Acid—A sour substance: An acid or sour soil has a low pH.
Aeration—Supplying soil and roots with air or oxygen.
Alkaline—Refers to soil with a high pH. Any pH over 7 is considered alkaline.
Bacteria—Very small, one-celled organisms that have no chlorophyll.
Beneficial Insect—A good insect that eats bad flower and vegetable-munching insects.
Biodegradable—Able to decompose or break down through natural bacterial action: Substances made of organic matter are biodegradable.
Bleach—Ordinary laundry bleach used in a mild water solution as a soil fungicide.
Buffering—The ability of a substance to reduce shock and cushion against pH fluctuations.
Bulb—1. The outer glass envelope or jacket that protects the arc tube of a HID lamp 2. Clove or bulb of garlic. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)—A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas in the air necessary for plant life.
Cell—The base structural unit that plants are made of: Cells contain a nucleus, membrane and chloroplasts.
Cellulose—A complex carbohydrate that stiffens a plant: Tough stems contain stiff cellulose.
Chelate—Combining nutrients in an atomic ring that is easy for plants to absorb.
Chlorophyll—The green photosynthetic matter of plants: Chlorophyll is found in the chloroplasts of a cell.
Climate—The average condition of the weather in a garden room or outdoors.
Color Spectrum—The band of colors (measured in nm) emitted by a light source.
Compost—A mixture of decayed organic matter, high in nutrients. Compost must be at least one year old. When too young, decomposition uses nitrogen after sufficient decomposition, compost releases nitrogen.
Cutting—1. Growing tip cut from a parent plant for asexual propagation. 2. Clone.
Drip System—A very efficient watering system that employs a main hose with small water emitters. Water
is metered out of the emitters, one drop at a time.
Fertilizer Burn—Over fertilization: First leaf tips burn (turn yellow or brown) then the leaves curl.
Foliar Feeding—Misting fertilizer solution which is absorbed by the foliage.
Fungicide—A product that destroys or inhibits fungus.
Fungus—A lower plant lacking chlorophyll which may attack green plants: Mold, rust, mildew, mushrooms and bacteria are fungi.
Halide—Binary compound of a (halogens) with an electropositive element(s).
HID—High Intensity Discharge Hormone—Chemical substance that controls the growth and development of a plant.
Humidity (Relative)—Ratio between the amount of moisture in the air and the greatest amount of moisture the air could hold at the same temperature.
Hygrometer—Instrument for measuring relative humidity in the atmosphere: A hygrometer will save time, frustration and money.
Leach—Dissolve or wash out soluble components of soil by heavy watering.
Leaf Curl—Leaf malformation due to over watering, over fertilization, lack of magnesium, insect or fungus damage or negative tropism.
Leggy—Abnormally tall, with sparse foliage: Leggyness of a plant is usually caused by lack of light.
Light Mover—A device that moves a lamp back and forth across the ceiling of a garden room to provide more even distribution of light.
Lumen—Measurement of light output: One lumen is equal to the amount of light emitted by one candle that falls on one square foot of surface located one foot away from one candle.
Macronutrient—One or all of the primary nutrients N-P-K or the secondary nutrients magnesium and calcium.
Nutrient—Plant food, essential elements N-P-K, secondary and trace elements fundamental to plant life.
Organic—Made of, derived from or related to living organisms.
pH—A scale from 1 to 14 that measures the acid-to-alkaline balance of a growing medium, nutrient solution.
Photoperiod—The relationship between the length of light and dark in a 24–hour period.
Photosynthesis—The building of chemical compounds (carbohydrates) from light energy, water and carbon dioxide.
Pigment—The substance in paint or anything that absorbs light, producing (reflecting) the same color as the pigment.
Primary Nutrients—N (nitrogen), P (phosphorus, K (potassium).
Propagate—1. Sexual–produce a seed by breeding different male and female flowers 2. Asexual–to produce a plant by taking cuttings.
Pyrethrum—Natural insecticide made from the blossoms of various chrysanthemums: Raid’s Pyrethrum is the most effective natural spider mite exterminator.
Secondary Nutrients—Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg).
Square Feet (sq. ft.)—Length (in feet) times width equals square feet.
Sugar—Food product of a plant.
Tepid—Warm 70 to 80 degrees F (21 to 27C). Always use tepid water around plants to facilitate chemical processes and ease shock.
Trellis—Frame of small boards (lattice) that trains or supports plants.
Ultraviolet—Light with very short wave lengths, out of visible spectrum.
Ventilation—Circulation of fresh air, fundamental to healthy indoor garden. An exhaust fan creates excellent ventilation.
Wick—Part of a passive hydroponic system using a wick suspended in the nutrient solution, the nutrients pass up the wick and are absorbed by the medium and roots.
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