Among gardeners, lovingly nurturing their home gardens, the hydrogel for plants has recently become very popular. People began to use it with excitement, as they say, to the right and to the left, trying to make their window sills not only green and vibrant, but also bright and elegant. And many were unpleasantly disappointed, and often angry at the hydrogel for plants - reviews, at first almost enthusiastic, gradually changed to overtly negative. But is only know-how to blame? Let's try to figure it out.
What is a hydrogel?
The widely publicized innovation is in the form of granules (sometimes powder), which are sold packaged and in dry form. By itself, the hydrogel for indoor plants is a polymer that can actively absorb water into itself, while increasing in size by many tens of times. On average, its gram absorbs about a glass of moisture. At the same time, it forms a gel that can give water to the roots of plants. Most people believe that the hydrogel for indoor plants must be framed in balls. This is a fallacy: it was originally planned to be shapeless. By the way, just like that is convenient for mixing into the ground - in this form it is better distributed in the soil.
Why was it invented?
The one who invented the hydrogel for plants set a goal to provide them with a constant source of water in between waterings. The idea is to mix granules swollen from water with the soil into which the plants are planted. Within two to three weeks, depending on the power and development of the root system, the roots grow into granules and are able to consume the “stored” water in them, without waiting for the next watering. The advantage of having a hydrogel in the ground is also that during irrigation it is again saturated with moisture and holds it in itself. All that water, which usually drains through the drainage holes, remains available for flowers. Moreover, if you feed granules not with clean water, but with fertilizers dissolved in it, your green pets will receive them in full. There will be no losses due to the same runoff: the hydrogel for indoor plants will keep fertilizing along with water. In addition, their roots will not rot from waterlogged soil: granules will absorb all the excess, and flowers will extract water from them as needed.
Planned application
It was assumed that such a useful innovation would be widely used even in agriculture. Actually, it was intended for him. Even possible winter freezing is foreseen - it does not affect the “supplement” in any way: after thawing the soil, the capsules return to their “working” state. But so far, the hydrogel for plants is being mastered mainly by lovers of indoor floriculture. Correctly apply it as follows: mix into the soil - and forget about it for five years. The only thing that will need to be done: the first month to observe the wards and calculate a new watering regime. During use, the hydrogel will absorb water many times and give it to plants. And at the end of the time allotted to him, it simply decomposes into carbon dioxide, water and ammonium - no extraneous chemistry.
The difference between hydrogel and aqua soil
So why did such a useful invention cause a lot of negativity? First of all, the creators of advertising and sneaky speculators in glory are to blame for this. Realizing that transparent balls are in great demand in the design of rooms, some manufacturers began to produce a decorating alternative to hydrogel, called aqua soil. For greater attractiveness, they even started to produce it in color and in the form of various figures - pyramids, balls, stars, etc. To add to the earth, it is not suitable and does not decompose in it over time. At the same time, advertising companies equated it with hydrogel in importance and attributed additional, unusual abilities: both seeds can be sprouted and land is not needed at all. The naive consumer confuses as a result an aquagrunt and a hydrogel for plants. Reviews, respectively, become extremely negative due to ruined colors. However, they are more likely to belong to an aquagrunt, which retains moisture extremely poorly, and due to low-quality dyes, quickly becomes an unpleasant odor.
Design application
It cannot be categorically stated that an innovation in its pure form is no longer suitable for the content of flowers in it. However, the list of species that can survive in it is very short. Fans of home flowers have found that bamboo is suitable as a habitat for plants. In natural conditions, it actually lives in water, therefore, it survives quite successfully in a hydrogel. The rest of the flowers need soil, so sticking them in a glass container, where only beautiful colored hydrogel for plants is poured, means only delaying their death. For a while, your green friends will hold out at the expense of water, but not for too long. Nevertheless, this invention does not contain the necessary nutrition and does not stimulate the growth and development of plants. Even bamboo will have to be fed, dissolving the necessary fertilizers in water.
Hydrogel Disadvantages
In addition to not being intended for growing flowers, a hydrogel for plants without soil acquires additional flaws.
- The top layer of balls dries in the air.
- At the bottom of the container, the capsules are moldy from stagnant water. In the mixture with the soil, one and the other drawback is absent: the circulation of water and air is sufficient to avoid such troubles. As a result, the same bamboo has to be periodically removed from the vessel and the balls washed in running water.
- The hydrogel for plants of some manufacturers without soil from a constant excess of water begins to creep and turns into an unpleasant porridge, losing its properties.
In a word, it is better to take pity on your plantings and limit yourself to the prescribed use, since using a hydrogel for plants in its pure form means translating it in vain and ruining your "garden". It is quite enough to put cut flowers in colored balls - in them the bouquet will last longer than just in the water, and you will have time to admire the bright composition.
Additional Cautions
Manufacturers claim that the hydrogel for plants is absolutely harmless. Many parents do not even buy it for flowers, but as a toy for their child. Think about whether it is worth doing: the polymer contains acrylamide, which is considered a neurotoxin. In addition, experimental animals, according to some reports, got cancer from acrylamide. It really does not harm plants (in any case, mixed with soil). But the child may well get along with other toys.
If you still decide to plant at least the same bamboo in an elegant colored hydrogel for plants, select a place where the sun is not too bright. Firstly, from its rays, the balls quickly fade. And secondly, in their presence, the water begins to turn green quite quickly and acquires a sharp unpleasant odor.
Regarding seeds
Some instructions describe how convenient a plant hydrogel is for germinating seed material - its use seems to guarantee 100% germination. However, from the point of view of botany, this is absurd. The invention is intended for penetration into the root capsules, which should extract liquid from them. But the seeds have no roots, so they have nothing to “suck out” water from. And therefore, do not waste money on plant hydrogel - its price, of course, is not high (about 37 rubles per bag, in bulk - 800 per kilogram), but for this purpose it is absolutely useless. Traditional wet gauze is much more effective.
How to use hydrogel?
If you decide to use it to increase the effectiveness of irrigation, the method is extremely simple: a hydrogel for plants is mixed into the soil intended for planting. The instruction recommends that you do not soak it and take it in an amount of 10-20% by weight of the earth. After planting at the set time, water the flower, and the gel immediately begins to “work”.
If you decide to take a chance and plant the plant in aqua soil, then its balls are soaked in water with diluted fertilizer for half a day. For each shade of granules, a separate bowl is taken. The hydrogel is poured into a glass (not crystal! Crystal contains lead oxides) vase, if possible artistically, the roots of the plant are carefully washed from the ground, and it is placed in a bowl. At the same time, you need to choose a low flower, since the hydrogel does not differ in the reliability of retention. And choose those plants that need a little light and more water.