Clodagh and Richard Handscombe from the allotment chat forum sent me an article the other day about an Irish product that is supposed to reduce the surface tension of water and thereby make it easier for plants to absorb dissolved nutrients and grow better.

Well every year there are lots of new products that come out promising fantastic results, better yields and a cure for all our ills. So I was more than a little doubtful of the claims. However, before I published the article, I did a little bit of research. There are magnetic devices that keep limescale in suspension thus preventing fur building up in hard water areas  so the theory didn’t seem far fetched.

Then I noticed that the people in London’s Royal Botanic Gardens were also impressed - sufficiently so to give Vi-Aqua their highly coveted official endorsement.

They have developed a hand-held device for home use.. The battery-operated unit looks like a walkie-talkie. The ‘aerial’ is put into a watering can and it delivers an electrical charge to the water inside, hence increasing the amount of oxygen in the water. When this water is applied to plants, it enhances nutrient uptake, stimulating photosynthesis and growth. Cut flowers kept in this water can last up to 30 per cent longer.

Trials have shown significant gains in yield on a wide range of plants.

The full article is online now : Vi-Aqua Water Energiser to Promote Plant Growth

The Vi-Aqua units, both small and larger scale, can be bought from Harrod Horticultural