soil becoming too hydrophobic

hi i noticed as i have been watering less often my soil has turned very hydrophobic even when watering slowly with a sprayer

( how do you no till organic growers over come this happening ??? )

when i water 10% of my total volume of soil sometimes i can move my mulch layer back to see bone dry soil patch but move over a bit and its nicely moist .

the top soil is not compact . i can easily move my fingers around to work in topdressing

best way i know how to describe the issue is its like putting milk in to milo

Wetting agent aka dish soap

Yup or aloe and stab a bunch of small holes with something like a bbq skewer .

I top dress with compost

Yeah, poke some holes and try a wetting agent.

Also you could use a tray or something to bottom water. Let your pots suck up a bunch of water slowly.

ok i will google for wetting agent and see what comes up etc

beansin said:

ok i will google for wetting agent and see what comes up etc

Click to expand...

I like Dr. Bronners castille soap, but lately I've been using GS Plant Foods Yucca extract powder from Amazon. It's either 60% or 80% saponins-that's what you want to look for in a yucca product. I use 1/4 teaspoon of the powder to emulsify 5ml neem oil in one liter of water, or 1/4 teaspoon also will create plenty of foam per 3 gallons of nutrient solution. Yucca is a good antifungal ingredient for foliar sprays too, in addition to acting as a wetting agent. Dr. Bronners is cheaper though by far.

Saucer it of you can. And water more frequently with less water. Like others said, top dress with some compost too. If youre gonna use a wetting agent, id go with yucca or aloe. Aloe is a great additive.

yes or no to this product

i have a yucca plants got one taller them my house . it produces allot of small plants i often put in the trash pile
how do i make my own

water slower

beansin said:

Quillaja Saponaria Extract Powder, Wetting Agent, Surfactant (2-oz. Bag (Two Ounces)) : Amazon.com.au: Garden

Quillaja Saponaria Extract Powder, Wetting Agent, Surfactant (2-oz. Bag (Two Ounces)) : Amazon.com.au: Garden

www.amazon.com.au

yes or no to this product

i have a yucca plants got one taller them my house . it produces allot of small plants i often put in the trash pile
how do i make my own

Click to expand...

You'll find info on wetting agents with yucca.Cant remember but basically you make a tea with it.

beansin said:

Quillaja Saponaria Extract Powder, Wetting Agent, Surfactant (2-oz. Bag (Two Ounces)) : Amazon.com.au: Garden

Quillaja Saponaria Extract Powder, Wetting Agent, Surfactant (2-oz. Bag (Two Ounces)) : Amazon.com.au: Garden

www.amazon.com.au

yes or no to this product

i have a yucca plants got one taller them my house . it produces allot of small plants i often put in the trash pile
how do i make my own

Click to expand...

That's like, the Cadillac of wetting agents. You can also look for Soapnuts or Aloe flakes if you want to go the natural route.

There are also bottled liquids like Roots Organics "Rain" of Nectra for the Gods "Hygeia's Hydration" if you're into bottles.

For cheap you could use a tiny amount of dish soap or shampoo. Or get a little aloe plant and put some leaves in the blender.

I don't know much about Yucca, but I think you use the root for stuff. Could you blend up some yucca root in the blender, or is that shit too tough?

Herb & Suds said:

Wetting agent aka dish soap

Click to expand...

I have a spray bottle with soft soap of some brand, it's advertised against pests on leaves such as mites, thrips etc.
If I were to spray it on the soil would it break the hydrophobic layer? Like how do you actually use the soap on the soil?

Sounds like you have insecticidal soap. Use a literal drop of dish soap in a gal of water

The soap helps break surface tension allowing water to penetrate the media

bam0813 said:

Sounds like you have insecticidal soap. Use a literal drop of dish soap in a gal of water

Click to expand...

bam0813 said:

The soap helps break surface tension allowing water to penetrate the media

Click to expand...

Understood! Thank you

Another good approach is to water VERY slowly. Like lightly wet down the whole top surface of the soil, then walk away for an hour or so, return to the garden, and do it again, etc. make sure you don't add enough water all at once to see run off. Repeat until your pots feel nice ‘n heavy as they do after a good deep watering. This allows the moisture to wick and spread around in the soil rather than quickly finding the “preferential pathway” of least resistance down into your drip tray. Once that “path of least resistance” is established, any water you add is gonna follow it. You need to go slow to break that cycle.

Even better would be to use a wetting agent AND water slowly like I’m describing.

alright thanks for the infor. i already feed with a liquid seaweed every 3 ish weeks . i see one that contains a wetting agent . i think i will try that out