On 1/12/2014 2:48 PM, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 12/01/2014 11:40 AM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 1/11/2014 12:47 PM, Fran Farmer wrote:
I've been away for more than a month, and although Himself did a lot of
watering, there are some places where the soil has dried out to such an
extent that it's now baked and water repellant and all attempts at
normal watering (ie hoses and sprinklers) are proving fruitless.

How have others coped with this other than puddling and making mud pies?
This does seem to work, but I'm sure there will be some reason why I
shouldn't do this even though it can't be because of soil structure
since where there is none to begin with once it's as dry as a chip. I
also do not like using soil wetting agents since I've never been able to
find out what it does to earth worms and I know they will return
eventually, once it rains or the winter comes and the weather cools.


With a hose-end sprayer, apply a mix of water and mild, unscented liquid
soap. The soap will act as a wetting agent. You want it unscented so
that it does not attract bees, hornets, and wasps.

I had wondered if using old fashioned clothes washing soap agitated in
water till I got a froth of bubbles on the surface of the water would
work.

I guess that liquid hand soap or possibly even kitchen dish detergent
would also work, but then again, what about (future) worms I ask myself.



After you get the soil a bit damp, apply a generous amount of gypsum.
Lightly water the gypsum to just damp it and prevent it from blowing in
the wind. Two days later, water it a bit more to start disolving it but
without any runoff. Two days after that, water it well (but not to the
point of runoff) to start leaching it into the soil.

Does Gypsum work as a wetting agent in some way?

I'll give that a try - I've got a spot where I intend to plant a bush
once cooler weather comes as Autumn approaches and that I should start
preparing now so your method sounds like it's work a try. I'll report
on how I get on.

No, gypsum is not a wetting agent. The original message in this thread
mentioned soil that has very poor tilth (soil structure). Gypsum
(calcium sulphate) reacts with compacted soil -- especially clay -- to
make it porous and granular, to improve tilth.

If you can dissolve gypsum and get the solution to penetrate the soil,
you should find that subsequent watering attempts should be successful.
That is why I suggested starting with liquid soap as a wetting agent
and then applying gypsum. First get the soil damp (wetting agent).
Then apply gypsum and get it moist only enough to keep it in place in
case there is wind. Then start it dissolving. Finally, rinse it into
the soil. This can take 2-3 weeks. At each step, try to avoid any
runoff.



--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary