Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi All
Just wondering if there is any truth in what i have heard this morning whilst at work.
that if you grow Tom's in Pots you can put a fresh clean babies nappy under the pot to aborb extra water so when and if required the roots can suck up extra water ????

Or is my workmate pulling my leg ?

Hi and welcome to the vine. I guess the moisture absorbing crystals in the nappy are similar to the ones you can buy to mix with compost so you might not be being wound up totally. Not sure if there are any other chemicals involved so I would read the nappy packet and then compare ingredients with those in the moisture granules you get from the garden centre.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Thanx I understand

Thank goodness for that, I wasn't sure if it made sense!

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

dont forget though that nappies are designed to absorb and retain liquid so they probably wouldnt give it back too readily......

As I understand it the crystals in nappies are actually a silica powder, (as found in the little packets you get in with new electrical goods/trainers etc) in which case it probably wouldn't be accessible to the plant as it would take a fair amount of heat to re-release the water - it becomes gel-like when wet. It might work if the plant roots were in direct contact, but I can't see it being much use placed under a pot.

Last year I bought a couple of cheep sponges - wilkos I think, chopped them up and mixed in with the compost, worked a treat!!!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

Thank goodness you stated a fresh nappy

But I have to agree, they'd retain the moisture buyt how good would they be at letting it go again? They're designed to hold in the wee etc....

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

You can buy crystals to mix with compost that work i got some cost £5 from b&q / focus etc. it does go a long way then you can mix the used compost with soil next year around roots for other veg its not spose to biodgrade for 4-5 years.

It's a whole lot simpler just to remember to water them!

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Some days you're the statue, some days you're the pigeon!

vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated July 7th 2008

I had the great idea of using the water retaining chrystals on my tomato plants grown in the bedsoil last year.

Early season, before the temperatures crept up it lead to the plants being waterlogged and with the comparative low temperatures, the tomato roots rotted off!!!!

Needless to say. I won't be using them again this year!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

i used nappies last year, not whole ones though. if you open them up, soak them and then mix the contents with some compost in the bottom of the pots it seems to work, or it did for me (beginners luck??) that is until the b*****y blight got to them. i also used it in a window box with flowers in and i did find that it didn't need as much watering.

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Kernow rag nevra

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits
Albert Einstein

I use water retaining crystals and leaf mulch and chopped up cardbaord. Seems quite effective.

Wait a minute here though. If we were to use one that's not quite so fresh could we also save ourselves a small fortune in fertilizer? Wee is certainly full of N&P, then just a splash of comfrey tea for the K and......... No? OK then.

I was thinking more of the smelly nappies I'm suffering at the mo with a 6 month old weaning baby

Thing id though, you're right that boy's wee is supposed to be good for the compost heap, I'm just not sure it'd do the soild much good

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

Mmm, I know what you mean Shortie, when my Granddaughter was born last October my two year old Grandson had to come and stay with us overnight - well actually it was 4 in the morning, but you get the idea. He is still in nappies at night and, as it was too late to organise proper sleeping arrangements, I popped him in bed with me. The smelly 'alarm call' I had at 7 that morning was unbelievable, I'm sure my own kids didn't do them like that! So I sympathise, but fear your problem will get worse before it gets better.