Water not penetrating the dried out soil - Any fixes?

[DeadHeadTed]

The soil/compost (i forget the compisition of what im using etc but im pretty sure it was compost i bought for this last transplant. It doesnt have any of those white bits in that retained/soaked up the water etc and due to unfortunate circumstances havn't been watered for awhile and the compost ive used is all dryed out and, the water just runs off it.
After bottles of watering slow/fast its only really penetrating a couple of inches.

I read somewhere about using a small amount of washing up liquid-s) in the water to help but this sounds crazy to me, washing up liquids say stuff like "Anti-Bacterial) etc on them and that sounds like it would be dangerous to my plants :-s

Can anyone help?

Should i use washing up liquid? are there other methods that are less worrisome?

Cheers everyone

 

[Dave Groomer]

Re: water not penetrating the dried out soil/compost :-( any fixes?

The soil/compost (i forget the compisition of what im using etc but im pretty sure it was compost i bought for this last transplant. It doesnt have any of those white bits in that retained/soaked up the water etc and due to unfortunate circumstances havn't been watered for awhile and the compost ive used is all dryed out and, the water just runs off it.
After bottles of watering slow/fast its only really penetrating a couple of inches.

I read somewhere about using a small amount of washing up liquid-s) in the water to help but this sounds crazy to me, washing up liquids say stuff like "Anti-Bacterial) etc on them and that sounds like it would be dangerous to my plants :-s

Can anyone help?

Should i use washing up liquid? are there other methods that are less worrisome?

Cheers everyone

Are they indoors in pots? If so, you can try drenching them. Put the pot in a larger container and pour the water over. Let it sit and it will start sucking up water from the bottom. This works best with smart pots, but I would give it a try.

 

[DeadHeadTed]

They're in pots yeah but i have no way to do what you say, im stuck with filling up bottles of water :-/

 

[Dave Groomer]

How big are the pots? I know one person here that does her drenches in the bath tub.

 

[delacruz]

You might try poking some holes into the dirt about 3/4 of the way to the bottom. fill the holes with water. The best, although most time consuming fix would be to get some good soil mix that is proven to work well, take your plant out of its pot, break away the dirt from the roots as gently as you can, or keep dipping the whole root base in a big tote of water until it's mostly roots, then replant into the good mix. Might be a bit of work but otherwise you'll be fighting it the whole grow and won't get the results you could get with the right medium.

 

[masonman]

They're in pots yeah but i have no way to do what you say, im stuck with filling up bottles of water :-/

Sound like your growing outdoors, having to bring water to the plant.

You can try bringing some kitchen size trash bags with you and a bungee cord that will fit around your pot. Put pot in trash bag fill with water to 3/4 top of pot, the bungee cord the trash bag to the pot. Let is soak for a good 10 minutes. Then drain the pot real good.

If you do this, you wont have to bring more water than the size of the pot you are using. Still a pain if you are having to carry water long ways.

 

[Emilya Green]

why dont you simply try patience?


take 1 small cup of water, and pour it on the top. Walk away for 10 minutes. Add one more small cup of water. Walk away for 10 more minutes.

Now those two cups of water are falling into that container, due to gravity and capillary action. Above that water table, a seal has been formed... and suction is now going to help pull the rest of the water down. It has been 20 minutes now...

Try 2 cups this time. Watch as the suction from the previous water now pulls this water down. Just for grins... walk away for another 10 minutes.

Now you should be able to water the rest of the way without any trouble. Still go slowly, no more than a quart at a time... but you should be able to add the water now as fast as it gets sucked down. Keep slowly adding water until it just starts seeping out of the bottom. You will have just saturated your rootball. Pat yourself on the back for beating this problem, with patience and science... not brute force.

 

[MadScience]

A drop of Dawn dish soap mixed into a gallon or more of water will fix it. mix it into the soil well.

 

[Gazoo]

Yucca Natural Wetting agent, When used in soils, it helps
water and nutrients penetrate deeper and more evenly.

NPK has the RAW Yucca very potent 1/16 tsp per 5 gal water

 

[bobbybravehea]

acts as a wetting agent, economical fix!