roots—must be procured as extras. To cultivate the earth, we dig and hoe and add manures or composts. These latter are organic materials but plants cannot use these directly. They have to go through a lengthy process of weathering or breaking down in the ground before they become available as inorganic nutrients. Even then the gardener or farmer has no real idea of just how much plant food may be present in the land at any given time. In hydroponics, on the other hand, the application of nutrients is a controlled and balanced procedure. It is known that some eleven different elements are, in the main, necessary for good growth, in addition to the oxygen and carbon dioxide supplied from the air. As contained in mineral salts or fertiliser chemicals, these are: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, manganese, boron, zinc, and copper. The soilless gardener, therefore, dispenses with the laborious and often back-breaking task of working the land and instead employs a carefully prepared nutrient mixture or formula to feed plants. This will act quickly and immediately on application, being absorbed without delay in solution with water through the root hairs. For practical purposes, in home or commercial hydroponics we always use fertiliser-type chemicals as the sources of nutrients. These are cheaper and easier to buy and are readily available in convenient form.




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December 4, 2008