Over the last year I have been growing four identical Ficus microcarpa in a
red lava soil in plastic pots, four plants total, two in a hydroponic bath
and two on a shelf nearby.
The plants not in the hydroponic bath are watered daily with reverse osmosis
water and fertilized weekly with half strength fertilizer. Some long acting
fertilizer is placed on them at several month intervals. The hydroponic
plants are only fertilized by the hydroponic bath which goes on three times
a day for one half hour. The bath is changed with fresh solution about every
two months. One of the hydroponic plants was given away a few months ago
and up to that point the two hydroponic plants were the same. Three plants
remain.
What would you guess are the results of my non-scientific experiment?
Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/
In a message dated 1/19/2004 5:03:51 PM Eastern Standard Time,
writes:
Hydroponics is just growing plants in a nonsoil circulating nutrient
system. The niftiest one I've seen is a hydroponic fogger where the roots
just sit bathed in fog. But the basic difference is that in soil the
nutrients are stored on clays (which are positively charged), whereas in
hydroponics, the nutrients aren't stored at all; they are constantly
added.
The trouble with any of these systems is that they have to be clean.
Oomycetes and algae *love* water, and once you get them in the nutrient
system you need to add fungicides and algicides, or the plants die or they
tubes get clogged.
Nina
I have not been to EPCOT in a long time, but the Land Exhibit had a number
of demonstration systems. One used the fog you mention, It hung the plants on
wires and moved then on an overhead belt through banks of misters and then
into the "open" greenhouse air, then back into the mister. The plants looked
healthy and they claimed to use the produce in the Land restaurant. Of course
this was "Disney."
Billy on the Florida Space Coast
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