Plants – Basic Needs

Q: I attend middle school. I have come to ask u a question about my science fair project. the question is: what are the five basic things a plant needs to grow, no matter what kind of plant it is. I hope u will be able to answer my question.

A: (see Instant Messaging Abbreviation List to decode this answer)

AFAIK plants need the following basic things: water, light, nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) and air (oxygen and carbon dioxide).

IDK what the fifth one is. Maybe it is “darkness”. IOW, plants require a period without light in order to prepare for the period in which they photosynthesize, using light.

IMHO, the fifth need is not soil because plants can grow just fine hydroponically, which is a soil-less growing technique.

Hope this isn’t TMI for u. G2G, KIT