Smarty Plants - Plants for Kids
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Home
  • About
    • Hey Kids!
    • Hey Mums and Dads!
    • Hey Teachers!
    • The Legal Stuff
    • For the Media
  • Smarty Facts
  • The Garden
    • Garden Tools
    • Looking after the Garden
      • Waterwise Gardens
      • Fertilisers and Compost
      • Weed Control in the Garden
      • Looking after Potted Plants
    • Planting and Potting
    • Handy Garden Structures
    • Good Bugs
    • Bad Bugs
    • Plant Diseases
    • What is…?
  • The Kitchen
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Soups
    • Mains
    • Salads and Vegetables
    • Desserts
    • Cakes and Baking
    • Snacks
    • Cooking Skills
  • The Classroom
    • Teachers’ Q&A
    • Curriculum Plans
    • Lesson Plans
      • The Arts
      • English
      • Health and Physical Recreation
      • L.O.T.E.
      • Mathematics
      • Science
      • S.O.S.E.
      • Technology and Enterprise
    • School Gardens
      • Setting up the garden
      • Maintaining the Garden
      • Seasonal Information
  • Contact
  • BLOG
  • Home
  • The Garden Shed
  • Garden Glossary
  • What is a wetting agent?

What is a wetting agent?

Gardeners apply a wetting agent, sometimes called a soil wetter, to the garden to make sure that the water from the sprinklers and the rain soaks right down into the soil.

Over time, the soil in the garden or in pots becomes ‘hydrophobic‘ which means that the water won’t soak into it.  If this happens, the water just sits on the top and doesn’t get deep down where the roots of plants of plants are.  This might cause them to die or not thrive.  Applying a wetting agent to the soil stops this problem and makes sure that our precious water is not wasted.

There are many brands of wetting agents.  Some are granules which are scattered over the soil and pots and then watered in and others are a liquid and are mixed with water before applying to the garden.

They all work in just about the same way.  They break up the invisible waxy coating that is on the soil that stops the water from soaking in so that next time the sprinklers are on or the rain comes, all of the water gets down to the plant’s roots.

It’s important to apply a wetting agent to the garden, including the lawn, or pots at least twice a year as the waxy coating will come back again which means the water will be wasted and the plants will struggle.

 

Have a dig around!

Contact

  • info@smartyplants.com.au

The Blog!

  • Gardening’s not rocket science!

    Years ago, when our parents planted out their vegie patches, they turned over the soil, mixed some sheep manure through,...

    08 Dec,13
  • Have fun with your food!

    Just because I’m a grown up doesn’t mean that I can’t play with my food! The other day, I became...

    05 Dec,13
  • Little Halloween Pumpkin Heads

    Did you manage to grow some pumpkins for Halloween this year?  Don’t worry if you didn’t as they’re still available...

    28 Oct,13
  • Crazy Capsicums

    Capsicums are a confusing vegetable; not least because they are actually a fruit!  But also because they are related to...

    20 Oct,13
  • Take broccoli off the table!

    Since the beginning of time parents have been asking the age old question, ‘How do I get my kids to...

    06 Oct,13
  • Garden Gnomes are Back

    Yay! Garden Gnomes are back! Where have they been all these years?  I imagine that, having been discarded by gardeners...

    18 Sep,13
  • Planting a Bare-rooted Fruit Tree

    It’s winter! It’s time to plant an orchard!  You can do this at any time of the year but in...

    06 Jun,13
  • Warheads v. Radishes!

    Why will kids turn up their noses at radishes but they’ll eat Warhead candies?  Or they refuse to eat Brussels...

    03 May,13
  • Room to Move

    I get a bit peeved when I watch some gardening shows or read gardening books that tell people that they...

    26 Apr,13
  • Veg Out!

    Veg out!  Don’t you just love vegging out?  Sitting on the sofa doing absolutely nothing except watching a bit of...

    08 Feb,13
Find us on Google+ (c) 2012 Smarty Plants - Website by Loud Cow