As you know, oxygen is an important part to help plants grow and develop. A lack of oxygen will make it difficult for plants to metabolize energy.
Plants can absorb and exchange oxygen in water and soil. To ensure plants can grow and develop well, you need to provide enough oxygen for plants in each stage.
Therefore, many people are very concerned about the problem of oxygen in soil and water. One of the most common questions regarding aeration in water. Does aerating water before watering plants work? How to aerate the water before watering the plants? Let’s find out more information about this method in the article below.
Aerating Water Before Watering Plants – Should I Skip It?
Aeration into water is when you aerate through an air pump and air rock. This process introduces dissolved oxygen into the water. From there, plants can easily absorb oxygen through the plant root system.
As you know, plants need oxygen for respiration, they absorb oxygen through the root system and stomata in leaves and stems. If the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in the hydroponic medium is low, the roots will not be able to convert the sugar into energy to nourish the plants. Since then, the general will die gradually, so the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in the hydroponic environment is extremely important.
Besides, when the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water is low in the hydroponic environment, it will also make it easier for harmful bacteria and fungi to attack the root system. They will attach directly to the roots and prevent the roots from absorbing oxygen and nutrients to nourish the whole plant.
Plants growing in the ground will absorb oxygen through the air sacs in the ground as well as the daily amount of irrigation or rainwater. If the soil lacks oxygen and the roots cannot absorb it, the plants will wilt and die. Therefore, aeration of water before watering plants also plays an important role.
Benefits Of Aeration In Water
In the natural world, worms and insects are constantly moving through the soil and disrupting the soil structures around plants. So the soil is often lumpy and doesn’t have the air pockets to help the roots absorb oxygen. Therefore, providing water with abundant oxygen will help plants absorb oxygen as well as improve air pockets in the soil.
Aeration into the water helps to increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water than usual. The plant will absorb enough oxygen it needs and the excess oxygen will not harm the plant.
Aerating the water before watering your plants also helps remove chlorine from your tap water. Normally, tap water often contains chlorine as a disinfectant, so it can remove some of the beneficial elements for plants.
Therefore, aeration into the water will be an effective method of water purification before watering plants. At the same time, aeration helps to produce a large amount of dissolved oxygen which is beneficial for plant growth.
How To Improve The Amount Of Oxygen For Plant
There are two methods such as using an aerator in the water before watering plants or aerating the soil for plants. The method of using a water aerator will be simpler and more effective. However, it can cost you time and money to do so.
If you don’t have a water aerator, you can use the manual method. First, you need to loosen the small lumps of soil around the base of the tree. You can then use the chopstick to stick it to the ground at different distances. Proceed to water and lift the chopsticks off the ground. These holes can create gaps in the soil that help the roots better absorb oxygen.
This manual method may break some of the roots because you will be using sharp objects to dig into the ground. However, this process will not affect plant growth too much.
Read more: Is It Bad to Water Plants at Night?
How Often To Aerate?
You will not be able to get an exact answer on this matter. Watering is completely dependent on compaction and moisture in the soil. You should only aerate the water to irrigate plants when the ground is 2-3 inches dry.
Soil compaction varies from plant to crop, so aeration should be observed regularly rather than scheduled. You can also observe dry soil and small lumps of soil sticking together.
How To Prevent The Clumping Of Soil?
To prevent clumping of the soil, you must choose the composition of the soil. A soil mix that has good aeration and helps roots absorb oxygen includes ingredients such as coir, perlite, and loose soil.
Coir and perlite will create small gaps in the soil, from which they help the soil have better aeration and oxygen circulation. However, you will have to water more often as this soil mix will not hold water and moisture well because of the gaps.
Conclusion
Aeration of the water before watering the plants is a very beneficial method for the plants. This process will provide a good amount of dissolved oxygen in the water for easy absorption by the roots.
Aeration of the water is an extremely important step for plants living in hydroponics. Because the roots will absorb oxygen in the water, thereby converting sugar into energy to nourish the plants.
The aeration process is very simple if you have an aerator or use a manual method like making holes in the soil to create a void. You don’t need to worry about excess oxygen because they are completely harmless to plants.