leafminer
Bloody H E L L !
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2008
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I was having a long conversation with my half-orange last night about plant growth. Specifically how plants like MJ grow. It boiled down to this:
1. Provided enough nutrients and water are present, then:
2. Photosynthesis converts CO2 and water and minerals into the complex carbohydrates used to form the structure of the plant. So far so good: as we know from our grows, the amount of yield is directly proportional to the amount of lumens.
What concerned me is the hydro guys who - according to evidence - reliably get much faster growth and higher yields. Now why is this? Assuming I have the same amount of light shouldn't my grow in coco be equal?
3. There is a third and most important limit to growth. And, strangely, of the several biology books we consulted about this, only ONE mentions it! And that is: CELLULAR RESPIRATION.
My half-orange compared the process with that of baking a cake. The roots provide water and chemicals. The air provides CO2. The photosynthesis is like the OVEN - it's 'baking' the mixture.
But WHERE does the MIXTURE come from? It's made by the plant cells using cellular respiration! And - guess what - cellular respiration relies on OXYGEN provided by the roots!
So this is why the hydro guys are so successful. They are providing so much O2 to the roots using their DWC aerated systems that cellular respiration proceeds much faster and more completely and allows photosynthesis to be much more effective. If this is true then I would guess that aerated hydro systems should provide more O2 than ebb-flow systems . . . maybe the hydro guys can comment.
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An idea:
This won't work with soil because it is too dense. But . . . with coco . . . let's say I make up a pot with, say, 60% coco and 40% Perlite. Nice open structure. And I water it in the usual way.
But let's say I can make a system using an axial fan, say, that can (gently) force air into the bottom vent hole(s) of the pot? Then I am going to get the benefits of hydro with the convenience of not having pumps, nutrient solutions, and so on.
Another thought: Many people - I am one - prefer clay pots because they seem to work better. Perhaps the clay allows oxygen to diffuse into the roots - it is porous after all. And plastic doesn't. But clay is heavy and fragile. Lifting 5 gallon clay pots full, is not something I care to do often.
So, if my aim is to allow oxygen to get to the roots, how about this as a solution: Drill 1/4" holes all over the sides of the pot (well, say the lower two-thirds of it). To stop soil escaping and roots poking out line the pot with some old curtain fabric or similar. This should allow plenty of O2 to diffuse in and increase the growth rate.
COMMENTS please?
1. Provided enough nutrients and water are present, then:
2. Photosynthesis converts CO2 and water and minerals into the complex carbohydrates used to form the structure of the plant. So far so good: as we know from our grows, the amount of yield is directly proportional to the amount of lumens.
What concerned me is the hydro guys who - according to evidence - reliably get much faster growth and higher yields. Now why is this? Assuming I have the same amount of light shouldn't my grow in coco be equal?
3. There is a third and most important limit to growth. And, strangely, of the several biology books we consulted about this, only ONE mentions it! And that is: CELLULAR RESPIRATION.
My half-orange compared the process with that of baking a cake. The roots provide water and chemicals. The air provides CO2. The photosynthesis is like the OVEN - it's 'baking' the mixture.
But WHERE does the MIXTURE come from? It's made by the plant cells using cellular respiration! And - guess what - cellular respiration relies on OXYGEN provided by the roots!
So this is why the hydro guys are so successful. They are providing so much O2 to the roots using their DWC aerated systems that cellular respiration proceeds much faster and more completely and allows photosynthesis to be much more effective. If this is true then I would guess that aerated hydro systems should provide more O2 than ebb-flow systems . . . maybe the hydro guys can comment.
========
An idea:
This won't work with soil because it is too dense. But . . . with coco . . . let's say I make up a pot with, say, 60% coco and 40% Perlite. Nice open structure. And I water it in the usual way.
But let's say I can make a system using an axial fan, say, that can (gently) force air into the bottom vent hole(s) of the pot? Then I am going to get the benefits of hydro with the convenience of not having pumps, nutrient solutions, and so on.
Another thought: Many people - I am one - prefer clay pots because they seem to work better. Perhaps the clay allows oxygen to diffuse into the roots - it is porous after all. And plastic doesn't. But clay is heavy and fragile. Lifting 5 gallon clay pots full, is not something I care to do often.
So, if my aim is to allow oxygen to get to the roots, how about this as a solution: Drill 1/4" holes all over the sides of the pot (well, say the lower two-thirds of it). To stop soil escaping and roots poking out line the pot with some old curtain fabric or similar. This should allow plenty of O2 to diffuse in and increase the growth rate.
COMMENTS please?
...
