The science
Everything you need to know about HerbBee and hydroponics
Hydroponics - A short Introduction
The basics
A good place to start is the basics. What is a
What is a plant?
What is hydroponics?
Why do we use hydroponics?
Plants are mainly multicellular organisms, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae... Obviously.
For a plant to grow and live, they need four simple things: temperature, water, nutrients, and light.
Hydroponics is the process of growing plants indoors but instead of using soil, you instead use water.
Hydroponics gives you far greater control over giving your plant not only its four needs: temperature, water, nutrients, and light but also controls how much of each it receives, over the growing lifecycle.
This gives you a bigger yield, a better yield, all in a shorter amount of time.
What do plants need to grow?
Common Queries
Light
To a plant, light is food.
The process of turning light into food is called photosynthesis.
6CO2 + 6H20 + (energy) → C6H12O6 + 6O2 Carbon dioxide + water + energy from light produces glucose and oxygen, you may recall.
GrowPot not only gives your plants a constant source of light, or food, but they carefully adapt to best suit the needs of the plant, based on the growing stage.
Water
A plant has four uses for water.
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Structure: plants don't have bones, which we hope isn't news to you. Because of this, there is no internal or external structure providing support for the plant. Instead, the water within the space of the cells creates pressure, which in turn creates a rigid structure strong enough to support the plant.
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Photosynthesis: that word again. As the plant draws energy from the sun, the water which is brought up through the roots then combines with the carbon dioxide in the air, which creates the process of photosynthesis, or food.
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Translocation: the process of water passing through a plant is called translocation. Nutrients absorbed within water create a solution, which is then moved throughout the plant to provide the necessary nutrients for photosynthesis, or food.
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Transpiration: During photosynthesis, water evaporates from the surface of the leaves in a process called transpiration. This occurs when stomata, a kind of pore, opens on the leaf to allow for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
As you can probably tell, water is incredibly important to a plant and it's growing.
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At GrowPot, we know this. Our unique watering solution provides a constant stream of rich, oxygenated water giving your plants the ability to grow as fast and strong as it wishes, without the threat of root-rot.
Nutrients
Plants, as well as all living things, need nutrients and minerals to thrive. These chemical elements are needed for growth, metabolic functioning, and completion of its life cycle.
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Plants take in Carbon (C) and Oxygen (O2) in the air from their leaves. All other nutrients are found in the soil and are taken up for use in the roots.
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Some important nutrietns include:
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Nitrogen
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Phosporous
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Potassium
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Calcium
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Sulfer
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Magnesium
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These nutrients support your plant and help to ensure healthy strong growth from roots to flower.
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Too many nutrients comes with its own problems though so it's important to keep an eye on your solution.
Temperature
Temperature is a key factor in plant growth and development.
Along with the levels of light, carbon dioxide, air humidity, water and nutrients, temperature influences plant growth and ultimately crop yields. All these factors should be in balance. Temperature influences the plant in the short term as well as the long term.