| #149 |
From https://icl-growingsolutions.com/ornamen...nt-issues/
"Substrate can become water-repellent, or hydrophobic, if it has been left to dry out during several irrigation cycles. Once a growing medium becomes water-repellent, it can be very difficult to get moisture levels in the pots and containers back up to an optimum: water will no longer easily infiltrate the substrate, leading to runoff and loss of (water-soluble) feed.
Water-repellency can become most apparent in peat-reduced and peat-free components of growing media. These new growing media often have a much lower water-holding capacity. You may need to water more frequently or use more each time."
They put a wetting agent in their professional peat-free to prevent it from drying out quickly. I've used unscented castile soap to re-wet dry compost in the past.
"Substrate can become water-repellent, or hydrophobic, if it has been left to dry out during several irrigation cycles. Once a growing medium becomes water-repellent, it can be very difficult to get moisture levels in the pots and containers back up to an optimum: water will no longer easily infiltrate the substrate, leading to runoff and loss of (water-soluble) feed.
Water-repellency can become most apparent in peat-reduced and peat-free components of growing media. These new growing media often have a much lower water-holding capacity. You may need to water more frequently or use more each time."
They put a wetting agent in their professional peat-free to prevent it from drying out quickly. I've used unscented castile soap to re-wet dry compost in the past.
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