Plant Biology

Plant Biology or Botany is what we need to know before we start our gardening, we need to have an idea on how plants work. We learned this in school but I am sure like me you have forgotten what it takes. We know that it takes Soil, Sun and Water. But how does all this work? We will find out.

Botany or plant biology is the study of plant life and development. Botany is considered to be a form of biology. I live in Texas so gardening in San Antonio, Texas is where my information will be developed from.

If you live in other parts of the country, then you may have to adjust my ideas to fit where you are. Any comments will be appreciated. I will be posting a lot of vegetable gardening photos.

As you read, you will see that I try to keep things as simple and short as possible in this easy vegetable gardening site so that I do not waste your time with needless words. If you want to know more about a certain subject than just the glancing look we take, then go to the internet or your public library for more information.

The main parts of a plant and their functions are:

Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil. Roots also help hold the plant in the soil.

Stems support the plant. They carry water and minerals from the roots and food made by the leaves other parts of the plant.

Stems come in two types: herbaceous which are stems that are bendable and flexible, or woody which are stems that are strong and sturdy.

An example of the herbaceous stem would be the tomato plant. An example of the woody stem would be the mesquite tree.

All plants in plant biology or botany have some sort of leaf system. The leaves are used to make food with sunlight through a process called photosynthesis. This food is produced by using sunlight, carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and the water/minerals from the root system.

In addition to supplying food, the plants remove harmful gas, CO2 or carbon dioxide, and convert this to good oxygen in its photosynthesis process.

In order to reproduce, plants form a flower. This flower can be self-pollinated or is pollinated by bees, or by the wind blowing pollen from another plant. Pollen is usually in the form of a very fine dust, so fine that many times it is not noticeable to the naked eye.

Pollination to a flower is live sperm to an egg. It makes the flower pregnant, so to speak.

Once pollinated, this flower will turn into the vegetable we are trying to grow. Knowing when to pick the vegetable is important because if it stays on the plant too long its meaty portion turns into seeds. The portion of the vegetable that can be eaten is referred to as its “meat”.

Hybrids are seeds that are created by combining different plant DNAs together. This is useful in creating better growing plants with resistance to diseases, fungi and insects. And the most important reason, taste. Hybrids can be planted in places where the regular plant would not be able to grow.

The other type is perennials, which come back year after year with a bit of care at the end of the season. Will a tomato plant continue to grow if kept in a green house year round? I do not know, but this is one of the experiments we will conduct with our green house.

Not all vegetables produce a flower that becomes the vegetable. For example, with asparagus and celery, the stem is the meat. With carrots, beets, turnips and other root crops, the root is the meat. In spinach, lettuce, and collards, it is the leafy part that is the meat.

Seeds are put into the ground with the right amount of water and heat. While in the ground, they go through a process called germination. This is where the seed sprouts the beginnings of a plant. There are some exceptions but this is the main idea.

All I know is what I read in Genesis 1:11(NIV): Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

God is the master of plant biology. This says all I need to know. I also think one has to have a belief in God in order to be a good gardener. The creation of vegetables is a miracle to me.

In plant biology, if the soil is too cool, seeds will not germinate but will rot if there is an abundance of water. If it is cool and dry, then the seeds will lie dormant until the right conditions come along.

The seed has chemicals that allow it to lie dormant until the right temperature and moisture are available. Otherwise in a hot, rainy winter season, the seeds might germinate before spring time and then get destroyed by a frost.

What is amazing to me is that no matter which way I plant the seed, the leaf part always grows up and the root part always grows down. It is a little more technical than this. For more information go to: plant biology.

This concludes our basic lesson on plant biology. Some of what has been mentioned will be better explained as time goes by. So, are you ready? Got that shovel and rake in your hands? Ready to begin? Excited? Hold on. There are other things we need to do first such as “planning our garden” and "soil preparation" before we are ready to start digging.

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