My Son, His Hydroponics Experiment

My son, Amon Wilhite, compares organic horticulture to hydroponics. He reported his findings on the Internet. My boy defines:

Hydroponics is a form of agriculture in which a plant is given oxygen and nutrients directly to its roots. Hydroponics doesn’t use soil, and the nutrients are supplied directly to the roots. Because light, heat, fertilizer, oxygen, pests and water are controlled to a greater degree, hydroponics plants may grow faster than plants grown using other more traditional agricultural methods.

The assumption here is that Mr. Wilhite experimented with proving that hydroponic techniques do indeed make plants “grow faster.” However, his honesty and his ability to articulate provides us with this report:

Unfortunately for the experiment (and for the tomatoes!), two months before the plants were scheduled to bear fruit, all the plants, with the exception of the plant grown naturally indoors (Plant 2), died. The plants in the hydroponics system weren’t getting a sufficient amount of water. The fertilizer had collected in the bottom of the pot. It did not reach the root system of the seedlings. The pot was too deep.

I can do no more but to encourage my son to continue to experiment with his environment and never give up in the face of ‘failure.’ The promise is that his expectations will be in harmony with the reality of the environment—because his expectations will be based on correct information and experience through structured activities (such as scientific experiments).

I am very proud of his work and am exceedingly pleased that he has some information from ancient cultures. Here is his fun fact about the Aztecs:

The Aztecs planted flowers, vegetables, and trees on rafts called chinampas. The plant roots grew through the rafts, accessing water and nutrients from the lake below.

And another fact about the ancient Egyptians:

Egyptian hieroglyphs record the growing of floating crops along the Nile River. The Pharaohs enjoyed fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically.

And remember my son, do not muse about what the “pharaohs enjoyed” without reminding us that nutrition in ancient Egyptian language is under female command. The woman is in command of nutrition—so whatever the pharaoh enjoys is not under his command. When pharaoh made this claim, it was under the influence of foreigners and the beginning of the end of our ancient ancestors, as we should know them.

Anyway… I digress…. My son, you have outstretched your hand with authority and I encourage you to make your arm stronger. Continue with instruction so that one day you will be able to instruct. Learning is never ending. The last two sentences do not contradict each other. We can discuss this later when you are curious. Presently, I look forward to your next project! Great work!

For more great work by Amon Wilhite, check him out on the flight simulator.

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