Ok guys so I have a question about hydro I've never really thought about until now. So if you grow in soil, they say to let the medium dry out for a couple days between watering. and we all know watering too frequently can be harmful. how about hydro? When we grow in dwc buckets the medium is constantly wet and the roots are IN water. How do these plants keep from getting TOO much water? any ideas?
well if that REALLY is the right answer then props too ya. its the only source i have to go on so i guess i'll believe it. Plus rep for you sir.
Plants regulate the amount of water they uptake, through a system called "turgor Pressure" Basicly as water evoporates from the leaves, the pressure in the plant reduces, becuase the pressure in the plant is now lower than the surrounding grow medium, water enters the plant through roots. (osmosis) If theres not enough water to in the medium to balance the turgor pressure, the plant will wilt. You cant force the plant to take up more water by using a medium thats 100% water (eg DWC), becuase you cant "over pressurize" the plant, you can only cause "low pressure" (eg the wilting). Edit: added some hyperlinks to wiki for you all. mmoonnttyy: The Answer has nothing todo with wether or not the medium has oxygen, re-read the question.
This is correct, imo. Its the oxygen holding properties of the medium. Soil or soiless grow mediums have alot more water holding properties(ingredients) than hydro grow mediums. hydro grow mediums such as rockwool hold much more oxygen, hence why they need watered more often.
it seems the overwhemling opinion is that hydro is more oxygenated. if this is so, why do plants not wilt when in damp rockwoll cubes? your not supposed to let the cubes dry out, but if you do they die. unlike soil where they can go days without water. whats the lowdown. i'm still kindof confused +rep to anyone with help on the matter.
ok i have never grown hydro but have been looking into soiless media and hydro . i am currently growing in soil . so this is what i have found, bcause like you i was wondering this . ok in soil there are ways the plant has to break down its surroundings to feed and this takes time . where as the hydro method the plants are always feeding n flourashing.if this were to dry they die. its like mainlining nutrients to the plant .a healthy recipie the plants like is the key . just like soil not to much water not to much nutes same principle just different timeframes.not to mention you control ppm ,ph nutes ,simply everything. n yes oxygen is important to both methods water is airrated to a degree. hydro is half in air constantly and the other half is submerged thus drawing the nutes as the plant perspires through the leaves. there are many different systems now but this is the general principle.
