Inc. Nutrients Guide Beginning with the basics, plants absorb water and nutrients with their roots through a process called diffusion.
Diffusion is the electrical exchange of ions at a molecular level.
In plain English, this means that plants only absorb pure elemental salts, like those comprised of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. Understanding this fact is the key to knowing how to keep your plants healthy. In nature, organic matter that falls to the forest floor decomposes through a series of processes. Digestion by insects and animals, oxidation by forest fires and assimilation by fungi and micro-organisms leave behind a rich organic compost. Within this compost exist soil-bound microbes which further the process by digesting and excreting the raw essential elements plants feed on.