Understanding the Nutrient Barrel
Holistic Soil Conditioning
Our GelBlocks are scientifically formulated to maximise the amount of water and nutrients present in the critical root zone of the soil. Not only this, but we work to provide plants with a greater range of nutrients, trace elements and bio-stimulants.
Maintaining healthy garden plants is not simply a matter of getting more nutrients to your plants, as deficiencies of numerous key nutrients, trace elements and bio-stimulants can severely reduce the achieved potential of plants by limiting hormone formation.
A barrel metaphor (illustrated below) explains this point rather well. The shorter slats in the barrel (deficiencies) allow water to escape, limiting the barrels ability to store water - and so deficiencies limit a gardens ability to grow, achieve vibrancy and endure stress.
Our GelBlocks simultaneously and continuously combine the effects of the following four treatments:
- Wetter
- Water retention agent
- Specialist fertilisers
- Concentrated seaweed extract
Wetting agents are used to break water surface tension and increase the depth of water penetration whilst reducing surface run-off and evaporation effects.
Water retention agents are used to increase the water-holding capacity of soil. These are typically mixed with soil prior to planting and difficult to use on established plants - especially lawns.
Specialist fertilisers boost the range of nutrients available to plants beyond typical top dressing fertiliser treatments, which are high NPK - the main building blocks of a plant.
Concentrated seaweed extracts, and other such treatments provide a great many trace (but extremely vital) nutrients, elements and bio-stimulants.
The IrriGator system improves soil conditions, which in turn promotes garden performance. The water and nutrient carrying capacity of the soil in the root zone is significantly improved, resulting in vigorous growth and enhanced plant colour and yield.
All plant growth originates at the roots (at the newest root tips less than 10 days old to be more specific). These root tips facilitate water and nutrient uptake, which allows hormone formation inside the plant.
There are three hormones that regulate root and shoot growth. These hormones are cytokinin, auxin and gibberellic acid.
Cytokinin is made in the root tips and migrates upward in the plant where it stimulates shoot growth. This strong shoot growth causes the formation of auxin, which in turn travels to the roots and stimulates strong root growth.
Cytokinin and auxin together create new cells that contain gibberellic acid, which controls and influences the size of these new cells.
In order to maximise plant expression, it is important that nutrient uptake and hormone formation proceeds unhindered. A single nutrient deficiency can severely impact the growth potential of plants, leading not only to wasted potential, but to a waste of the other nutrients that cannot be sufficiently utilised.