I am posting this here because my new ISP does not provide access to active
hydroponics newsgroups.

I just visited a hydroponics store to buy a large reservoir for my nutrient
solution, a Texas controller. They told me to replace the nutrient solution
every ten days in order to remove the waste products given off by the
plants. I think that that is more labor intensive than necessary. I was
thinking that I justreplace the nutrient whenever the conductivity drops
below a certain level. I would also replenish used nutrient several times
before disposing of it. I do dispose of it by spreading it on plants growing
in the soil.

My question to the group is: What waste products do plants produce that
leave by means of the roots?

Bill

On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 05:06:18 GMT, Repeating Decimal
wrote:

I am posting this here because my new ISP does not provide access to active
hydroponics newsgroups.

I just visited a hydroponics store to buy a large reservoir for my nutrient
solution, a Texas controller. They told me to replace the nutrient solution
every ten days in order to remove the waste products given off by the
plants. I think that that is more labor intensive than necessary. I was
thinking that I justreplace the nutrient whenever the conductivity drops
below a certain level. I would also replenish used nutrient several times
before disposing of it. I do dispose of it by spreading it on plants growing
in the soil.

My question to the group is: What waste products do plants produce that
leave by means of the roots?


I'm not objecting to your posting here.... but you don't
need to get news from your ISP.

You can use a different news server - I do. It's *free* and
details are available he

http://news.individual.net/

(For old-timers, this is the former cis.dfn.de - German news
server - with a new address.)

You'd just need to register and then tell your news program
where to fetch the news.

Pat

On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 05:06:18 GMT, Repeating Decimal
wrote:

I am posting this here because my new ISP does not provide access to active
hydroponics newsgroups.


PS - see my prior post about using a different news server.

Alternatively, your ISP should be willing to add the
newsgroups that you want. Have you checked with them?

Pat

in article , Pat Meadows at
wrote on 8/2/03 7:09 AM:

I'm not objecting to your posting here.... but you don't
need to get news from your ISP.

You can use a different news server - I do. It's *free* and
details are available he

http://news.individual.net/

(For old-timers, this is the former cis.dfn.de - German news
server - with a new address.)

You'd just need to register and then tell your news program
where to fetch the news.

Thanks for the information. The trouble with the rec.garden.hydroponics
newsgroup is that it was never very active. If it were, I would be more
upset to not be able to get it. In any event, I cross posted because I
thought it would be of interest to both groups.

That is, I would think that any gardener would be interested in the
chemicals transported across root surfaces.

Bill

Repeating Decimal wrote in message ...

My question to the group is: What waste products do plants produce that
leave by means of the roots?

Bill

I do not know, but plants produce active chemicals at the rhizosphere
(the root surface) that break down soil compounds into something
plants can assimilate. I suppose they could poison themselves
eventually, lacking the buffer capacity of soil.

in article , simy1 at
wrote on 8/2/03 5:25 PM:

I do not know, but plants produce active chemicals at the rhizosphere
(the root surface) that break down soil compounds into something
plants can assimilate. I suppose they could poison themselves
eventually, lacking the buffer capacity of soil.

Hydroponic formulations are usually well buffered. In particular, they have
a lot of phosphate and ammonium nitrogen.

Bill

Repeating Decimal said:

Thanks for the information. The trouble with the rec.garden.hydroponics
newsgroup is that it was never very active. If it were, I would be more
upset to not be able to get it. In any event, I cross posted because I
thought it would be of interest to both groups.

That is probably because rec.garden.hydroponics was on a list of bogus
newsgroups -- ones that did not go through the proper charter proposal,
RFD and vote. This means the big news servers don't carry it. And I
don't recall seeing a RFD (request for discussion) in the time since I last
perused a list of bogus newsgroups. (It would be easier to start an alt.*
group on the subject; rec.* groups have to reach a threshold of interest
before they can be authorised, so not enough 'yes' votes and the proposed
group will fail, even if 'yes' votes outnumber 'no' votes.)

That is, I would think that any gardener would be interested in the
chemicals transported across root surfaces.

Well, some people think one of the reasons for crop rotation is to avoid
an accumulation of root exudates by any specific crop.

Plants do exude compounds from their roots. These root exudates can be
alellopathic (toxic to other plants) or can be involved in the symbiotic
relationship with mycorrhizal fungi or other soil microorganisms. These
root exudates may be what makes some plants good companions in the
garden while other pairings are disadvantageous.

Yes, they do exist and yes, it might be best to purge them from a hydroponics
system at intervals, especially if you are growing a variety of different plants.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)