Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: A quick wetting agent question for Fu ? 4Dec 16, 2011 1:15 pm Yes using detergent is a super big no no! There are a heap of posts and a few threads on wetting agents here at Homeone to answer your question. Using detergents is so bad environmentally, (which we all ultimately pay for in many ways) and also for soil health. Long term use and with some detergents, even short term use will create the very problem many seek to over come and it can be a merry go round of fail and problems. Everytime you want to use a wetting agent, use some zeolite as well Zeolite will aid the passage of water through the soil. Now yes Debco saturaid is a worthwhile purchase but there are many others worth a look too. Eco-Hydrate. Terracottem, grosorb, wetlock. they are great. There is a ripper used in golf courses that is just about a number for a name and I have forgotten the name so a mystery it will remain Currently there is a trial underway at the University of WA on wetting agents. This will include commercial wetting agents and domestic ones. The really disappointing thing will be they won't be allowed to mention brand names. This means that average person will not be able to decipher the results in a easily recognisable way unless the surfactant is listed on the product. They don't do this. Some surfactants used in very popular products are closer to be detergent than a surfactant, or are very harmful to soil health. In other words they kill the microbes that are critical for plant health. Popular products do not mean they are good, nor effective but because they have very clever marketing and very divisive designs on the products themselves. A good friend of mine has told me of a non official trial where some popular wetting agents applied to jars of dry sand were ineffective even after 3 hours of the water being poured in. So the water was still on the top and had not penetrated the sand very much at all. So for those wondering what a surfactant is: http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/gl ... n.html#one Are There different types of surfactants?: http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/gl ... .html#five Are surfactants natural or synthetic? http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/gl ... .html#four Surfactants are just one ingredient of a detergent which has loads of other stuff in it. For gardens, all you want to do is break surface tension and that is the job of a surfactant only. However good gardening practices and propper soil preparation will nearly void the need for wetting agents. I can't recall the last time I needed one in my garden, no doubt one day I might. I will add that if you believe a liquid wetting agent is better than a granular one then you may as well believe that you can turn poo into gold with a magic wand. Re: A quick wetting agent question for Fu ? 5Dec 16, 2011 1:17 pm I should clarify that. There are good liquids, there are good granular ones. The products that contain poor wetting agents are sometimes good anyway because they use zeolite, spongolite or coconut fibre to hold the liquid wetting agent. Those things are exceptionally important for healthy soil structure. Re: A quick wetting agent question for Fu ? 6Dec 16, 2011 3:23 pm Fu Manchu Yes using detergent is a super big no no! I will add that if you believe a liquid wetting agent is better than a granular one then you may as well believe that you can turn poo into gold with a magic wand. Anyone want to buy some gold poo... Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: A quick wetting agent question for Fu ? 7Dec 16, 2011 6:15 pm Thanks for those ideas fu i will have to try a few out. Sadly i only found this fourm after my grass was laid and i was unable to use to soil prep guidlines you have provided in previous posts. So i am doing my best to improve my soil. Re: A quick wetting agent question for Fu ? 8Dec 17, 2011 10:55 am You can renovate it but it takes years and you just chip away at it. Then you do nothing. Re: A quick wetting agent question for Fu ? 10Jan 24, 2012 10:48 am You can now get Seasol with a wetting agent in it that is meant to be soil friendly. I used to have very water repellent, sandy soil - this product plus mulching has helped heaps. Also, you only need to apply it once every 3-6 months (depending on what type of soil you have). Cheers "Whoever says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain!" Re: A quick wetting agent question for Fu ? 11Jan 27, 2012 1:56 am as a farmer, the solution is enough clay to over come the problem with sandy soils. we farmers spread from 15 kgs up heard of rates to 50 kgs being tried. at these rates, wetting agents will never be needed. sure it will cost, but cheaper with in a few years . just be carefull with clays high in sodium and magnesium as they will cause soil problems, the same as they do when farmers spread clay Before you rip it up, if you can in the grout lines, drill some holes and pour/inject techgrip by sika. I have used it to bond mdf to timber, but in the process it dripped… 1 4474 Not much in this responce. My suggestion is, what are you looking to build and why. This will all be impacted by the local councils planning scheme. Familiarise yourself… 6 6036 1. Roof cleaning and paint - which colour do you recommend? I often see black/ dark grey in use these days but I would prefer… 0 8545 |