How Water Crystals Reduce Plant Watering Requirements

One way to manage the moisture provided to your plants actually reduces your requirements for watering. This technology has been applied by farmers and agronomists to improve soil, increase plant production, and conserve water.

Through it:

• Farm production yields have grown as much as 150 percent.
  
• Turf farms have kept grass green throughout the year while diminishing water use.
  
• Garden centers and flower shops have increased the shelf life of their plants and cut flowers.
  
• Arborists have increased the vitality rate of their seedlings.

A product offering this technology is free-flowing, white polymer granules that absorb and store 400 times their weight in water. As each granule swells when immersed in water, it turns into a gel-like substance containing the water that it stores and releases to plants. In just several minutes, a white granule the size of a freckle plumps up with water to the size of a small marble.

Swelled with water, it is as clear as a diamond; but, you cannot squeeze water from it. Press it, and it breaks into smaller crystals. When mixed or tilled with soil, the crystals’ membranes are penetrated by feeder roots of plants that are drawn to reservoirs or water. These roots seek life-sustaining hydrogen and oxygen——two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, in fact.

Gradually, the hydrated crystals are drained of water by the plant and from ambient temperature at a rate much slower than water evaporates. Then, when it rains or when the soil is watered, the de-hydrated or partially de-hydrated polymer crystals absorb excess moisture to continue the process.

They’ll do this thousands of times, with life cycles up to and 12 years and more. Because the growth medium is much less compacted than untreated soil (due to the expansion and contraction of the crystals as they go through repeated hydration/dehydration cycles), the soil's natural ability to hold water improves over time.

Users of this Water Crystals have reduced watering frequency by as much as:

• 20-40% for most gardens and irrigated field crops,
• 15-40% on lawns and golf courses, and
• 50-75% for potted plants.

If fertilizer is present and washed into the soil with water, the water crystals absorb the mixture. This prevents the nutrients from percolating through the soil and past the root system, where it does no good but actually can be harmful in runoff or seepage that can cause chemical contamination.

The crystals need to expand fully upon initial watering. This is best accomplished by pre-swelling them prior to blending with soil. To do this, add water at a rate of 6 gallons per half pound of dry crystals and allow the mixture to stand until water has been completely absorbed. For smaller amounts, a good starting point is once teaspoon of water crystals for each cup of water.

Water crystals are not a substitute for adequate watering and fertilizing. They only increase the medium’s water holding capacity and enhance the efficient use of available water by a plant. Soil should never be allowed to completely dry out, and water crystals will help you prevent your plant's growth media from drying out.

They are helpful for growing container plants, potted plants, vegetables and flowers in gardens, sod, trees, shrubs and field crops. For more complete details and ordering information, visit the Water Crystals’ Web site,

http://www.watercrystals.com.