Crystal Soil – Not Just Pretty, But Functional

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Crystal soil is not only a wonderful potting mix for decorating our home and office, but also has great practical use when mixed with soil in our container plants, as well as our outdoor gardens. These water absorbent polymer beads that are able to absorb and hold tens to hundreds of times its volume . . . → Read More: Crystal Soil – Not Just Pretty, But Functional

Watering Plants in Crystal Soil

A  few days ago, a friend asked me how often and how much should she water her plants when planting in crystal soil.  I would say we should add water to the crystal beads whenever the beads shrink to around half of its size or to a size that cannot stably hold up the plants anymore.

Watering Plants in Cyrstal Soil

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Suitable Plants for Crystal Soil & Hydroculture

Crystal Soil PlantI have a friend asked me if she could plant her basil and mint in these colorful crystal soil beads. Although crystal soil is suitable for many indoor houseplants, especially foliage plants, I wouldn’t recommend my friend to plant her herbs in crystal soil. This is because while most herb plants love sunlight, crystal soil is not suitable to leave under direct sunlight for a long period of time.

But if you want to grow a plant that needs lots of sunlight with crystal soil, you can cover the crystal beads with a dark cloth to avoid them from drying out too quickly. However, this may have defeated the decoration purpose in the first place.

Many plants that thrive in crystal soil are hydroculture plants.  For example, many foliage plants that like shade and humidity are the most suitable to grow in crystal soil or to root in water. And here are some examples.

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Tabletop Garden – Ocean Breeze

Tabletop Garden - Ocean Breeze

Tabletop Garden - Ocean BreezeInstead of soil, I have used crystal soil as the growing medium for this tabletop garden – Ocean Breeze.  Crystal soil makes good home decorations.  It involves no dirt, is pest free, and easy in maintenance.  And with food coloring, you can make the clear crystal soil beans in any color you want.

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How to Pot a Plant with Crystal Soil

Here, let me show you how to pot a plant with crystal soil (aka soil moist).

Crystal Soil

Put a teaspoon of crystal soil into a container.

Crystal Soil Crystal Soil

Add water and soak them for a few hours according to the instruction on the package. I always add more than enough water for I will drain any excess water with a strainer afterwards. If you use clear crystal soil and want some color crystal beads, you can add food coloring now.

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Using Crystal Soil as Growing Medium

Potted Plant with Crystal SoilThis is like a method of growing plants that goes in between hydroponics and the traditional way of planting in soil. Same as soil, these crystal soil beads hold up the plant and its root system, absorb and release water for the plant. But like hydroponics, it involves no dirt, is pest free, and easy in maintenance.

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Using Crystal Soil as Soil Additive

We simply add a small amount of crystal soil (aka soil moist) into the potting soil. In this case, the crystal soil is a soil additive for potted plants. Crystal soil functions as a water storage that retains moisture around the plant’s roots, constantly nourishes the plant with water.

Crystal SoilI have asked other gardeners in different gardening forums, and it seems that the gardeners in the U.S. (and probably in other western countries as well) uses crystal soil only as a soil additive. Continue reading Using Crystal Soil as Soil Additive

What is Crystal Soil?

Crystal soil (a.k.a. soil moist) is water absorbent polymer beads, which can absorb and hold up to 80-150 times of its volume of water for a long period of time. As a reservoir, crystal soil stores water and releases the water whenever the plant needs it.

Crystal soil can be used . . . → Read More: What is Crystal Soil?