black.. i always presumed it was because they were the cheapest to produce ... no need to highly refine the plastic for whiteness ... and easier to recycle do to such ...

in a pot.. media wears out .. and that leads to watering issues ..

and it becomes water resistant it is often due to improper watering ... beyond the bad media ... which makes it hard to water properly ... a vicious circle ...

if your lawn becomes such.. one might argue you arent watering enough ...

in your vid pic.. it looks like a layer of peat .. and if you put that on top of my sand ... frankly... the grass would die because i would never be able to water it properly.. regardless of spending a boatload of money on surfacants ... so .. again.. it would be a watering issue .... but this time due to soil ...

ken

Hello Randy,

Interesting video. That seems to be aimed at selling an unnamed Surfactant Product to golf course managers and maintainers. As to whether that is relevant to gardeners, I don't know. I use a product called Physan 20 as an additive to my foliage feeding solution. It has a disease-preventing action, and it is also a good wetting agent for my foliar feeding. As a wetting agent, it probably acts as a surfactant. The two things may be the same--I don't know. Physan 20 breaks down in the soil, so it doesn't have any long-term benefits (or problems) that I know of. I am skeptical that golf course maintenance chemicals would be suitable for use in my garden.

The 3-inch square plastic pots that I plant zinnia seeds in are dark olive green.

ZM

I also don't understand why they make black pots. I have some plants in pots that still need to be planted, and I've noticed everything in black pots is starting to look stressed. It's because earlier on their roots were small and further away from the plastic, shielded by the potting mix, but now their roots are filling the pots, and getting heated all the time. I'm not going to be using black pots in the future., and I really hate that they only usually make the starting/germination trays in black. Like the 72 cell trays. I've lost a lot of expensive seeds because I put the cell trays outside for a little while, and they got cooked. There's just that tiny amount of soil in every cell, so they heat up instantly when the black plastic heats up. I'm not sure it helps, but I always wet my soil mix before putting it in the pots. I squeeze the moistened mix to make sure that the mix has completely absorbed the water. I don't have any issues with water not absorbing.

In my area the nursery stock is started in winter in green houses. I would think the black pot would be to an advantage since they absorb heat. The only plant I have water absorption problem with when we have a dry spell is my two hanging ferns I buy every year. I think it is because they get root bound. I just take a large bucket filled with water and submerge them for a few hours to rehydrate the soil.

Yeah, black pots can be an advantage, in the appropriate situation for sure. When you need warmth.

I try to avoid dark color pots for sun loving potted plants because the sun is so intense here. Peat seems to be the culprit when potting soil can become hydrophobic. I don't use anything with that anymore.

I got a couple bags of this for $1.59 at walmart. Its doesnt have peat in it. It will be the first time ive tried it

Btw, Randy, just an FYI -- anaerobic does not mean water is unable to penetrate soil. Rather it has to do with a lack of free oxygen being present. ;-)

I am finding out that plant nurserys use double ground bark mulch as a medium for thier pots instead of potting soil. Maybe us homeowners should try it?

Unless you're trying to cultivate orchids or other epiphytes, I wouldn't try that. What nursery is doing this? Are you sure it's not cococoir?