Water Absorbing Crystals

I knew these were a good thing, have used them many ways for the past 3 years. Just add a few to hanging baskets or containers, place in hole when planting thirsty plants, rooting cuttings, starting seeds, as a "frog" for flower arranging, etc. They save a lot of watering in hot weather. You can find them in 1 lb jars at Lowes or Home Depot for about $12. or order in bulk. There are several brands.

http://www.watersorb.com/




This message was edited Friday, Apr 12th 9:05 AM

That is so great and would like to get some and thank for sharing to let everyone to know.

This message was edited Friday, Apr 12th 9:10 AM

How cool is that. I never heard of that before. I should get a lot of mileage out of a 1 lb pkg.

Thanks for sharing. You can get a sample by following your hyperlink and sending in a few stamps.

Thanks for the link, Azalea! I'll have to try them! By July, my containers are all crispy critters. Maybe this will help. Thanks again!

I bought little packs of 3 colors, blue, yellow and uncolored. I just planted 3 little Gaura seedlings to it :] I wonder where I could find it here in bigger packs.

I heard a greenhouse owner say he and his wife put cheap sponges in the bottoms of their containers. He said it keeps the soil from washing out, plus the sponges absorb water, then release it slowly back into the soil. He said he and his wife used to shred apart the sponges and mix the pieces into the root zone of the containers, but they found putting them in the bottom of the pots worked just as well.

Anyone tried this? I have a pouch of the crystals, but I think I might try a few with sponges just as an experiment.

I have just read a number of times that the crystals should be mixed with water before putting in the soil, since they can just rise to the top, and really dislodge the plant.

I've used them both ways, dry or pre-watered. They're a heck of a lot easier to use dry. If you put in the recommended amount, way down at the bottom where the root zone is, you're okay. They don't do the roots much good up in the top 1-3" part of the pot, because that's not where most of the roots are, and it dries out so quickly up at the top, too.

The stuff I have, Soil Moist granules, is made by JRM Chemical Inc. in Cleveland. They say to use the following measures per various pot size:

1/2 tsp per 4" pot
3/4 tsp per 6" pot
1 tsp per 8" pot
2 tsp per 10" pot
2 tsp per 1-gallon pot
3 tsp per 3-gallon pot

You can re-use it season to season, too (if ya remember to save it!). I just bought a 3oz pouch of it for $3.00 in 2000, I think, and it's really lasted me.

I just put my potting mix in the pot to about 3-4" from the top for a deeper one, sprinkle the recommended amount in, put my plants in, and fill around them with more potting mix. Then I water everything in really thoroughly so not only the mix, but the granules, get wet.

The trick is just not to use too much and keep it in the root zone.