yucca root, sulfactant and wet betty

John Shelley said:

http://www.gdnctr.com/wet_water.htm

How To Make Water Wetter.

Wetter Water Is Absorbed More Quickly By Soils
And Gets To The Plant's Root System
Where It's Needed.

For the third year in a row, York County and surrounding central Pennsylvania, as well as most of Maryland, are in a drought emergency state. But all of us in the horticultural business, as well as farmers and gardeners already knew that.

Little Spring rainfall, meager Winter snow and low precipitation have contributed to make gardening a real challenge. Especially when it comes to watering plants and getting the water to go where it's needed: the root system.

Just keeping plants alive can be a real problem.

Without adequate water getting to any plant's root system, dieback can occur and the plant can become so stressed that it dies.

The problem is the water and its inherent surface tension, and resistance to being absorbed. Ever seen how a dusty country road makes water bead-up and evaporate before it's absorbed into the dust? That's what the super-hardened and inhospitable local soils do: resist absorption due to unusual surface tension of water. No wonder so many people have trouble getting water to a plant's rootball. The water takes the path of least resistance and simply runs-off on top of the soil, never being absorbed by the soil and getting to the rootball.

One answer is Surfactants.

Surfactants are chemicals that affect the surface tension of water most commonly to help with cleaning. They are also used in activities involving solids and aqueous liquids such as in resource development as flotation aids, frothers, defoamers etc. Surfactant chemicals may be used directly but most applications require their mixing (formulation) with other chemicals and solvents to form surfactant preparations.

For the average gardener, that's a daunting proposition. But there's an easier way.

To make the soils absorb more water, faster, gently stir a teaspoon (no more) of Ivory Liquid Detergent into a 5 gallon pail and pour the resultant solution carefully around the base of the plant. Even on dried, caked and hardened soil, it's absorbed quickly and completely without runoff. And subsequent waterings are much easier when this simple, homemade surfactant is used. The diswashing liquid won't harm the plant and becomes trapped in the soil; root systems simply ignore it and uptake the water.

Each time you water, try it. By following the initial surfactant watering with a deep root system watering with your garden hose, water gets to where it's most needed: the root system. Simply lay the hose at the base of the plant, run it at a trickle roughly the diameter of a pencil for 30 minutes and you'll have given the plant the equivalent of an inch of rain, or 30 gallons of water.

In addition to wanting your plants to live and prosper, we routinely feature over 50 varieties of herbs, over 700 varieties of perennials, ornamental grasses and bamboos, and more than 600 cultivars of nursery stock, ranging from the common to the very rare, unusual and hard-to-find.

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Drop by our Website on The InterNet for a tour of the Garden Center & Nursery. It's located at www.gdnctr.com for those digerati among you out there who are connected on-line.

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http://www.toxicdude.org/make-your-own-organic-‘go-green’-planting-mix;6518144 said:

First, begin with a good bagged soil of some sort. It need not be the expensive name brands for which you pay a premium. Just a reasonable quality soil as a base for the rest of the mix. For our project let’s say you buy a 20 quart bag of this product – a common size in most nurseries.

Next, buy a small bag of pure worm castings. You will need 4 quarts about 10 lbs for this mix. Ensure you have real,good quality worm castings and not some dilluted product which is commonly on the market. Natures Big Bud Worm Castings makes a premium liquid version which can also be used. Worm castings (worm manure) are nature’s miracle fertilizer and soil enhancer. They are organic, all natural, and contain more than 60 beneficial elements your plants need and use in growing healthy, robust root systems, strong stems and branches and beautiful flowers or fruits. Once moistened, they retain water in your soil thereby providing an additional benefit of saving watering time and money.

Buy a small bag of composted steer manure. This is inexpensive and will add nitrogen to the soil in abundance. The key is to not use too much of this in your mix. I am suggesting only 4 quarts.

Finally, you will need one pound of natural powdered Shidigera yucca (Mohave Yucca) to add to the mix. Yucca is another organic, all natural product; it is a wetting agent (surfactant) which makes water wetter. This will allow water to be retained in the soil and will give your plants a quicker way to absorb nutrients from the soil mix. Yucca also contains natural steroids such as saponin which will assist in insect and disease control once your plants absorb it into their system.

You now have the ingredients for success in making a nutrient rich, water retaining bedding plant soil mix. Putting them together is the next step. Dump the 20 quart bag of soil onto a flat clean dry surface. To it add 4 quarts of the worm castings and the 4 quarts of composted steer manure. Next add the yucca extract powder. With a shovel, turn the pile a few times until all the ingredients are well mixed.

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snew said:

I use soaps when applying some foliar sprays outside. A small amount helps sprays adhere better. I see know problem with an initial soil application.

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Wetdog said:

I eat yucca all the time, most excellent! The Latin American potato. It's also know as Cassava.

Always tossed the water it was boiled in though.

Wet

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Wetdog said:

I've never used it on my plants, never knew you could. But, growing up in SoFl, I've been eating it for well over 40 years. It's a very common staple there and I only know it as food.

No experience with Quinoa. Does it have another name?

Wet

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Endur0xX said:

Now the last thing I wanna put on my plants is Ivory, I am just wondering though if WetBetty is not just it! hehe...although, I am considering buying Yucca root, peeling them, smashing em up and put the chunks in a tea bag in a 5 gall bucket and shake it or leave it to sit for a while...then use this water for foliar spray, any objection? Please say something if it is such a bad idea!!!

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