Water Gel Crystals
 

I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with compost in
pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they chemically
speaking. 2) Are they the same as the transparent media I have seen for
growing cuttings. 3) Can you grow cuttings in them and do you need to add
any feed. 4) How do you mix them with water to give a totally transparent
media. My first attempt left a lot air bubbles and air sheets that make it
almost opaque. Though I have got better since. 5) Can you buy small
transparent containers to put the gel and cuttings in. At the moment I have
used my smallest glasses. and 6) any tips on recovering and cleaning the
gel afterwards to use again.

I fancy doing a little experimentation with different types of cuttings at
different times and different temperatures, where you can directly observe
what is going on. Any advice would be very welcome.

Peter

In message , peterlsutton
writes
I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with compost in
pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they chemically
speaking. 2) Are they the same as the transparent media I have seen for
growing cuttings. 3) Can you grow cuttings in them and do you need to add
any feed. 4) How do you mix them with water to give a totally transparent
media. My first attempt left a lot air bubbles and air sheets that make it
almost opaque. Though I have got better since. 5) Can you buy small
transparent containers to put the gel and cuttings in. At the moment I have
used my smallest glasses. and 6) any tips on recovering and cleaning the
gel afterwards to use again.

I fancy doing a little experimentation with different types of cuttings at
different times and different temperatures, where you can directly observe
what is going on. Any advice would be very welcome.

I bought some several years ago in Enfield and used one packet to put
cut flowers in. I also planted some herb cuttings with varying success.
I shall look for the leaflet that came with them.
--
June Hughes

"peterlsutton" wrote in message
...
I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with compost in
pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they chemically
speaking. 2) Are they the same as the transparent media I have seen for
growing cuttings. 3) Can you grow cuttings in them and do you need to add
any feed. 4) How do you mix them with water to give a totally transparent
media. My first attempt left a lot air bubbles and air sheets that make
it
almost opaque. Though I have got better since. 5) Can you buy small
transparent containers to put the gel and cuttings in. At the moment I
have
used my smallest glasses. and 6) any tips on recovering and cleaning the
gel afterwards to use again.

I fancy doing a little experimentation with different types of cuttings at
different times and different temperatures, where you can directly observe
what is going on. Any advice would be very welcome.

Peter



For small transparent containers try disposable party drinks cups. My local
pound shop has such.

Hazel

Hazel wrote:
"peterlsutton" wrote in message
...
I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with
compost
in pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they
chemically speaking. 2) Are they the same as the transparent media
I
have seen for growing cuttings. 3) Can you grow cuttings in them
and
do you need to add any feed. 4) How do you mix them with water to
give a totally transparent media. My first attempt left a lot air
bubbles and air sheets that make it
almost opaque. Though I have got better since. 5) Can you buy
small
transparent containers to put the gel and cuttings in. At the
moment I have
used my smallest glasses. and 6) any tips on recovering and
cleaning the gel afterwards to use again.

I fancy doing a little experimentation with different types of
cuttings at different times and different temperatures, where you
can directly observe what is going on. Any advice would be very
welcome.

Peter



For small transparent containers try disposable party drinks cups.
My
local pound shop has such.

Hazel

Can you use Polycell or similar wallpaper paste as a medium for
cuttings? (It would have to be free of fungicide, I imagine.) I'm
sure I've seen it suggested as a fluid sowing medium: you mix in the
seeds and squirt it out from something like an icing bag, and they
end up sown more evenly than by hand -- I don't see much point,
though.

Whatever you used, I'd say using it again would be asking for trouble
with infections.

--
Mike.

"peterlsutton" wrote in message
...
I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with
compost
in pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they
chemically speaking. 2) Are they the same as the transparent media
I
have seen for growing cuttings. 3) Can you grow cuttings in them
and
do you need to add any feed. 4) How do you mix them with water to
give a totally transparent media. My first attempt left a lot air
bubbles and air sheets that make it
almost opaque. Though I have got better since. 5) Can you buy
small
transparent containers to put the gel and cuttings in. At the
moment I have
used my smallest glasses. and 6) any tips on recovering and
cleaning the gel afterwards to use again.

I fancy doing a little experimentation with different types of
cuttings at different times and different temperatures, where you
can directly observe what is going on. Any advice would be very
welcome.

Peter



For small transparent containers try disposable party drinks cups.
My
local pound shop has such.

Hazel

Can you use Polycell or similar wallpaper paste as a medium for
cuttings? (It would have to be free of fungicide, I imagine.) I'm
sure I've seen it suggested as a fluid sowing medium: you mix in the
seeds and squirt it out from something like an icing bag, and they
end up sown more evenly than by hand -- I don't see much point,
though.

Whatever you used, I'd say using it again would be asking for trouble
with infections.

--
Mike.

You can use gelatine as sold for use in the kitchen

Hazel

For cut flowers you can colour the crystals with food colouring for display,

Most plugplants come in trays part submerged with water retaining
gel/crystals

For feeding soak crystals in solution of feed, until they swell, such as
phostrogen, or for hanging baskets etc. use phostrogen tomato fertiliser,
then add to compost.
This will give plants an excellent start.

As long as you continue to add water before they dry out I would think it
would be an ideal rooting medium, must try it for fuschia cuttings and
lavendar cuttings.
Thanks for the idea


Regards
Cineman

I didn't mention slugs this time?

"peterlsutton" wrote in message
...
I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with compost in
pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they chemically
speaking. 2) Are they the same as the transparent media I have seen for
growing cuttings. 3) Can you grow cuttings in them and do you need to add
any feed. 4) How do you mix them with water to give a totally transparent
media. My first attempt left a lot air bubbles and air sheets that make
it
almost opaque. Though I have got better since. 5) Can you buy small
transparent containers to put the gel and cuttings in. At the moment I
have
used my smallest glasses. and 6) any tips on recovering and cleaning the
gel afterwards to use again.

I fancy doing a little experimentation with different types of cuttings at
different times and different temperatures, where you can directly observe
what is going on. Any advice would be very welcome.

Peter

"peterlsutton" wrote in message
...
I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with compost in
pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they chemically
speaking.


Polyacrylamide--which forms a gel with water.
Now you have this info you can do a Google search and get the answers to
most of your questions.
i.e. http://www.hydrosource.com/clpbbs03.htm

I have just bought some water absorbant crystals to mix with compost in
pots - but would like to play with them. 1) What are they chemically
speaking.


Polyacrylamide--which forms a gel with water.

Many thanks Rupert and others for all your help. The chemical name is very
useful and I will have a look on Google - but its too late tonight. The
more feedback you get the more questions come to mind. I am sure it is
worth experimenting with.

Peter

i believe its specifically sodium polyacrylate, same stuff used in napies

There are a number of different types of (hydro)gel materials used in horticulture. The most common are super-absorbers such as polyacrylamide, the sodium and potassium salts of polyacrylic and polymethacrylic acids, also starch and cellulose based products. I believe that it is the polyacrylic and polyacrylamide type gels that are used in babies' nappies and other sanitary products.

Once swollen these gels can be awkward to handle and messy. They tend not to like cycling between the wet and dry states. When mixed through composts they can pull water away from plants and may clog up the soil. The starch and cellulose type gels will degrade safely in relatively short times. The acrylamide type gels are generally very stable and do not readily degrade. The building block acrylamide monomer units are fairly nasty.

The term hydrogel is generic and there are many, many different types with varied properties. The super-absorber type of gels tend to hold 95% by weight of water and are often mechanically weak and "sticky" or "slimey" when swollen. These gels are usually just very high molecular weight water-soluble polymers that have been lightly crosslinked to form an insoluble network. Sometimes they are not even cross-linked and the gel is a very viscous solution.

Other hydrogels can be carefully formulated to hold controlled amounts of water when swollen e.g. soft contact lenses (typically based on crosslinked poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate)).

The hydrogels that I developed for my Osmogro membrane osmosis plant watering system are polyurethanes based on poly(ethylene oxide). I can formulate materials to hold between 10% and 90%+ water. These materials are generally mechanically strong and stable.

I've worked for more than 20 years developing hydrogels for many different applications including controlled delivery of active agents, medical devices, biomaterials, membrane separation processes, sensors and plant watering.
Chris

Sould of course be 95%

more than 95%!