GardeningStuff.info

With potting soil treated properly with water-absorbing polymer crystals, you can go on vacation without worry that your house plants or container gardens will stress out and shrivel from lack of water.

In fact, when used properly, Water Crystals will cut in halfand sometimes morethe frequency for watering house plants and plants in container gardens.

But, don’t wait until the last minute before your vacation to treat your soil.

You should apply Water Crystals at least 3-5 days before leaving and then saturate the growing medium before departure, or you could return to a disappointment. The earlier application gives the soil, polymers, plant and pot time to adjust to each other. The plants will find the water stored in the polymer crystals and drink from them as needed. Hydrated polymers will also keep the potting soil more moist than soil not treated with them.

In new pottings, Water Crystals should be allowed to expand fully upon initial watering. You have two ways of doing this: Pre-swelling the polymer before adding to your potting mix; or adding the crystals in their dry state into your growth medium.

You can pre-swell by adding water at a rate of at least 12-15 gallons of water per pound of dry crystals. That’s an equivalent to about 4-8 teaspoons for one gallon of water. The polymer will hold much more; but this rate will get you started. Allow the mixture to stand at least 20 minutes or until water has been absorbed.

The less-messy way to incorporate the crystals to you mix is to add them dry crystals. To promote the uniform distribution of absorbed water, you must thoroughly mix or till the polymer crystals into the soil or growing medium.

After blending with the soil, a subsequent watering should be applied to maximize water content. Blend at a rate of 5-12 parts soil to one part gel (by volume). The normal ratio is 8:1, but this can be varied depending on the soil composition, climatic conditions (temperature and humidity), and the type of plant to be grown.

To treat existing container plants or container gardens, make holes with a pencil, dowel rod, screwdriver or other such implement in the planting medium to approximately 2/3 the depth of the pot.You’re goal is to be sure that the Water Crystals reach the root zone. Add dry crystals evenly to the holes as follows:

Pot Diameter Amount # of Holes

6 inches 1/2 teaspoon 4 Holes

8 inches 1 teaspoon 6 Holes

10 inches2 teaspoons 8 Holes

12 inches 4 teaspoons 10 Holes

For larger containers, follow the progression illustrated in the table.

Then, soak, but do not over-saturate, the soil. Remember, it will take 15-30 minutes for mid-gradation crystals to absorb the excess water; less time for granular powder.

Water Crystals or any polymer crystals are not substitutes for good watering and fertilizing. They only augment good irrigation treatment practices.

They increase the mediums water holding capacity and enhance the efficient use of available water by the plant. No soil should not be allowed to completely dry out.

Feeder roots seek out the filled reservoirs of Water Crystals, penetrating their membranes to provide nourishment to the plant.

Learn more about Water Crystals and how to use them in container gardening, flower and vegetable gardening, and how they fight water and drought stress for your lawn, trees and shrubs by visiting http://watercrystals.com. Register there for a free applications guidebook.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-you-can-reduce-watering-frequency-of-potted-plants-by-half-926466.html

If youre getting ready to go on a new garden venture, you need to prepare
your soil to ideally house your plants. The best thing you can do in the
soil preparation process is to reach the perfect mixture of sand, silt,
and clay. Preferably there would be 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt, and
20 percent clay. There are several tests used by experienced gardeners to
tell whether the soil has a good composition. First you can compress it in
your hand. If it doesnt hold its shape and crumbles without any outside
force, your sand ratio is probably a little high. If you poke the
compressed ball with your finger and it doesnt fall apart easily, your
soil contains too much clay.

If youre still not sure about the content of your soil, you can separate
each ingredient by using this simple method. Put a cup or two of dirt into
a jar of water. Shake the water up until the soil is suspended, then let
it set until you see it separate into 3 separate layers. The top layer is
clay, the next is silt, and on the bottom is sand. You should be able to
judge the presence of each component within your dirt, and act accordingly.

After youve analyzed the content of your soil, if you decide that it is
low on a certain ingredient then you should definitely do something to fix
it. If dealing with too much silt or sand, its best to add some peat moss
or compost. If youve got too much clay, add a mixture of peat moss and
sand. The peat moss, when moistens, helps for the new ingredient to
infiltrate the mixture better. If you cant seem to manage to attain a
proper mixture, just head down to your local gardening store. You should
be able to find some kind of product to aid you.

The water content of the soil is another important thing to consider when
preparing for your garden. If your garden is at the bottom of an incline,
it is most likely going to absorb too much water and drown out the plants.
If this is the case, you should probably elevate your garden a few inches
(4 or 5) over the rest of the ground. This will allow for more drainage
and less saturation.

Adding nutrients to your soil is also a vital part of the process, as most
urban soils have little to no nutrients already in them naturally. One to
two weeks prior to planting, you should add a good amount of fertilizer to
your garden. Mix it in really well and let it sit for a while. Once you
have done this, your soil will be completely ready for whatever seeds you
may plant in it.

Once your seeds are planted, you still want to pay attention to the soil.
The first few weeks, the seeds are desperately using up all the nutrients
around them to sprout into a real plant. If they run out of food, how are
they supposed to grow? About a week after planting, you should add the
same amount of fertilizer that you added before. After this you should
continue to use fertilizer, but not as often. If you add a tiny bit every
couple of weeks, that should be plenty to keep your garden thriving.

Basically, the entire process of soil care can be compressed into just
several steps ensure the makeup of the soil is satisfactory, make sure
you have proper drainage in your garden, add fertilizer before and after
planting, then add fertilizer regularly after that. Follow these simple
steps, and youll have a plethora of healthy plants in no time. And if you
need any more details on an individual step, just go to your local nursery
and enquire there. Most of the employees will be more than happy to give
you advice.

If youre getting ready to go on a new garden venture, you need to prepare
your soil to ideally house your plants. The best thing you can do in the
soil preparation process is to reach the perfect mixture of sand, silt,
and clay. Preferably there would be 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt, and
20 percent clay. There are several tests used by experienced gardeners to
tell whether the soil has a good composition. First you can compress it in
your hand. If it doesnt hold its shape and crumbles without any outside
force, your sand ratio is probably a little high. If you poke the
compressed ball with your finger and it doesnt fall apart easily, your
soil contains too much clay.

If youre still not sure about the content of your soil, you can separate
each ingredient by using this simple method. Put a cup or two of dirt into
a jar of water. Shake the water up until the soil is suspended, then let
it set until you see it separate into 3 separate layers. The top layer is
clay, the next is silt, and on the bottom is sand. You should be able to
judge the presence of each component within your dirt, and act accordingly.

After youve analyzed the content of your soil, if you decide that it is
low on a certain ingredient then you should definitely do something to fix
it. If dealing with too much silt or sand, its best to add some peat moss
or compost. If youve got too much clay, add a mixture of peat moss and
sand. The peat moss, when moistens, helps for the new ingredient to
infiltrate the mixture better. If you cant seem to manage to attain a
proper mixture, just head down to your local gardening store. You should
be able to find some kind of product to aid you.

The water content of the soil is another important thing to consider when
preparing for your garden. If your garden is at the bottom of an incline,
it is most likely going to absorb too much water and drown out the plants.
If this is the case, you should probably elevate your garden a few inches
(4 or 5) over the rest of the ground. This will allow for more drainage
and less saturation.

Adding nutrients to your soil is also a vital part of the process, as most
urban soils have little to no nutrients already in them naturally. One to
two weeks prior to planting, you should add a good amount of fertilizer to
your garden. Mix it in really well and let it sit for a while. Once you
have done this, your soil will be completely ready for whatever seeds you
may plant in it.

Once your seeds are planted, you still want to pay attention to the soil.
The first few weeks, the seeds are desperately using up all the nutrients
around them to sprout into a real plant. If they run out of food, how are
they supposed to grow? About a week after planting, you should add the
same amount of fertilizer that you added before. After this you should
continue to use fertilizer, but not as often. If you add a tiny bit every
couple of weeks, that should be plenty to keep your garden thriving.

Basically, the entire process of soil care can be compressed into just
several steps ensure the makeup of the soil is satisfactory, make sure
you have proper drainage in your garden, add fertilizer before and after
planting, then add fertilizer regularly after that. Follow these simple
steps, and youll have a plethora of healthy plants in no time. And if you
need any more details on an individual step, just go to your local nursery
and enquire there. Most of the employees will be more than happy to give
you advice.