Soil Moisturizer- Garden Saver

 Delafield Garden Saver™ is an organic-friendly soil moisturizing polymer product that you can till into your soil before planting this spring, dramatically helping you save on your watering costs and time. Don’t miss out on these incredible benefits for your valuable garden:

·        Saves up to 50% or more on your garden water bill

·        Increases aeration which promotes healthy root development

·        Reduces watering frequency up to 50% or more

·        Environmentally sound soil enhancement

·        Biodegradable, last 5-7 years in soil

·        Significantly increases plant yields

Before you get started with this product you’ll need to do a very important, but very simple soil test to determine your soil type. Most sellers of soil moisturizing polymer products make unfounded suggestions for product/area application without actually helping gardeners determine their soil type, which can detrimentally impact your garden. We learned this the hard way losing some valuable plants, so we’d like to pass this important lesson on to our fellow gardeners.

We highly recommend the Colorado State University (CSU), Master Gardener Program’s quick and easy tests to identify soil texture. CSU is one of the leading agriculture research and development universities in the nation.

Feel Test – Rub some moist soil between your fingers.

·        Sand feels gritty

·        Silt feels smooth

·        Clays feel sticky

Ball Squeeze Tests – Squeeze a moistened ball of soil in your hand.

·        Coarse texture soils (sand or loamy sands) break with slight pressure

·        Medium texture soils (sandy loams and silt loams) stay together, but change shape easily

·        Fine textured soils (clay or clayey loam) resist breaking

Once you’ve determined your general type of soil, then you can more accurately gauge how much product to use per area. Hare Delafield, Plant Scientist for Berries Unlimited, recommends the following application guidelines for the use of Delafield Garden Saver™ (DGS™). Exceeding these recommended rates is not advised.

For Gardening and Outdoor Use
·        Work the polymer 2”- 4” deep into soil. Do not place in the top 2” of the soil or below the roots of plants. You want the product in the root zone where it will maximize your water retention benefit.

·        Sandy Soils – use 2lbs/100 sq. ft. DGS™

·        Silt Soils – use 1 ½ lbs./100 sq. ft. DGS™

·        Clay Soils – use 1 lbs./100 sq. ft. DGS™

For New Potting Plants
·        Mix the appropriate amount of polymer into potting soil (use the chart below).

·        Place polymer evenly throughout the root zone. Do not put in the top 2” of soil or below the roots of the plant.

·        After planting, water liberally to allow the polymer to absorb the maximum amount of water.

·        Watering routines should be normal for 5-7 days. Watering time reductions and rates can then be established.

For Existing Potted Plants
·        Gently make holes in the soil around the plant to not damage the roots.

·        Make one hole per inch of pot diameter (i.e. 6 holes for a 6” pot).

·        Add the proper amount of DGS™ from the chart below, putting equal amounts of polymer into each hole (i.e. a 6” pot will only need ¾ tsp.).

·        Cover holes, with water liberally.

Trees/Shrubs
Use the chart below to add the appropriate polymer rate for trees. Mix ½ of the amount around the planting hole, then mix the remaining balance with the backfill. Don’t amend the top two inches of backfill with polymer. Water liberally. Use 3 oz. per one foot of root ball in sandy soils. A small disposable coffee scoop is equivalent to 1 oz. of Delafield Garden Saver™.

.