Fresh air is at the heart of all successful indoor gardens. Think about the atmosphere in the great outdoors and how different the air is indoors. Outdoor air is abundant and packed with carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) necessary for plant life.
For example , the level of CO2 in the air over a field of rapidly growing corn could be only a third of normal on a very still day. When wind blows in fresh new CO2 rich air and (acid) rain, washes air and plants of dust and pollutants. Outdoors the atmosphere creates a fantastic environment for plant growth. Put a garden in a wee room and the air must be meticulously controlled to replicate the air of the great outdoors. Indoors , none of the natural elements to make CO2 rich air are available and the horticulturist must take on the task.
Carbon dioxide and oxygen provide basic building blocks for plant life. Oxygen is used for respiration, burning carbohydrates and other foods to provide energy. Carbon dioxide must be present during photosynthesis. Without CO2 a plant will die. CO2 combines light energy with water to produce sugars. These sugars are used to fuel the growth and metabolism of the plant. With reduced levels of CO2 growth slows to a crawl. A plant releases more oxygen than is used and use much more carbon dioxide than it releases, except during darkness when more oxygen is used.
Roots use air too. Oxygen must be present along with water and nutrients for the roots to be able to absorb nutrients/ Compacted water saturated soil leaves roots little or no air and nutrient uptake stalls.
Plants and animals ( people are animals too ) complement one another in a symbiotic relationship. Plants give off oxygen, essential to animal life, as a by-product. Animals inhale air, using oxygen to carry on life processes and exhale carbon dioxide as a by-product. Animals give off carbon dioxide making it available to plants. Without plants animals could not live, and without animals plants could not live.
