After seeing water storing crystals being demonstrated by landscapers in Northeast North Carolina in our extremely sandy soil for a couple of years I decided to experiment with them this year.
With the help of Hurricane Sandy, I got an early education in Polyacrylamide. The experiment is too early to make any long term assumptions. The idea is that with our extreme sandy soil that will not hold water, the crystals will hold the water and allow the plants the use of the water in dry periods of time. Landscapers have shown me dozens of flower beds in our hot, dry summer flourishing and doing well for themselves with abundant flowers.
My interest is that I have a hard time growing Division 6 and 9 daffodils because the soil goes totally dry in the summer. However, short term, I have learned that you don’t overuse this water storing crystals. Use them sparingly and according to the directions on the package.
With Hurricane Sandy’s three days of rain and my dumping of my 5 inch water gauge three times because it was running over with water, we had an excess of water during the storm. I had made up some”outside” pots with the top being mostly potting soil and used double the amount on the directions. The bottom line was that after the storm I found the pots spilling over and dumping the potting soil on the ground around the pot. The crystals swell when absorbing water and gave the same effect of “frost heaves” without the benefit of frost. Last of all, the crystals had made a clump in the bottom of the pot that reminded me of some sort of stiff jell. Not nice.
In a small bed that I had framed for later planting, the same effect was seen. The soil in the bed was originally a couple inches below the sides of the frame and now were spilling over and looked more like I had buried something there with mounded earth.
Use water storing crystals – Polyacrylamide sparingly.
I will try to post again on this subject next spring after the daffodils I used it with have a chance to grow and bloom with the crystals.
Did you test them out at all before deciding just how many to mix in with the soil?
I bought some for using when trading and packaging plants, to keep the roots moist when wrapped in plastic. It seems like I mixed about one tablespoon of the crystals in a 18 OZ jar and they swelled clear to the top. I wonder if it might be a good idea to hydrate them before mixing them into the soil.
Sue
A less effective, but longer term addition to sand is turface from either a lawn turf or sports companies. The product is porous calcined clay. The product absorbs less moisture, but does not swell as the synthetic polymers do. Humus or compost absorbs water, but also does not swell as much as the synthetic polymer. After a few years, the synthetic polymer also becomes less effective and has to be replaced.
Sue,
I did some experiments with them before using. Using the formula’s on the package, I put some in various containers and added water. A few crystals in the bottom of a plastic cup completely fills up the cup.
The way that they were demonstrated to me was to use a 6 or 8 ounce of crystals in a five gallon bucket and add water. This mixture is used to add to the soil when a large bed is being use with the crystals already bloated with water. Use this method with, say a rototiller in a large bed.
However, when planting bulbs in a “bouquet” with about five bulbs, place a teaspoon of crystals under the bulbs in a hole about a foot square. That works well. Using two teaspoons in that same hole creates a “frost heave” even without the frost if there is enough water in the ground.
These things are sold by Home Depot and other Garden type stores.
Clay
Mike,
We don’t have many resources to find such products as turface in lawn turf and sports companies down here. This is an extremely rural area and about 68 miles south of the Norfolk, VA area. If Home Depot or Lowes don’t sell it, we can’t get it.
I have tried adding organic matter in my soil, but we are talking about “Beach” sand that we are trying to grow daffodils within. I’ve dug down as deep as three feet in the summer and not “struck” moisture in my back yard.
Michael and Jason,
Michael, I checked out Turface on the internet, there are a variety of kinds and sizes listed (field and fairway) (turface mvp) (pro league) etc. which kind or size do you recommend for daffodil beds?
It is recommened to incorporate at rates of 1 to 2 tons per 1000 sq ft. depending on your soil structure. Do you think that is about right?
Jason, I know you use a lot of this product at the St Louis Botanical Garden. Which product and ratio of mix do you use?
Of course, I am interested in better soil drainage and texture in seedling beds and clay soil. I get more than enough rain.
Regards,
Larry
Larry, Mike, et al,
The Missouri Botanical Garden extensively uses Turface MVP in our soil amending. We would be lost without it.
My preferred rate for the bulb collections (including iris and daylily) is one 50# bag to every six to eight (6-8) square feet of bed space for new beds, regardless of soil type; for exisiting sites already amended, one 50# bag for every ten to fifteen (10-15) square feet should do, depending on existing condtions. That’s alot of Turface, I know, but you really only have to do it once.
One important note: you can’t just add it to the top of the soil and scratch it in for it to be effective, though it does make a good temporary mulch in this regar to plants whose crowns must stay dry. Turface needs to be down in the soil, in the root zone layer, to be effective. Thus, we spade over our soil (double dig) first, pour it on, then till it in to mix it. It needs to be at least 6-10″ deep in the soil to really provide the friability and drainage needed to grow superior plants. Yes, it can be labor intensive, but it’s worth every ounce of sweat (and bourbon to ease the back pain from digging, should you be so inclined!).
For those of you who haven’t traveled to the Missouri Botanical Garden to see our lily collection (peak bloom June-August), the veritable forest of lily stems is a direct result of Turface. Variety specifics aside, I can grow lilies up to eight or nine feet tall without hassle thanks largely to the vast stem and bulb root systems produced in our crumbly soil. I can dig down a foot or more and it crumbles the entire way down, thanks to the balance of Turface and organics; a few of you out there in Daffnet land have witnessed the lilies and the soil first-hand and know exactly what I’m talking about. I cannot say enough good things about this product, and I take every opportunity possbile to endorse it, especially in new garden situations incorporating bulbs.
In St. Louis, there are a few retailers that sell it, and it pays to shop around: there’s about a $2.50 per bag cost difference between the vendors. For those of you living in larger urban areas with golf courses and outdoor sports plexes, there will be Turface dealers; if in doubt, go to the Turface website’s main page and look up dealers in your area. Even rural areas with grain, feed, and fertilizer stores can order it –don’t be shy to ask!
Jason
What are the implications/cautions of using such products in home gardens? All the literature on the company website seems to concern sports fields, not residential areas or even other commercial settings. Thanks!
Debbie, I do not know of any such concerns; it’s a multi-purpose product for home and commercial use.
Due to its expense and the sheer volume by which it must be purchsed, it has always been primarily marketed toward the commerical sector, primarily for use in turf management for sports fields where its intended use began. However, research has found it to be good for more than maintaining healthy turf; bascially, it improves the culture of all living plants, through function. Its particles, which are porous, enable the transer and mobility of gases, moisture, and nutrients through the soil to the plant’s roots, all the while greatly enhancing the soil’s structure. It is an inert material, having no nutritional value or pesticide function. It does contain silica, and it is advised to use a dust mask when applying. It is a safe, natural product.
At the Missouri Botanical Garden, we use it in all applications; it provides the most benefit in the bulb and azalea collections, and in the vegetable gardens. Oddly, we do not use it in our turf in any capacity. For all new soil coming into the Garden, especially to fill in new garden construction projects, we request engineered soils that contain no less than 30% Turface.
Try it. You’ll be sorry you haven’t discovered it sooner!
Jason