Hi -
I am planning containers, but will be out of town for a couple weeks in early July. Although my neighbor may do some watering for me, I'd love to keep the baskets a little moister (hanging baskets with coir liners). Anyone have experience with hydrogels? I have no idea if they work (or even where to get them...)..Thanks!
hydrogels?
Are you talking about the water retaining crystals? If so, they should be in stock at Wal-Mart or Lowe's.
I use them all the time, but I'm not sure they'll hold you over for two weeks. I still have to water every day or so in our dry climate.
Here too, especially in such a small container.
Polymers will allow you to extend the time between waterings, but are not a substitute for regular waterings. You may get an extra day or possibly 2 between waterings, not 2 weeks. They have such greater absorptive capacity than your surrounding media that they will compete for and absorb water from the surrounding media, and can actually dry out the media itself. You need to keep your media regularly hydrated, not only for the plant's sake, but for the sake of the media as well. Also, since straight polymer (not polymer into which fertilizer has been incorporated) swells up so much when hydrated, you should hydrate the polymer before mixing it in your media, otherwise it will push the plants out of the container. After mixing, give the media itself a good watering to equalize the moisture between the polymer and the media.
Last year I had all my soil mixed up with the water crystals but hadn't planted them yet. The soil dried out some, and then we had a gully-washer one day with about 2-3" of rain in an hour, unusual in our dry climate. Here's what one of the pots looked like afterward.
Just saw this thread and wanted to point out last week's article on polymer moisture crystals, http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1092/. :-)
I recently heard someone from Fafard speak about the moisture crystals they add to their soil mixes. He said "the crystals will give you an extra day to a day and a half" between waterings.
Lowe's sells an inexpensive drip irrigation system - it is in their plumbing section, not the gardening area - and it is easy to set up with a timer. BTW, the timer they sell, I think it is called Mr. Landscaper, is the best I have found. I set my system up to water hanging pots for about 10 minutes a day and they stay happy whether I am here or away.