Hydroponics and the Application of Simple Plant-Biology
A small amount of knowledge is dangerous, they say, but when it comes to plant-biology and organic hydroponics gardening, a small amount of knowledge coupled with a large amount of experience can be all that is required. The experience comes from trial and error. Starting small and building your knowledge as you go. Knowledge is helpful. Some people though, conjure up the need to study such things as ‘plant-biology,’ ‘plant physiology,’ 'photosynthesis,' and they get involved in studying botanical terms related to garden plants. I’m not against the idea if one has the time, some particularly motivated individuals spend their whole life studying these sciences, but for the hobby gardener a little knowledge is not dangerous, it is helpful, and indeed, can make the difference between success, moderate success, or, dread the thought, FAILURE! So we must have some basic knowledge of plant-biology and, we must be able to apply that knowledge in a practical way. With hydroponics we are creating a type of artificial environment and we have to understand how plants react to that environment in order to optimize their growth. Plants absorb their food. Obviously, plants are not animals and they don’t have the same needs for life sustaining food and drink. Plants are, however, living breathing organisms and they absorb their food rather than catch it and chew it. That fact puts the onus on the gardener to give the plant what it needs,and hydroponics is an excellent way to achieve this. Somewhere though there is a gray area between plants and animals. For example Carnivorous plants, capture kill and digest animal organisms. Let’s not bother thinking to much about that!! Organisms need energy to survive. Some organisms are capable of absorbing energy from sunlight and using it to produce sugar and other organic compounds such as lipids and proteins. The sugars are then used to provide energy for the organism. This process, called photosynthesis, is used by plants and some protists, bacteria, and blue-green algae. Provide conditions for photosynthesis. For the plants we eat, and those we grow for other purposes, like house plants, flowers and fruits we rely on providing the conditions for photosynthesis to take place as expressed in the following formula - 6CO2 + 12H2O + light = C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O The six molecules of carbon dioxide (6CO2) and the 12 molecules of water (12H2O) combine by using the energy provided by sunlight or for that matter artificial light. The resulting chemical reaction produces glucose (C6H12O6) a type of sugar which provides the plants energy source. As part of this process the plant gives off six molecules of oxygen (6O2) and six of water (6H2O) Photosynthesis occurs in the leaves. Photosynthesis occurs mainly within the leaves of plants. Since photosynthesis requires carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight, all of these substances must be obtained by, or transported to, the leaves. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the plants through tiny pores in the leaves called stomata. Oxygen is released through the stomata. Water is taken in by the plant through the roots and delivered to the leaves through vascular plant tissue systems. Sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll, a green pigment located in plant cell structures called chloroplasts. Chloroplasts contain several structures, each having specific functions and are the sites of photosynthesis. You the gardener provide the conditions That relatively simple chemical reaction allows plants to be self-sufficient. They take in available elements, pull nutrients from their surroundings and produce their own energy and food. But, they can only do this, if, the hydroponics gardener establishes and maintains the conditions to make this happen. Plants have to be sturdy, must be grown in stress-less conditions, have adequate water, nutrition, air circulation with space to breathe, and they must have sunlight. Since hydroponics is soil-less, that support has to comes from externally supplied medium in trays, and internally, from the strength of the plant's own cells. In many growing situations it is necessary to support the plants with strings or by other means. Success means the practical application of biology. This is obviously a very simple explanation of plant-biology, but, it does serve to illustrate how the growing conditions you provide and maintain, and the practical application of a small bit of plant biology, or, how solar energy is converted to chemical energy, can make your hydroponics garden a success.
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