Water restrictions? Hydretain!

[Sirhornsalot]

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Many of you have heard me promote this product before as a way of coping with water restrictions. Here's a great video that shows how the product works and how well it works.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmBado1atUg

 

[Sirhornsalot]

ttt for the evening crew

 

[BudreauReye]

Sirhornsalot.  We do not have a need for this now, but in a land long ago and far away, my wife was a consumate gardener.  More than twenty years ago, we put a hydrolythic product in our front "lawn" ecoscape.  It worked well and reduced our water needs for a number of years.  I do not really like watching videos meant to sell products.  Could you talk a little bit about these products, how they work, and how they have changed over the years?  Maybe say something about their expected lifespan?  Geez, sirhornsalot, I sound like a shill, and I do not mean to!  I swear, I have nothing to gain from this product.  I appreciate what you bring to HornsSports! 

 

[Sirhornsalot]

That's it. I quit.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

I kid. I kid.

Hydretain comes in a granular (for contractors like me) or liquid as sold directly from their website - www.hydretain.com   They do not sell the granular version on their website.

We apply the hydretain to the lawn. While it does help lawns cope with water restrictions, it will do the same for any shrub, tree, flower, whatever. The same concept applies.

We apply, you water it in. It soaks into the soil, attaches to the roots of the grass (or plants/trees) and forms a water bubblet. This bubblet grows and shrinks according to the rain/sprinkler replenishment.

During this process, the water is oxidized as it is passed to the roots - duplicating the "rainfall" effect. Rain water has oxygen in it, tap water does not. Oxygen in water helps plants with their intake of nutrients, enabling more nutrients to be taken and used more effectively by the plant.

One treatment last three months, which is why I start pushing this in June so it covers customers through the hottest months. I have some customers that only do the one treatment a year during the mid summer, both others also do one for fall.

The end result is a turf (or plant) that performs better on far less water, as much as 1/2 less than regular watering schedules. So this is ideal for folks who live in areas that are under water restrictions. This helps them save their investment.

 

[BudreauReye]

See what happens when you try to be helpful!

It was granular, the stuff we used.  This was more than twenty years ago, so it very well may not have been the same product.  It looked like little clear jewels that the roots attached to - soft to the touch because of its' hydrophylic nature.  It stayed in the soil for years, though I am sure that its' efficacy dropped off over time so that it was best to use more sooner as you suggest.  You could not get it at nursery supply places.  We got it mail order from an eccentric old guy who lived in some small town in South Texas.  He developed the stuff that we used.  He also developed Nitron, if that stuff is still around.  Nitron was or is an enzymatic product that made nitrogen and some minerals available that are in the soil but unusable by plants because they are bound up.  We still have a few bottles of that stuff in the store room. Probably not any good anymore.  My wife was a consummate gardener in her day, before her back knees and hips got her down ... I, on the other hand, was the cheap labor, I am sure you know the drill, "Just do what I ask and do not ask any questions!"  THAT is a job that I am glad to say that I have retired from.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

See what happens when you try to be helpful!

It was granular, the stuff we used.  This was more than twenty years ago, so it very well may not have been the same product.  It looked like little clear jewels that the roots attached to - soft to the touch because of its' hydrophylic nature.  It stayed in the soil for years, though I am sure that its' efficacy dropped off over time so that it was best to use more sooner as you suggest.  You could not get it at nursery supply places.  We got it mail order from an eccentric old guy who lived in some small town in South Texas.  He developed the stuff that we used.  He also developed Nitron, if that stuff is still around.  Nitron was or is an enzymatic product that made nitrogen and some minerals available that are in the soil but unusable by plants because they are bound up.  We still have a few bottles of that stuff in the store room. Probably not any good anymore.  My wife was a consummate gardener in her day, before her back knees and hips got her down ... I, on the other hand, was the cheap labor, I am sure you know the drill, "Just do what I ask and do not ask any questions!"  THAT is a job that I am glad to say that I have retired from.

That's probably an early version of AquaSmart, which is sold at Lowes and HD.

Hydretain has only been around a couple years. Its a different technology, is biodegradable. When I was introduced to it, they laid out a small portion of the primary active ingredient on a table. It was a powder. About 30 seconds later, a large puddle of water was there instead. It had soaked up all the water in the air around it and on the table, although the table looked dry.

We also put down some in a non-irrigated pasture. We made a 8 x 8 square. We returned a month later (late July) and it was a green grass square surrounded by brown grass. Incredible stuff.

 

[BudreauReye]

That's probably an early version of AquaSmart, which is sold at Lowes and HD.

Hydretain has only been around a couple years. Its a different technology, is biodegradable. When I was introduced to it, they laid out a small portion of the primary active ingredient on a table. It was a powder. About 30 seconds later, a large puddle of water was there instead. It had soaked up all the water in the air around it and on the table, although the table looked dry.

We also put down some in a non-irrigated pasture. We made a 8 x 8 square. We returned a month later (late July) and it was a green grass square surrounded by brown grass. Incredible stuff.

Sounds like a good product.  The stuff we used was bio-degradable, too, but it sounds like a different product.  This stuff was more granular and as far as I could tell, did not absorb water from the atmosphere - it needed to come in contact with liquid water.  The granules would expand into pea sizedor larger, clear pearlescent nodules.  From the sound of what you are describing, it sound like the product has been micronized  - well, technology marches on.

Actually. AquaSmart does sound a lot like what we used.  However, I do not remember sand being a part of it, at least not visably.  AquaSmart could be an intermediate product from what we used to Hydretain.  I do not think that the guy that we bought this stuff we used ever made a going commercial success of his product.  He was kind of a "Messiah" eccentric inventor type.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Yea, I once knew a guy who made a V8 engine get 50 mpg. GM came in a couple years later and bought the rights to his idea. The concept has never been heard of since.

 

[Shevis Irons]

SHL, I have not put down the Hydratain I have left from last year (liquid.) With all the rain we've been having, should I wait till it looks like we're about to go into a dry spell? Will applying it just before another BIG rain diminish it?

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Shevis, no it won't diminish it but you'll want the most bang for the buck. Wait until the rains start slowing before you apply.

It was 87 here today north of DFW airport. It will be 99 here this time next week.

 

[BudreauReye]

Yea, I once knew a guy who made a V8 engine get 50 mpg. GM came in a couple years later and bought the rights to his idea. The concept has never been heard of since.

The technology exists today for energy efficiency and existed in the past.  You are correct that the powers that be tend to shut them down before they can come to market.  The issue is that, today, energy issues are getting are to be so important that  folks are going to have to pay attention.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/26/autos/elio-motors/index.html?hpt=hp_t2