Whether we get the sweltering temperatures of past years or not, there is a place for our wetting and water conservation agent H2gro on all nurseries this summer, says Steve Chapman, technical area manager for the South East of England.
In my previous role as a nurseryman, H2Gro was a product I reached for when confronted with a multitude of different scenarios. For instance, it could be when faced with edges of beds, or sides of tunnels, that always dry out faster than you want, or a crop that is growing faster than others around it. Either way, you are faced with the challenge of rewetting growing media with precious water you can ill afford to waste. Applying H2Gro can really save time and money.
H2Gro is a unique blend of surfactants formulated in to the most advanced wetting agent designed specifically for growing media to maximise water holding capacity and improve wetting up spreadability and re wetting.
I am a strong advocate of using H2Gro whenever applying water soluble fertilisers - I believe the two go hand in hand together. Even at its lowest recommended rate of 5ml per 1000L of water it will help ensure the feed penetrates the growing media and gets exactly where you want it, ie in the pot where the roots can take it up and certainly not running away down the nearest drain!
H2Gro is now also available as a granule, which can be incorporated or top dressed onto growing media. The granules, which release slowly performing through several months of drying and rewetting cycles, are ideal for everyone that cannot use the liquid formulation.
Granular H2Gro is also a fantastic addition to any hanging basket mix where small growing media volumes dry out quickly, especially once baskets reach their full growth potential . Baskets are often watered with single drippers. If the growing media dries out when the water comes on, it will more than likely run straight through and not spread out sideway. By simply adding H2Gro granules to the growing media mix, you can help spread the water evenly throughout the baskets creating less dried out (hydrophobic) areas.
Top Tip
If you are despatching plants that could sit for long periods over a weekend, or on a lorry in hot weather, simply adding H2Gro into your pre-despatch water ensures every bit of the growing media is fully wet before it leaves your nursery increasing the shelf life of your product.