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When Dan Brown first came up with the concept for his record-breaking novel The Da Vinci code, (and even though already established as a successful best selling author) he could never have wished for even a fraction of the success the book has basked in since its initial publication in 2003.
Widely renowned for its clever, intricate explanation into the theories behind the enigmatic smile portrayed by the Mona Lisa, Brown’s sixth and by far most successful book is said to have sold some 45 million copies worldwide, helped no doubt by the widely documented (and in part at least, successful) lawsuit instigated by two aspiring authors, who claim Brown plagiarised their work in the creation of his best seller. The worldwide publicity guaranteed the success of the book, and history was written (and re-written).
But things haven’t always been so rosy in the garden. An earlier book written by Dan Brown sold only a fraction of the sales recorded by The Da Vinci Code...
Angels & Demons (2000) is a futuristic look into the roles science plays in everyday life.
Based around 20-30 years in the future, it tells of the struggle up and coming scientists had in the 14th, 15th & 16th centuries, with the Catholic Church, which was dead set on anything which flew in the face of religion. To the extent that a string of Popes had ordered the capture and execution of the men accused of (amongst other things) witchcraft.
In fear of their lives, pre-eminent scientists such as Galileo and Leonardo Da Vinci went underground to continue their research and experiments.
The church would not allow Da Vinci to experiment on dead bodies so he used animal organs from a butcher’s shop to create graphically accurate representations of human organs.
So clear were his sketch’s and illustrations, that 500 years later they are said to be accurate enough to use as blue prints for machinery designs, albeit rudimentary by today’s standards.
In the meantime the research carried on, the results of which were often credited to a mythical and legendary secret society called The Illuminati.
When a world renowned scientist is found murdered on the grounds of a medical research institution in Switzerland, with his body branded with the mark of the by now long forgotten Illuminati, ….well lets just say the shit hits the fan.
After reading the book it got me to thinking just how much science plays a part in all our lives. Especially so, as home growers!
It also made me realise how much a part religion plays in my own day to day growing.
I remember sitting on the motorway on many occasion’s, traffic queued up for miles in every direction, looking through a rain-streaked windscreen at the brake lights of the car in front whilst whispering to myself, “Please God”. “Just let them still be standing by the time I get there, and I promise I will water them more often”. If you’re smiling, then you’ll know what I mean.
Unlike the 17th century Catholic Church, I’ve managed to find space for religion as well as a goodly dose of science in my own grow room.
By abiding by a few, simple scientific rules it’s possible to make the growers life so much easier. Let’s have a look at some of them, as well as how they apply in and around the grow room.
Osmosis
Osmotic pressure, the pressure that develops in a solution separated from a solvent by a membrane permeable only to solvent, was first described by Abbé J.A. Nollet.
Osmosis was discovered by Nollet in 1748 with a container, filled to the brim with alcohol and closed shut by a pig’s bladder. Prior to the experiment starting the pig’s bladder had been soaked in water, to protect the alcohol against the entry of air.
The bladder had admitted the water into the container, but only very little alcohol had passed the other way. So water and alcohol were being exchanged, that is, the container closed shut with the pig’s bladder contained water that was below the alcohol.
Also the pig’s bladder extended concavely into the alcohol container, attracted by the osmotic pressure of the alcohol as it attempted to draw itself into the pigs bladder.
It had let water escape into the alcohol and yet had allowed only a little of the liquor to enter the bladder, (so only a semi, semi permeable membrane, as it were =).
His discovery of the osmosis of water through a bladder into alcohol was the starting-point of that branch of physics.
Since then a lot has been learnt about how osmosis works for us when we grow our plants. It is (after all) how roots do their stuff and also how the internal transport and distribution system works. But how can the information above help us to improve our growing?
If you’re having problems with your EC rising at run off, this is a good theory to read up on.
In layman’s terms, “The passage of “nutrients”, through the semi-permeable membrane (the root outer), is controlled by the relative concentrations of individual nutrient elements on either side of the membrane”.
So what I’m reading is this. If I feed my plants with an EC of 0.4 in coco, that sets the bar. The inert medium acquires the Ph and EC values relative to the nutrient mix. That’s why we pre-soak (pre-treat) our cubes/slabs right?
If I then increase my feed strength to 0.6, the medium changes its Ph/EC values to match the new solution, yet the EC within the roots is still at the previous (lower) value.
As the roots grow and move through the medium or solution, osmosis kicks in and in a bid to equalise the concentrations of the nutrients both in the nutrient solution and within the roots, osmotic energy transports the nutrients whichever way is necessary to equalise the concentrations. Science rocks, doesn’t it?
If you did your sums right, you get it flowing the right way. If you got it wrong and nutrient is flowing the other way, your plant will die quickly, unless action is taken.
So if your EC is RISING at run-off, chances are there are some issues which need your urgent attention.
The NFT (nutrient film technique) method is renowned for spectacularly fast growth. I’ve personally watched a plant grow 4 inch’s in a day, and another grower I know said he witnessed 7 inch’s on one particularly gnarly tropical sativa. 7 inch’s?
How rad is that?
Given unlimited amounts of everything, (CO2, food, water etc) and with no root restraint and it becomes easy to see how just 1 weeks NFT growth can match 4 weeks in compost.
But as if equalised by osmosis itself, the high good value is reflected with a high bad value, and this is what stops people getting into NFT.
When using the NFT method, and as a result of the fast growth, problems manifest fast too. It seems like everything is running at fast-forward speed. So by the time the problem has manifested itself on the leaves, it’s often too late to react as the condition has become terminal at the roots.
There’s nothing more frustrating for a grower, than knowing you have provided everything the plant needs, but it still won’t feed.
Unfortunately the knee jerk reaction tends to be to throw more lotions and potions at the plant in a bid to cure the unknown ailment, which for the most part merely serves to make things worse until the original symptoms become masked, as the plant tries to deal with all this new “stuff”.
Since the advent of the Internet of course, a lot has changed. These days it’s possible to rock up to UK Cultivator www.ukcultivator.biz, sign up for membership (which is free, requiring only a working e-mail address and with a “no junk” promise), and you can ask your question to the thousands already using UKC. Even better if you have a digital-camera and can post a picture and the answers will soon follow.
But an even easier way to deal with this condition is not to let it happen in the first place.
By adding another ten minutes to your daily routine in the grow room, its possible to head off all of these issues in one fell swoop.
By taking daily Ph and EC measures it’s possible to find out what’s happening within the plant, before the problem has a chance to manifest itself on the leaves. And by adding the measurement of your EC/Ph at run off to your daily chores, you can see exactly what the plant thinks of its diet and act quickly once the results are in.
Then you can sit back and listen, as the plants (almost) audibly rustle, as they grow and grow and grow.
In closing, one of the most regularly asked questions heard online is “can I grow my plants without an EC measuring device”?
The answer is yes. Of course you can. But if/when problems arise its very hard to correctly diagnose the issue if you are unable to take readings. It’s like missing one of your “senses”.
If you ask online, the answer will be the same. “We can’t advise without knowing what your EC/Ph readings are so put a truncheon on your Christmas list, and listen to the plants grow.
More “Science in the grow room” next time.
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