Print

[Radium]

I lost 5 of my tender seedlings to the heavy drops of water digging up the soil around their young roots.
I splashed some soil around them to cover the roots, but it didn't work...

How do you overcome this problem?
With what device do you water your plants to minimize soil movements?

[sporehead]

Assuming this is outdoors, you can use a soaker hose or drip line, depending on the watering needs of the plant. We installed this all over our garden. It is supplied by water spigot ad run by an inexpensive timer.

[MadPlanter]

I use a mist sprayer for small weak seedlings. Still can be an issue but is a lot better than trying to go lightly with a big stream of water.

[BubbleCat]

Yeap, spray bottle or bottom watering.

[chamomeleon]

I've found that the best thing to use is a spray bottle.  But you generally have to use it on the setting that produces the finest mist, and you have to squeeze the trigger gently.  If you don't you may end up damaging something EVEN THOUGH you were trying to be super careful.  I speak from experience 

[Radium]

I just came up with an idea, and it turned out awesome!
I took a 1.5 litre plastic coke bottle, inserted a medical syringe's needle through the bottle cap from inside, filled the bottle with water, then closed the cap tight.
[For inserting the needle into the cap: put a flame under the needle tip until it's red hot, then insert it into the cap's bottom side immediately]

It works awesome, no matter how much pressure I put on the bottle, the stream is always fine and thin, it moves no soil particle at all.
It also let's you finely aim the stream at anywhere you want like an sniper rifle.

The reason I don't use water sprayers anymore is because the ones sold around here are expensive but low quality.
With the amount of spraying I do, they barely last more than two weeks, they just stop working due to wear and tear.

[BotanyBay]

Hello,

Eye dropper, spray bottle or watering at the bottom are good ways to supply water to seedlings. To protect them from rain, put it under a shelter or something that can take some of the kinetic energy out of the drop. Or just take them indoors.

Also, when planting seedlings in a container with a drain, consider using an eggshell or a coffee filter as a plug to help keep the soil moist while the sprout develops. Over time, the plug dissolves (or composts, in the case of the shell) and allows the soil to drain normally.

1 Like Radium likes this.