When it doesn’t rain for a period of one to eleven months, as happens at many places on earth, trees still manage to survive. The phenomenon that allows plants to survive during long periods of drought is called ‘capillary water’. The amount of water provided by capillary water should not be underestimated. Large trees loose between 3 and 5 m3 of water through evaporation per day. In three to six months that makes 300 to 600 m3!

This makes capillary water just as important as rain or condensation. But, as we don’t see it, most of us don’t even know it exists. That is also the reason most of us destroy the capillary tubes while planting. This wasn’t always the case. By using an awl, potatoes used to be planted in a planting hole with fixed sides and a fixed bottom. Through this method the root-hairs of the tuber had access to the capillary water within days. Cabbage was planted with a so-called planter’s shovel. This shovel made a cut in which the root was planted. Hereafter the cut was treaded down, so the roots were immediately in fixed soils. To sum up: all farmers used to know what capillary water was. Therefore the adagio always was not to stir the soil.

Nowadays it’s common use to dig a hole when planting a plant or tree. This means the young tree has to grow its root-hairs in stirred soil. When there is a dry period of several weeks, however, the stirred soil turns into dust. In the modern-day agricultural sector this problem is solved through irrigation. Although this uncontrolled and wasting use of energy and water solves the problem, it doesn’t take away the cause of the problem, being the stirred soil. It can take up to three years before the capillary tubes have been formed again and the capillary water can flow freely.

Through its ingenious construction, the Groasis waterboxx from AquaPro uses capillary water. By creating a cylinder in the centre of the Aquapro, the roots of the plant or tree can be put inside the instrument, only 5 to 10 cm in the soil. After one day, the first root-hairs start developing in the un-stirred soil, where the capillary water can be found. The enormous capacity of the capillary water will help the tree to start growing much sooner.

Besides capillary water, the Groasis waterboxx also constantly provides the young tree with extra water through its drippers. Thus the WaterBoxx provides the tree with enough water, without running the risk of drowning or drying.

Because the tree is planted on top of the soil, extra oxygen can reach the roots. Finally, the instrument covers the surroundings of the tree, so the capillary water near the tree can’t evaporate and the soil temperature is being balanced to a moderate temperature. This contributes to the water supply of the tree. As a last advantage of planting on the soil we can mention that if we dig a hole on a mountain or a hill and afterwards we have heavy rains, the hole can erode completely and all the soil will be found back on the bottom of the mountain in the valley.

Concluding, the symbiosis of capillary water, regulated water supply, balanced temperatures and a high oxygen level creates an environment in which every plant – whether a maize plant or a tree – will grow quickly and without any start-up problems that occur when digging a hole. In this way we can plant trees on almost every place on earth.

Visit groasis.com for more information about capillary and the waterboxx