Saturday, June 16, 2012

Micronutrients, Hydroponics, and pH

Plants require the micronutrients calcium, boron, sulfur, magnesium, copper, cobalt, manganese, iron, zinc, and molybdenum in order to grow healthily. They are more prone to fungus, pest, and bacteria, stress, diseases, and may have problems absorbing the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrients. By providing the plants with all the necessary nutrients that they need, they are able to develop to their full growth and produce potential. Commercially grown food may not be as nutrient as it was back in the day because the fields have been farmed extensively and the micronutrients may have been depleted. If the fruits and vegetables are not getting the micronutrients, then humans and animals who eat them won’t receive the nutrients either and may be nutrient deficient. With this issue and may be some other reasons, many people have chosen to grow their own garden for fruits and vegetables. So remember when you grow plants in soil and in a hydroponic garden, be sure to cultivate the land with micro-nutrients or also termed trace elements .

Hydroponic garden can be a simple and uncomplicated operation unless you decide to go high tech and want to expand. It’s so simple you can start with one plant. A nursery pot or hand water bucket is sufficient to use as your growing medium or any of the growing mediums available. Hydroponic gardening does not need grow lights, electricity, or any other automated things. Just make sure the plants get a form of light required to grow, natural or artificial. However, depending on your resources, you can always go high tech and manage your plants with devices such as the computer. People who garden hydroponically as a hobby do usually use a bit of both. They will also commonly have a growing tray, a reservoir, a water pump, a timer, air pump, and air stone.

pH is an important factor in gardening in soil and particularly important in hydroponics too. If the pH fluctuates, then plants aren’t able to take in the different nutritional substances. The good thing about hydroponics is that pH is much easier to test and control in hydroponics than in soil growing where it is much harder to adjust the pH and takes a lot more time.

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