The importance of aeration of plants roots, a description of how to aerate your plants roots using soil, and the positive effects aeration of plants roots can have on your gardens plants.
Most everyone knows the importance of carbon dioxide to a plant's health, but very few realize the significance of oxygen to a plant's nutrient uptake and overall health. Now, of course, the foliage of a plant recieves oxygen, however, the real need for oxygen is below the soil line. The oxygen helps the roots absorb nutrients at a faster rate, and can increase a plant's growth rate by up to 30%.
SOIL AERATION
The key to insuring complete aeration of your household or garden plant's roots lies in the soil itself. Perfect soil should be very porous, more than just "good dirt". It should contain large, water holding objects such as bark, porous rocks, small twigs, or a commercial soil additive such as perlite or vermiculite. These help the soil retain water, which is rich in oxygen (I will explain, later, a simple method to super enrich your water with oxygen). Other ingredients that hold vast amounts of water are manure, peat moss, dried grass clippings, and leaves. These ingredients can be combined with sand to make an all around, partially self-fertilizing soil, or not, for a fertilizer friendly soil-less mix. They can be mixed and combined in a myriad of different ways to meet your ph and nutrient needs, as well as aerate and add a sufficient supply of oxygen. An example of a nicely aerated soil would be mixed as follows:
1/3 tree bark
1/3 vermiculite
1/3 sand
SUPER-ENRICH YOUR WATER WITH OXYGEN
Super-enriching your water with oxygen is a very simple process. All it requires is adding one(1) pint hydrogen peroxide to one(1) gallon water, shake well(vigorously for about five(5) seconds), and allow it to sit over night. The reason this enriches the water with oxygen is simple. Water is two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, H2O. Hydrogen peroxide is H2O2, or water with an extra atom of oxygen. When H2O2 is added to H2O, the extra atom in the hydrogen peroxide attaches itself to bacteria and impurities in the water, thereby disinfecting it. After most impurities have been eliminated, you are left with a water-hydrogen peroxide mix. When added to your plants the extra oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide attaches to the roots, helps increase nutrient uptake, and increases plant growth by 30%.
TIPS TO HELP
The following are a few simple tips to remember that will help increase the amount of oxygen in your soil:
1. Aerate the soil with bulky and water holding material such as peat moss, bark, vermiculite, rocks, and perlite.
2. Always wait until your plants absolutely need water, then thoroughly saturate with water. This will allow water to drain completely through, and pulls oxygen down through the top of the soil.
3. Super-enrich your water with oxygen by adding one(1) pint hydrogen peroxide to one(1) gallon water, shake vigorously for five(5) seconds, and allow to sit over night.
4. Apply the usage of aeration, and as long as you keep the plants other needs met you can increase growth by up to 20%-30%.
Most everyone knows the importance of carbon dioxide to a plant's health, but very few realize the significance of oxygen to a plant's nutrient uptake and overall health. Now, of course, the foliage of a plant recieves oxygen, however, the real need for oxygen is below the soil line. The oxygen helps the roots absorb nutrients at a faster rate, and can increase a plant's growth rate by up to 30%.
SOIL AERATION
The key to insuring complete aeration of your household or garden plant's roots lies in the soil itself. Perfect soil should be very porous, more than just "good dirt". It should contain large, water holding objects such as bark, porous rocks, small twigs, or a commercial soil additive such as perlite or vermiculite. These help the soil retain water, which is rich in oxygen (I will explain, later, a simple method to super enrich your water with oxygen). Other ingredients that hold vast amounts of water are manure, peat moss, dried grass clippings, and leaves. These ingredients can be combined with sand to make an all around, partially self-fertilizing soil, or not, for a fertilizer friendly soil-less mix. They can be mixed and combined in a myriad of different ways to meet your ph and nutrient needs, as well as aerate and add a sufficient supply of oxygen. An example of a nicely aerated soil would be mixed as follows:
1/3 tree bark
1/3 vermiculite
1/3 sand
SUPER-ENRICH YOUR WATER WITH OXYGEN
Super-enriching your water with oxygen is a very simple process. All it requires is adding one(1) pint hydrogen peroxide to one(1) gallon water, shake well(vigorously for about five(5) seconds), and allow it to sit over night. The reason this enriches the water with oxygen is simple. Water is two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, H2O. Hydrogen peroxide is H2O2, or water with an extra atom of oxygen. When H2O2 is added to H2O, the extra atom in the hydrogen peroxide attaches itself to bacteria and impurities in the water, thereby disinfecting it. After most impurities have been eliminated, you are left with a water-hydrogen peroxide mix. When added to your plants the extra oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide attaches to the roots, helps increase nutrient uptake, and increases plant growth by 30%.
TIPS TO HELP
The following are a few simple tips to remember that will help increase the amount of oxygen in your soil:
1. Aerate the soil with bulky and water holding material such as peat moss, bark, vermiculite, rocks, and perlite.
2. Always wait until your plants absolutely need water, then thoroughly saturate with water. This will allow water to drain completely through, and pulls oxygen down through the top of the soil.
3. Super-enrich your water with oxygen by adding one(1) pint hydrogen peroxide to one(1) gallon water, shake vigorously for five(5) seconds, and allow to sit over night.
4. Apply the usage of aeration, and as long as you keep the plants other needs met you can increase growth by up to 20%-30%.
