Water Storing Crystals

[Mr. Clean]

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[bsbullie]

What is your opinion on water storing crystals?  I have sandy soil, which does not hold water well.  I started mixing about a table spoon of the crystals into the holes of newly planted trees (mixing it into the soil before saturating the crystals). 

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/outdoors-garden-center-landscaping-supplies-soil-soil-amendments-soil-amendments/miracle-gro-12-oz-water-storing-crystals-170722.html

Depending on how much water you are giving through watering/irrigation combined with mother nature's rainfall, you could cause the roots of your trees to stay too wet (and possibly cause rot issues).  Except for jaboticaba, fruit trees like to be watered but their roots do not like to stay wet.

[zands]

What is your opinion on water storing crystals?  I have sandy soil, which does not hold water well.  I started mixing about a table spoon of the crystals into the holes of newly planted trees (mixing it into the soil before saturating the crystals). 

Humus and clay hold water, fertilizer and nutrients. Get humus into your soil via mulching with wood chips from tree trimming crews. Or you get mulch at HD or Lowes. As your trees get larger the decomposing roots add humus to the soil. Go buy some charcoal briquettes those will hold water and add carbon (humus) to your soil. This is what the slash and burn agriculture of AmerIndians did. It is wrongly condemned. Charcoal is a very good soil amendment

You have a large property. In your situation I would ask/pay/bribe a tree trimming crew to dump a large load and just let it decompose. Use some to mulch your trees, the rest leave in a pile to turn into black gold™

[jason (palo alto)]

Don't bother with them. They can theoretically be dangerous on edibles due to Acrylimide produced, but they should in practice be non-toxic.
I've looked into them a lot personally and have a slew sitting around for work related stuff. They aren't worth the bother, use perlite and appropriate soil instead for water retention in containers. In the ground use lots of mulch.

Great article on them

[WhitH]

For water retention/soil enrichment, a local nursery recommends and sells "Black Velvet", which I think is a humus product from the makers of "Black Kow." and costs I think $4 a bag or less. You might want to mix that with your native soil. I know many recommend not amending native soil in this manner however. I think the theory is that the roots will tend to not spread out wide in search of water and nutrients if they've got what they need right there in the small planting hole...which leads to problems down the road. I don't what studies have been done on this. I'm sure others here know much more about this than me.

[bsbullie]

For water retention/soil enrichment, a local nursery recommends and sells "Black Velvet", which I think is a humus product from the makers of "Black Cow." and costs I think $4 a bag or less. You might want to mix that with your native soil. I know many recommend not amending native soil in this manner however. I think the theory is that the roots will tend to not spread out wide in search of water and nutrients if they've got what they need right there in the small planting hole...which leads to problems down the road. I don't what studies have been done on this. I'm sure others here know much more about this than me.

Be careful there is no manure in that Black Velvet as if mixed with the soil when planting the manure can cause damage when coming in contact with the new roots of the tree.  The manure could also boost the nitrogen level to a point that would not be beneficial for some fruits.

[zands]

For water retention/soil enrichment, a local nursery recommends and sells "Black Velvet", which I think is a humus product from the makers of "Black Cow." and costs I think $4 a bag or less. You might want to mix that with your native soil. I know many recommend not amending native soil in this manner however. I think the theory is that the roots will tend to not spread out wide in search of water and nutrients if they've got what they need right there in the small planting hole...which leads to problems down the road. I don't what studies have been done on this. I'm sure others here know much more about this than me.

I think the theory is that the roots will tend to not spread out wide in search of water and nutrients if they've got what they need right there in the small planting hole..

No need to worry with your sandy soil. In very clay soil, heavy clay soil you can get that effect. (Obviously) roots will easily drill through sandy soil in all directions seeking water and nutrients. I have not messed with heavy clay soil but my guess is that theory you mention is correct

[WhitH]

For water retention/soil enrichment, a local nursery recommends and sells "Black Velvet", which I think is a humus product from the makers of "Black Cow." and costs I think $4 a bag or less. You might want to mix that with your native soil. I know many recommend not amending native soil in this manner however. I think the theory is that the roots will tend to not spread out wide in search of water and nutrients if they've got what they need right there in the small planting hole...which leads to problems down the road. I don't what studies have been done on this. I'm sure others here know much more about this than me.

Be careful there is no manure in that Black Velvet as if mixed with the soil when planting the manure can cause damage when coming in contact with the new roots of the tree.  The manure could also boost the nitrogen level to a point that would not be beneficial for some fruits.

Good point. However, from what I could ascertain, there is no manure in Black Velvet, in spite of being from the same company as Black Kow. It's just straight humus.

[natsgarden123]

my motto:  The Enemy of Good is Better 
I vote for mulch

[fruitlovers]

Don't bother with them. They can theoretically be dangerous on edibles due to Acrylimide produced, but they should in practice be non-toxic.
I've looked into them a lot personally and have a slew sitting around for work related stuff. They aren't worth the bother, use perlite and appropriate soil instead for water retention in containers. In the ground use lots of mulch.

Great article on them

I agree, not so great to use these water retaining crystals in soil. I've noticed some nurseries using them though for shipping bare rooted trees, and for that they seemed GREAT! I haven't tried them myself though.

[Mr. Clean]

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