Indoor floriculture takes little time if you properly care for your plants. The hydrogel will help solve problems with watering plants on weekends or in case of a long trip. To make a hydrogel at home with your own hands, you can use household products containing granules or powder. Adding hydrogel to the soil promotes a constant supply of water to plants and eliminates the problem of excess liquid.
What is hydrogel used for?
Aqua soil and eco soil are common names for hydrogel.This substance, which absorbs and retains liquid, greatly facilitates the process of caring for house plants. The gel is produced in the form of powder or small granules. Most often used in the following cases:
- soil additive to maintain moisture levels;
- moisture-containing environment for plants during long-term transportation.
Flower growers often use powder to improve soil quality. By adding granules, it is possible to give clay soils a loose structure, and loose soils become somewhat lumpy.
Chemical composition
Hydrogel refers to polymers (acrylamide, potassium polyacrylate), in which organic molecules form identical units - monomers. When dry, the polymer has the appearance of fine glassy crumbs. After absorbing moisture, the gel elements swell, increasing 250-330 times, and transform into a jelly-like mass.
The most popular gels are those based on polyacrylamide. The substance is non-toxic and exhibits sterility, which remains stable at any temperature for 4-5 years. Polyacrylamide is environmentally friendly because it decomposes into water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The substance itself is neutral; you can fill the powder with either ordinary water or a nutritional composition.
Pros and cons of the product
Like any plant care aid, hydrogel exhibits both positive and negative qualities.
The substance is not used for sprouting legumes and peas. You also need to take into account that it is impossible to grow plants on pure hydrogel.
How to make hydrogel at home
Polymers are widely used in the manufacture of cosmetics and household products. There is no recipe for creating hydrogel at home. But to grow plants, you can use powder or granules extracted from other products, as an option - baby diapers.
Main stages of the process:
- clean diapers are briefly soaked in water to swell the granules;
- the diaper is cut and the contents are removed;
- The extracted granules are soaked and left for several hours to absorb moisture.
Since it is impossible to fully grow greens on pure gel, it is recommended to make a solution of nutrients for watering. Moreover, the concentration of the solution is reduced by half.
Mode of application
To grow seedlings, dry powder is pre-mixed with nutrient soil in a ratio of 1:4. The mixture is poured into a container and the seeds are sown as usual. The surface of the earth is watered.
When caring for indoor green spaces, dry hydrogel is used or the granules are lightly watered. The approximate powder consumption is 1 g per liter of soil. Small punctures are made in the ground around the plant (pencil, narrow stick), into which the substance is carefully poured and watered. If there are a lot of granules, a swollen hydrogel will appear on the soil surface. The excess part is removed, the granules are covered with soil (1-1.5 cm layer) and watered.
What plants is it suitable for?
The hydrogel is optimal for planting herbaceous crops. Among home crops, it is best to use powder or granules when growing chlorophytum, succulents, milkweed, ferns, Kalanchoe, dracaena, philodendrons, tradescantia, ivy, dieffenbachia, and ficus.
Plants placed in hydrogel are often not watered. To prevent the top layer of granules from drying out quickly, they are simply sprayed with a spray bottle. Flower pots should not be placed in areas exposed to bright sunlight, as the gel may “bloom.”
