Hydrogel when growing seedlings helps to keep the moist and nutrient medium around the roots during its excavation and transportation to a permanent growth site. As a result, plants tolerate this stress more easily and get accustomed faster. How to make a hydrogel at home - this will be discussed below.
How to make hydrogel?
To prepare a nutritious gel for plants, you will need water, a hydrogel with a fine fraction and humate. The proportions of ingredients are as follows: 1-1.2 liters of water requires 2 humate capsules and 10 grams of garden hydrogel.
The cooking process is as follows. In a container, 2 liters in volume, pour 1 liter of water and pour humate into it. Then, with constant stirring, gradually pour the hydrogel. The process resembles the preparation of semolina porridge. Continue to stir the mixture until a homogeneous consistency is obtained and then leave for 15-20 minutes.
During this time, the gel will be absorbed and swollen, becoming very thick. It needs to be diluted with another 200 grams of water. The mixture should not be too liquid and not too thick, without lumps. To the gel does not drain from the roots and evenly enveloped them, it should be thick, but not loose, but homogeneous.
How to make hydrogel balls?
To grow the balls of hydrogel, you need to buy them in a flower shop and soak in clean water. After a couple of hours, you can see their increase. If in a dry form the diameter of the balls is about 1.5 mm, then, swelling, they grow up to 8 mm. If the diameter of their initial diameter is larger, then they grow stronger - sometimes up to 1.5-2 cm.
Usually people buy multi-colored balls to then beautifully decorate a vase or a transparent flower pot. However, you can try to paint the transparent balls yourself. For example, to obtain pink and red balls, add potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) to the swelling water, and greenish-blue and turquoise balls will be obtained if you drop a bit of green into the water.