Before beginning a test of the current hydrogarden components, it is important to understand what a plant actually needs in order to grow. One area that I have not researched in this regard is germination.
There are many elements that a plant needs to begin germination. For this blog post, I will label them according to importance: required, preferable, and non-essential.
Required
Water is needed to soften the hard seed coat, which will allow a future sprout to grow. Water also allows the food reserve in the seed to be used. It should be noted that the seed only needs enough water to moisten it; it should not be submerged in water.
As an aerobic organism, plants need oxygen to survive much like humans and various other organisms. Oxygen uptake may only occur after the seed coat has been softened, depending on the type of plant. Atmospheric oxygen should be sufficient, making aeration unnecessary.
Most plants will germinate at temperatures in the range of 15 - 24°C.
Preferable
For vegetables, the ideal temperature range is 24 - 32°C. As the first plant I will be growing is lettuce, this range is suitable.
Non-Essential
Most plants do not require a light source for germination to begin. The main types of plant that do are forest plants, which are not good candidates for hydroponics.
Because a seed contains its own food supply, addition nutrients do not need to be added at this time.
Conclusion
When designing a testing procedure for the current hydrogarden, I will keep these elements in mind to ensure that the seeds will germinate. If the seeds do not germinate, I will look back at this list to check if the conditions are met.
The next blog post will outline the testing set-up, including the components and the implementation.
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