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The Essential Guide to Hydroponics |
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The 33rd International Geology was
held in Oslo, Norway, from Aug 6 to Aug 14, 2008. 6000 scientists
from 133 countries took part and it was deemed a great success. For
more information on that event, please visit
here Hydroponics is a method of growing plants
using mineral nutrient solutions, without soil. Terrestrial plants
may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only
or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, or mineral wool.
Plant physiology researchers discovered in the 19th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching. Hydroponic gardening has been around for close to 900 years now. And while its origination is credited to the Aztecs, who created several interesting water gardens, hydroponic gardening did not really become popular or feasible on a large scale until the early 1900s. Professor Gericke is credited with the reinvention of hydroponic gardening, as he was the first person to demonstrate since the Aztecs that plants could be feasibly grown without soil. He originally demonstrated this by using a number of primitive, ionic solutions. Betting exchanges have revolutionised the way punters bet. This concept enables people to bet person-to-person, as opposed to person-to-bookmaker. Hydroponic gardening is quite different today from what it was with either Gericke or the Aztecs. Growers and inventors have since created numerous devices to speed the growing process, to increase plant density, and to increase the size and nutrient-richness of the yield. Hydroponic gardening today essentially has two
components: the first component or requirement is that the growing
must take place in a relatively controlled area. The second
requirement is that the growing must occur in a water-based nutrient
solution, rather than soil. Hydroponic growers believe that if the
first criterion is satisfied, then they will have a much better
chance of preventing plant disease, which is often transmitted
through soils. Additionally, they believe they will be able to
better adjust a controlled environment than they would a natural
environment, even though a natural environment might provide them
with some significant cost-reduction benefits (such as free light
and free nutrients). ¡@ |
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