Snail eggs or just small stones? What are the little globules in the potting soil really? We solve the mystery.
Oh my gosh - you open a new pack of potting soil and suddenly small yellow balls look out at you. But what is that? But not a home delivery of fresh eggs from snails, who will soon become voracious vegetable destroyers? Don't worry, it is of course not a question of a pest delivery free domicile. The small balls are depot fertilizers that do not damage your plants but even help them. After all, it provides the plants with nutrients for several months - without you even noticing anything.
Depot fertilizer: Nutrients out of nowhere?
Depot fertilizers supply our plants with nutrients over a long period of time. The small beads are actually nutrient salts that are covered with a coat of synthetic resin (coated) will. This shell protects the nutrient salts from water so that they are not washed out within a few days. But how do the nutrient salts get to the plant in the first place? This secret also lies in the shell. This has countless small micropores through which water can penetrate into the interior of the beads as steam. This loosens the nutrients inside. Gradually, the nutrient solution gets back out into the plant substrate via the permeable resin coating. Due to the small size of the pores, however, the water takes much longer to wash the nutrient salts out of the synthetic resin shell: this results in an even coating The nutrients escape and the plant is continuously supplied with nutrients over a longer period of time, as if by magic - you just have to feed them regularly to water.
Another advantage of many depot fertilizers is that the nutrient release depends on the temperature. Since the extent of plant growth is also temperature-dependent, it is convenient if the release of the depot fertilizer also increases with rising temperatures. However, even this can have its limits: at some point, excessive heat will cause problems for the plants. If the nutrient release of the depot fertilizer is purely temperature-dependent, the substrate can become salinated and the plants can be damaged as a result. Nobody wants that, which is why there are depot fertilizers that do not exceed the temperature, especially at high temperatures Shoot beyond the optimum range of nutrient release and thus preventively counteract plant damage.
But there are not only yellow-whitish grains: some potting soil also contains red, green or blue balls. These beads are also depot fertilizers. But why the bright colors? This is not about a fashionable appearance or a joke - the colored casing is intended as a guide for manufacturers and gardeners and indicates how long the depot effect of the fertilizer lasts stops. This is very different: the small balls can reliably supply your plants with nutrients between two months and over a year. It is of course crucial how long the plants to be fertilized have:
- Container plants with a standing life of several years:
Use slow release fertilizers with a long release period - Seasonal goods such as bedding and balcony plants:
Mix slow-release fertilizer with a release period of about 4 to 5 months into the substrate
Test: snail eggs or depot fertilizer?
Especially if the flowers have been outside in the pot for a long time, it can also happen that the soil also offers a home to young snails. But how do I tell if depot fertilizer or snail eggs share space with my flower? The test is very easy: simply take the suspicious ball between two fingers and crush it. You will hear a cracking sound from a depot fertilizer ball as the synthetic resin shell breaks. In addition, the ball fills dry even after crushing. Snail eggs, on the other hand, do not have a solid shell and therefore do not make any noise. Furthermore, they feel slippery and damp between the fingers. So if it's hard to tell with the naked eye whether it's friend or foe, a simple finger test will do it for the layperson at the latest. Furthermore, the eggs of the snail are usually never found alone, but lie together in groups. The depot fertilizer, on the other hand, should be distributed as evenly as possible in the substrate used, so that it is more of a coincidence that two depot fertilizer beads are found next to each other.
How to distinguish depot fertilizer from snail eggs:
- Depot fertilizer pellets are…
- coated with a synthetic resin that characteristically cracks when crushed between the fingers.
- usually found singly and well distributed in the substrate.
- Snail eggs are...
- not covered with a solid shell.
- slippery and wet.
- usually found in a clutch of several eggs in one spot.
Various properties are crucial for a high-quality potting soil. In our special article we reveal why high-quality soil is worthwhile.
