Aeroponic Propagation
Aeroponic propagation, what is it?
Aeroponic is the term used to describe the growth of plants with roots
suspended in air rather than in a growing medium such as soil. How does it
work? Well to understand that, first you must understand how it is that plants
absorb nutrients. You see, Soil is not actually essential to plant growth. Soil
is simply the container for the nutrients that a plant may need. The way a
plant absorbs those nutrients is by taking in those that have been dissolved in
water. That is why normally a plant would need both soil and water, because
adding water to soil dissolves the nutrients that are contained in the soil
which allows the plants roots to take them in.
Now that you understand how a plant
absorbs nutrients you will be able to understand how aeroponics works.
Aeroponics has the same elements that a plant would need, water and nutrients,
which allow the plant to grow just the same as they would normally in the
ground. By suspending the plant and its root in the air and misting the roots
with nutrient rich solution regularly we give the plant all the things that it
needs, water and nutrients. Now the question, “why not just grow the plant in soil
if both methods of propagation supply the plant with what it needs?” That is an understandable question, and the
answer is that there is one other thing that a plant needs to survive, and that
is air. Plants, just like you and me, need air to survive. Plants breathe just
the same, except not through a mouth using lungs, they breathe through their
roots, which is why it is important in farming to aerate a growing medium
before transplanting your plant. Aeroponics allow the plant to have full access
to the oxygen in the air rather than the limited amount that it would normally
receive while growing in the soil, increasing its normal growth rate.
This is a nice little animation about how aeroponics
work. Taken from http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Aeroponics
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