All vegetation requires nutrients to grow. You may think that means dirt, fertilizer, and water and you would be correct, but only partially. It is actually far more elementary than that, my dear Watson. In fact, it is the elements themselves I am referring to and of which sixteen specific chemical elements are known to be absolutely essential for plants to survive and thrive.

 

     Of this group of sixteen, there are three non-mineral elements: Hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Plants obtain these through contact with water and air. 

 

     The other thirteen nutrients are inorganic mineral elements. They are as follows: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. In order for a plant to able to make use of these nutrients, they must be dissolved and in solution in order to be absorbed. In other words, the minerals are essentially useless without water.

 

     When you irrigate your garden, water soaks into the soil and begins the process of picking up minerals. Slow and deep watering allows enough time for the nutrient-laden moisture to reach all the roots where it is then drawn up and distributed throughout the plant structure.

     Deficiencies of any essential nutrients can limit growth, vigor, and ultimately the crop yield. Likewise, an over-abundance of certain nutrients can lead to toxicity to the plants, inhibiting uptake of other nutrients, causing damage to leaves, stems, and/or fruit. 

 

     Additionally, plants will absorb substances other than those previously mentioned. Any water soluble toxins can be pulled into a plant’s vascular system just as easily. Lead, mercury, uranium, cadmium, or radium anyone? If you’re using soil to grow food, I recommend you have the soil tested.

 

     Therefore, for the healthiest plants and the best possible harvest, growers must find or create the conditions in which ideal levels of nutrients can be reached. Because those conditions rarely exist naturally, supplementing with fertilizers becomes necessary.

 

     Now before you start gyrating and gesticulating while simultaneously listing all the evils of fertilizers, allow me to explain. The definition of a fertilizer is any natural or synthetic substance containing chemical elements that when added to a growing medium, improve growth and productiveness of plants. Think of fertilizers the same way you might about vitamins. People take them because they aren’t getting enough from the food they eat. Plants need them for of the same reason. Just get the good stuff.

 

     Plants absorb minerals as inorganic ions dissolved in water. Therefore, soil is not required for plant growth as it only acts as a reservoir for mineral nutrients. Hydroponics and aeroponics use soil-less methods for growing plants.

 

     If your garden is hydroponic or aeroponic, almost everything mentioned previously still holds true. The major difference is that instead of using soil as the growing medium, you use water combined with a hydroponic growing solution(tonic) to provide the necessary nutrients.

 

     This type of gardening has some pretty significant advantages over terrestrial gardening. It’s more environmentally friendly because it uses considerably less water than in soil. Because all of the nutrients in the tonic are earth minerals and are premixed to provide optimal levels of plant nutrition, growing strong, healthy plants is fairly easy. Additional fertilizers are generally not necessary. Since plants are not in contact with the soil, many plant diseases and pests are avoided completely.