DIY hydrogel at home: recipe

Indoor floriculture takes a little time if you properly organize the care of plants. Hydrogel will help solve problems with watering plants on weekends or in case of a long departure. To make a hydrogel at home with your own hands, you can use household products containing granules or powder. The introduction of hydrogel into the soil contributes to the constant supply of plants with water, eliminates the problem of excess fluid.

What hydrogel is for

Aquasoil and ecosoil are common names for hydrogel. This substance, which absorbs and retains liquid, greatly facilitates the process of caring for houseplants. The gel is produced in the form of a powder or small granules. Most often used in the following cases:

addition to the soil to maintain moisture levels;
moisture environment for plants during long-term transportation.

Flower growers often use powder to improve soil quality. By adding granules, it is possible to give clay soils a loose structure, and loose soils become somewhat lumpy.

Chemical composition

Hydrogel refers to polymers (acrylamide, potassium polyacrylate), in which organic molecules form identical units - monomers. In dry form, the polymer has the form of small glassy crumbs. After absorbing moisture, the gel elements swell, increasing by 250-330 times, and transform into a jelly-like mass.

The most popular gels based on polyacrylamide. Substance is not toxic, shows sterility which remains at any temperatures within 4-5 years. Polyacrylamide is environmentally friendly because it decomposes into water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.The substance itself is neutral, you can fill the powder with both ordinary water and a nutrient composition.

Pros and cons of funds

Like any plant care aid, hydrogel exhibits both positive and negative qualities.

Pros and consthe powder allows you to maintain a loose soil structure, which contributes to the free growth of roots;if the granules are impregnated with a nutrient composition, the plants will evenly receive beneficial nutrition for a long period;seedlings planted in soil with gel germinate faster and develop better.granules can become moldy under prolonged exposure to sunlight;when using powder for growing houseplants, you need to completely change the gel every 1.5-2 years.

The substance is not used for sprouting legumes, peas. You also need to consider that it is impossible to grow plants on pure hydrogel.

How to make hydrogel at home

Polymers are widely used in the manufacture of cosmetics and household products. There is no recipe for creating a hydrogel at home. But for growing plants, you can use powder or granules extracted from other products, as an option - baby diapers.

Main steps of the process:

soak a clean diaper briefly in water to swell the granules;
the diaper is cut, the contents are taken out;
The extracted granules are soaked and left for several hours to absorb moisture.

Since full-fledged cultivation of greens on pure gel is impossible, it is recommended to make a solution of nutrients for irrigation. Moreover, the concentration of the solution is reduced by half.

How to use

For growing seedlings, dry powder is pre-mixed with nutrient soil in a ratio of 1:4. The mixture is poured into a container and the seeds are sown as usual. The surface of the earth is watered.

In the case of care for indoor greenery, dry hydrogel is used or granules are lightly watered. The approximate consumption of the powder is 1 g per liter of soil. Around the plant, small punctures are made in the ground (pencil, narrow stick), into which the substance is carefully poured and watered. If there are many granules, a swollen hydrogel will appear on the soil surface. The excess part is removed, the granules are covered with soil (1-1.5 cm layer) and watered.

For which plants is suitable

Hydrogel is optimally suited for planting herbaceous crops. From domestic crops, it is best to use powder or granules when growing chlorophytum, succulents, milkweed, ferns, Kalanchoe, dracaena, philodendrons, tradescantia, ivy, dieffenbachia, ficuses.

Plants placed in hydrogel are often not watered. To prevent the top layer of granules from drying out quickly, they are simply sprayed from a spray bottle. Plant pots should not be placed in bright sunlight as the gel may "bloom".