The Aquaperla water storage-release crystals in granule form are increasingly used in recent years for both the rational supply of plants with water and nutrients, as well as for retaining productive soil - their incorporation into the field contributes to the creation of strong plants, flowering, and uniform growth of crops.
Benefits
Water saving through reducing the number of required irrigations for crops
Conservation of soil water through significant reduction of losses due to evaporation
Encouragement of increased activity in the active root zone
Absorption of up to 400 times their weight in water
Retention of up to 100-150 times their weight in nutrient solutions
Specifications are collected from official manufacturer websites. Please verify the specifications before proceeding with your final purchase. If you notice any problem you can
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For small indoor plants, I used the system with the bags and the wick, which worked very well for 12 days following the instructions.
You soak the wicks in a basin, along with their plastic covering, very well (I left them in for a while) to let them drip, and then you place them by opening a hole in the pot (you can use the stick to push the wick) until it goes into the hole and a little bit of the plastic part of the wick.
Of course, you put the other end of the wick inside the bag.
You press the soil well afterwards to close the gaps around the wick.
You water the plant very well in this case.
You can secure the bags better by placing an object underneath (a book, a box, etc.) so that they don't drag the pot with their weight if it is light, and by turning the plastic hooks inward (with the pointed side towards the plant and not towards the lip of the pot).
For large pots, I used the system with the bottles https://www.skroutz.gr/s/27787786/Gardena-Stomio-Potismatos-me-Stagones-Drop-to-Drop-3tmch-13-06-0029.html which worked equally well for 12 days.
I used glass bottles of 700 or 1000 ml for vinegar and 500 or 1500 ml for soft drinks. Be careful not to make a hole in the plastic bottles. The plant must be well watered, and the soil should be very moist. If they are not well watered, the bottle will empty in a day at most. Don't be discouraged by this, refill it the next day and you will see that when the plant is well watered, the bottle will not empty quickly, only when the soil dries out it absorbs water.
I suggest you try it for at least a couple of weeks before you leave to learn how they work and to achieve the correct result.
It is not of good quality in my opinion, neither the bag nor the tube, as the bag ripped, the seals are useless as they cannot hold the one-liter bag, and the tube is made of Teflon but breaks easily. Personally, I will not reorder it.
Unfortunately, one bag was torn at the bottom at the point of sealing, and a second one tore again at the point of sealing after a few days of use. However, the plants remained hydrated for 20 days with the simultaneous use of a special gel.
I have tried it for 2 summers exclusively on indoor plants. (such as yucca, Janet Craig dragon tree).
It works because the plants survive, but due to the dry atmosphere and high temperatures in the summer, some leaves will dry out. It is more effective to use a self-watering system with an upside-down bottle. I apply it every summer because it can provide minimum hydration to the plants, especially those that should not have water pooling in the pot saucer.
I followed exactly the instructions written on the packaging, however no water was transferred from the bag to the soil of the plant. The plants that were more resistant survived due to the simultaneous use of another product for automatic watering. I do not recommend it and I definitely will not trust it again.
Due to my mistake in the first trial, I removed the entire wick from the plastic tube in order to soak it better, so in order to put it back, it needed a wire that I passed through the tube.
The package included plastic sticks for application in the pot (not metal hooks) which, although they look strange, actually secure the bag to the pot just fine.
My objection concerns the immersion of the tube in the pot. In one of the 3 pots, the wick went all the way inside the tube, so practically it would never water the plant. In the second pot, I opened a larger hole and tried to push the tube with the wick on the side of the tube and not at the tip. When I tried to arrange the bag a little, the tube completely popped out of the soil. I don't know if it ultimately works as a solution, but because the cost is low, it's worth a try (I want it to cover me during a 10-day absence where 2 waterings will be needed on the 4th and 7th day).