Polymers

**F* G* <f*@gmail.com>**

I like the idea of leaf compost. I won't use polymers, but most people say
that they do a wonderful job of providing moisture in containers. How do the
plants stay turgid, if they are not getting into the water? I love your
comparison to jello.

By the way, I once saw the soil slither over the lip of a container during a
rain storm as the polymer continued to soak up water.

Fran

> 
> Most of these polymers are marketed as storehouses of moisture that the plant
> roots can attach to and draw on as needed. Dr. Bonnie Appleton at Hampton
> Roads, VA, did some research in the past and found that they actually locked
> up 
> all available water and removed them from the plants. I explain it to my
> students as trying to get a drink of water from Jello.   Some are starch-based
> and 
> others break into toxic compounds.
> 
> Leaf compost works better.
> 
> Donna Williamson
> Winchester, VA
> Expecting frost.
>

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