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Babies nappies in compost
graham.wedge
Posts: 5
I am thinking of trying babies nappies this year beneath my begonias. I believe you can put them in just as the are without splitting them open. Hopefully to keep the plants alive whilst i go on holiday! Anyone else tried this? How long can the plants survive ?
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Surely they mean soaking clean ones with water and making use of the wet gel to keep plants hydrated!
Yes, thats what i mean, the wet nappies are hydrating the plant from beneath. Oh and they dont have to be clean nappies (not that I would use used ones) urine apparently doesn't harm the plant. i actually thought this was a good idea. Just thought I would see if anyone could recommend this way of using gel. Its a lot cheaper if it works?
I've never had to buy nappies, but is it really cheaper to use 'fresh' nappies than to buy water retaining gel for the pots?
What is in the gel in the disposable nappies that soaks the pee up? I would also question how well they would compost down.
I do see the possibilities though.
We would not have had the option of that for plant culture. I have visions of plants growing on my babies best terrry toweling squares at the side of the over flowing Nappisan bucket.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
I assume we're talking about plants in pots here?
I've always found the water retaining gel to be quite useful for reducing the frequency of watering and if I'm away for 4 or 5 days I tend to move pots onto the north facing patio (ie out of the sun) and give them a good watering. They will survive several days - maybe a week - if it's not baking and they're large enough pots, with this treatment.
Other methods you could try include a reservoir of water and capillary matting in large trays and standing the pots in these. The matting will stay moist for as long as the reservoir is full - could be a long time if someone tops the reservoir up
I have found this sort of capillary action method doesn't work if you have used broken crocks in the bottom of the pots, because the soil isn't in contact with the wet material.
My preferred system (when I had a lot of pots) was a proper automated mini-irrigation system - never lost a plant even on 3 week holidays
Last edited: 05 June 2017 18:19:29
Thanks for your reply. i have many hanging baskets and pots and according to internet (utube) it sounds easy just to place a single nappy beneath the compost. i have not had anyone say if this is effective, or not, so I will have to experiment and report back!
Do consider the use of many pots, they are very eco-unfriendly.
I used new clean baby nappies last year, worked just as well as water retaining gel, and is cheaper than the water retaining crystals, be sure to soak them first though. This year I've used mulch instead as I have lots left over from the beds.
Last edited: 06 June 2017 07:36:24
More landfill. I don't understand why anyone would buy nappies for this purpose when there's a product available if you can't, or don't, want to water baskets.
Or you could line them with plastic (with a few drainage holes) which will help retain moisture. As T'bird says - there are plenty of simple methods to help with watering pots and baskets.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...