Hydroponic And Organic Plant Fertilizer.
The
Same Thing?
| Creating better and healthier living with environmentally
friendly products.
Isn't plant fertilizer just.....fertilizer? What is the
difference between organic and hydroponic?
To answer this question we just need to define what
"organic" means. In agriculture, the word "organic" means no pesticides or herbicides. No potentially toxic or hazardous materials are to be used on crops to control bugs, weeds and diseases. To the gardener, the word usually means all of these things, plus that no unnatural or manmade chemicals are to be used. Only
organic fertilizers and natural controls. They must be natural, come from
the earth, not synthetic and created by man. Hydroponic growing is often defined as "the cultivation of plants in water." Research has since determined that many different aggregates or media will support plant growth; therefore, the definition has been broadened to read "the cultivation of plants without soil." |
Hydroponics Plant Nutrients
Hydroponics Plant Enhancements
Hydroponics Growing Media
Hydroponics Equipment and Systems
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Hydroponic growing enthusiasts all over the world are using hydroponic growing techniques due to the lack of a large water supply or fertile farmland. Home gardeners have used
this method on a smaller scale to grow fresh vegetables year round and to grow plants in smaller spaces, such as an apartment or balcony. Greenhouses and nurseries grow their plants in a soilless, peat- or bark-based growing mix. The nutrients then are applied to the mix through the water supply.
Therefore, they are applying the same type of science to their plants. In hydroponics, mineral elements are provided by the use of mineral salts. These may be either naturally derived of manmade, but most have been purified and processed so that they are water soluble and in a form that can be used by plants. Many start out as mined minerals or naturally concentrated deposits that are dissolved and processed into compounds with a definite molecular structure and composition. In the refining process, these mineral salts are usually purified to remove heavy metal contaminants and toxic substances that could harm plants or people. Since the chemical composition is precisely known, different mineral salts can be combined to form a balanced hydroponic nutrient. When dissolved in the proper proportions with a good quality water, a hydroponic nutrient solution can provide all of the mineral elements needed for plant growth without soil.
The hydroponic methods eliminates much of the uncertainty and guesswork found in organic
growing as well as the frustrations. Some adjustments are normally made for proper pH, controlling nutrient concentrations (parts per million) and to maintain balance between the nutrients provided.
Click here for pH test kits. These are usually easy adjustments and within the control of the grower. In a well-built hydroponic installation, all conditions are controllable so optimum plant growth can be achieved, even surpassing nature. Is it
really organic? Can a hydroponic plant fertilizer be classified as "organic"?
Perhaps. Consider the chemical definition of the word, that is a substance that contains carbon. By this definition, many "chemical" nutrient formulas would be considered organic. These include the chelated trace elements as well as urea, which contains carbon in the form (NH2)2CO. It is also possible to define a hydroponic nutrient solution as organic by drawing on the definition many people use that organic is "natural". Most of the mineral elements used in hydroponics start out as mined rock or mineral deposits which are as natural as the earth itself. The important point is that it is not the elements that are different in organic and hydroponic growing, it is how these elements are obtained and delivered to the plant. We
believe that the hydroponic nutrients offered on this site are beneficial
to organically grown gardens as well as hydroponics. Take a look and
decide for yourself. Click
here for hydroponic - organic fertilizer options.
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