By: Charlene Rennick
All plants need air, light, water and minerals to thrive. Each one of these elements has reliable qualities that make it able to sustain plant growth. Depending on the type of plant, the air is dry or humid, the light is strong or weak, the water is plentiful or sparse, the temperature is specific and the soil is acid or alkaline.
How Much Light is Enough for Hydroponic Gardening?
Outdoor gardening is pretty self-sufficient in terms of regulating the air and light flow. There’s not much you can do to adjust wind and sun; however, hydroponic gardeners have to provide air and water flow, intensity and interval of light and the quantity and range of minerals. Without this, photosynthesis will not occur. Photosynthesis is as important to a plant as digestion is to a human.
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All plants are green. Even when it is another colour and no green is visible, there is always a layer of green chlorophyll underneath.
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Photosynthesis begins when the right kind of light hits the green pigment in the plant’s leaves called chlorophyll. When the light interacts with the chlorophyll, it mixes with carbon dioxide and water to make oxygen and sugar. The sugar is oxidized through a process called respiration, which makes carbon dioxide and water into energy. Other micro-nutrients present inside the growing medium are absorbed by the root system. These contribute to the plant’s strength. The by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen which the plant releases into the atmosphere. The fact that humans require oxygen to survive makes the human-plant relationship, symbiotic.
Is Hydroponic Growth Complicated?
When the plant respirates, it emits carbon dioxide. Tiny openings on the underside of the leaf, called stomata, absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen or vice versa, depending on whether the plant is photosynthesizing or respirating. Because carbon dioxide exists in the atmosphere in very small quantities, the stomata have to be wide open during the hours that the leaves are absorbing light (photosynthesis). If the humidity is too low, this can cause evaporation of the plant’s moisture. The root system needs extra water to compensate for this. If water is sparse, the leaves will suffer and look wilted. This is called transpiration. To avoid transpiration, hydroponic gardens need an atmosphere that is humid enough for the plant to achieve a balance between respiration and photosynthesis.
Sounds complicated? It isn’t really. As long as you have a room thermometer and a hydrometer to track the heat/humidity levels in the air, you can keep the environment in the range for your type of vegetation and the plant will do the rest of the work.