True Living Organics - The Ultimate Guide to Growing All-Natural Marijuana Indoors (2012)

ALL THE ELEMENTS CANNABIS REQUIRES
None of these elements are in reality more important than the others. Nutrient elements
are like everything else in nature’s design; they all work together. Try and avoid the
whole perception that there is some kind of “magic bullet” within special nutrients only,
because they are all important. Another important aspect of TLO growing is never
forgetting about the living soil microbeasties. They require all these same elements
themselves, especially oxygen, nitrogen, and calcium in my experience.
Carbon and oxygen are absorbed from the air, while other nutrients including water
are obtained from the soil. Plants must obtain the following mineral nutrients from the
growing media:
• Primary Macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K)
• Secondary Macronutrients: calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg)
• The Macronutrient: Silicon (Si)
• Micronutrients: boron (B), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn),
copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), and sodium (Na)
CARBON
Carbon forms the backbone of many plant’s bio-molecules, including starches and
cellulose. Carbon is fixed through photosynthesis from the carbon dioxide in the air and
is a part of the carbohydrates that store energy in the plant.
HYDROGEN
Hydrogen also is necessary for building sugars and building the plant. It is obtained
almost entirely from water. Hydrogen ions are imperative for a proton gradient to help
drive the electron transport chain in photosynthesis and for respiration.
OXYGEN
Oxygen is necessary for cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is the process of
generating energy-rich adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via the consumption of sugars
made in photosynthesis. Plants produce oxygen gas during photosynthesis to produce
glucose, but then require oxygen to break down this glucose.