Why can you grow plants hydroponically but if plants in soil get too much water they get root rot and die?
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I’m surprised to not see the real answer here.
Osmositic pressure.
Plants absorb water from the ground by osmosis. Their roots are the membrane.
With osmosis, water flows from where there’s less stuff disolved in it, to where there’s more stuff disolved.
Plants have salts, sugars, starches, and minerals in their internal juices.
Tap water usually has less stuff disolved, so it easily flows into the plant.
With too much water, the water keeps flowing until the cells pop.
The secret to hydroponics is TDS – Total Disolved Solids.
They add solids – fertilizers, minerals, and salts to the water. This is carefully measured and tailored to the plant.
When the amount of stuff in the water matches that of the plant juice, it doesn’t keep flowing into the plant.
Only if the plant dries out slightly, then some of the hydroponic solution will flow in.
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