The Need For Wetting Agents In Growing In Peat

O

oill

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
I don't start many threads. However I keep seeing problems that if they're not caused by poor water absorption they're certainly affected by. If you have ever poured water on peat, or old fine desert dust, and watched it bead up or roll off you've seen why wetting agents are used. I have commented many times on here about the use of dishwashing liquid to act as a surfactant. Here's the abstract for a paper on wetting agents and specifically peat.

"Abstract:
In the last decade the use of sphagnum peat moss as well as other types of peat has increased substantially in the production of horticultural crops. Most of the good horticultural sphagnum comes from bogs in Northern European and Scandinavian countries or from Canada and Ireland. In order to reduce the shipping weight of the peat bales, it is necessary to ship the peat as dry as possible. Air-dried peat is extremely difficult to rewet and considerable frustration is therefore encountered by growers. Also, many peat products such as pots and soilless mixes are being used and the wetting problem in these products is a serious concern.

Wetting agents have been employed in various industries to increase reaction rates and facilitate many processes. Wetting agents are substances which are added to surface coatings, water, or oils to increase spreading and penetrating action. Wetting agents belong to a group of a more general class of materials called "surface active agents" hence the term "surfactants". Characteristic of their properties is the ability to lower surface and interfacial tensions.

The initial wetting of peat and peat products is the real problem since they will absorb water quite freely once they are wet. The primary aim of this research was to develop a simple method for evaluation of an unknown wetting agent. This method, hopefully, could be used anywhere in the world and the data should be applicable and comparable everywhere. Such a method must have a twofold function: evaluation of wetting ability and phytotoxicity effects."

To start when I transplant if it's not moist damp fluffy substrate I grab the spray bottle with water and the magic drop of dawn.

Further you should use a wetting agent when applying foliar feeds or supplements. Any soap will do. I'm just a fan of Dawn. Anything that can quickly clean a dirty set of Harley flywheels is good stuff.
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Water slower... like a drip feeder... and don't let it dry out.
 
Milky Weed

Milky Weed

Well-Known Member
Another cool trick I learned is the gel inside aloe leaf’s can be used as a wetting agent. I tried it and it works, just not really sustainable. I’m using peat with wetting agent built in and so far has been working with letting it dry out a good bit between waters.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
I use yucca powder too, but it is expensive. I love sloshing my nutrient solution around until it looks like a bubble bath lol. It's great in coco too, really washes out the old salts and keeps the new ones in suspension. It's also a great food source for the microbiome. Yucca is also an excellent standalone foliar for fungal disease prevention, so if you add it to something like a biofungicide, it's doing double duty as a wetting agent/antifungal. I would use something cheaper if I didn't have a small grow though. Wetting agents are underrated in general.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Milky Weed said:
Another cool trick I learned is the gel inside aloe leaf’s can be used as a wetting agent. I tried it and it works, just not really sustainable. I’m using peat with wetting agent built in and so far has been working with letting it dry out a good bit between waters.
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This is when watering by weight can be very handy. You don't want it dry but you want it dry enough to be able to absorb a full feed or watering. It gets very easy with practice.
 
Tangerine_

Tangerine_

Well-Known Member
I've tried a few over the years and Coco-Wet gets my vote. It works great as a spreader and suractant.
Second would be Hygeia Hydration and soluable yucca.

But a drop of regular Dawn dishsoap works in a pinch. I wouldnt use the antibacterial concentrated form though.
 
MickFoster

MickFoster

Well-Known Member
Herb & Suds said:
A gallon :lol:
a pint of commercial wetting agent will cover thousands of acres
No clue what I would do with a gallon I think I have had this quart about 15 years
Labels have been gone years ago
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I've never used the stuff since I ran out of SM-90..........I just wanted to throw it out there.
It does come in quarts though........and it's expensive.
 
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