What are Plant Balls?

Help me identify what these plant watering balls are made of and where I can buy more.
I've tried Googling "plant watering balls", checking the UPC code, searching for "gelatin", "expansion" and other obvious stuff.

[@RhetteLawe]

These are made out of an acrylamide polymer. probably sodium acrylamide, since it's the most nuetral with respect to pH. They use it in DNA analysis, disposable diapers, and really any thing that needs to hold water for long periods of time.

[@0tq0tq]

CAN I EAT THOSE ?

[@teamtum5366]

i guess not :( sorry 69 fml

[@johannymedina3111]

no stupid

[@williambondie1790]

KZbin has become one of best entertainment and information venues ever. I laugh until I cry just about every night!

[@justinkong4796]

there just a polymer balls made to keep soil moist.you can buy them cheaply on ebay or some plannting store ,they might not be the same name as plant balls but some other names are soil beads,water beads,deco beads,orbeez and much more

[@lenaparnell2417]

I have those things in a strip of material that I got at a fair in PA & they soak the strip w/these beads in it in ice cold water & they swell up & you put it around your neck to keep cool on hot days. They're very cool.

[@EdwinMactalMusic]

I was randomly watching a video.. then I see this vid in the side, so I laugh with epicness...

[@ponylover0601]

Title: What are Plant Balls? me: a plants nuts

[@jasonmccabe5915]

They are polypropylene beads that can be purchased at any Michael's store or craft stores. They are a lot of fun. One way you can make them glow is to break a highlighter pen in the water that you soak them in. You can also use a phosphorous pen and do the same to the water.

[@poindexterdick]

They are polymer balls. You can buy them at any plant store. You mix them with dirt and they absorb water and then slowly release it so you don't have to water as often. Polymer is also used in diapers and tampons because of it's absorbency.

[@EndoscopeForYou]

wow your humor is just wayyyyy up there

[@altafrahman2254]

They are called jelly marbles. I was told they are same material as is used in diapers. Their property is to suck water to a great extent. So you can crush diapers (not the used ones lol) and add colored water. They look great in flower vases. You can keep indoor plants in vases filled with these. As plants use up water, the marble size goes down. All you have to do is keep adding water.

[@ReallyWemja]

silica gell doesnt expand like that it absorbs water but it heats up(a little bit) and changes colour (some weird chemical reaction) i tried to put them in water once and the silica gell bals just cracked and "jumped" out of the bowl without growing

[@14jackthelad]

I think that is the same stuff you get in nappies :) And they look cool I wanna eat one :')

[@MrMollusk7]

They're called plant balls, because you can plant bamboo and whatnot in a bowl of them. The roots will intertwine and take hold. Wouldn't recommend it. They get moldy if you don't change the water daily. These green ones make me think that they might have plant food, or other growth enhancers. Maybe not. But as everyone says, it's essentially an expanding polymer.

[@RavenJeffy]

they're fun to touch x'D I work in a flowershop and they have those there

[@baltimoreraven9056]

You can get these really cheap ones called orbeez at any store. They are very colorful and they are exactly like these but they take a little longer to grow.

[@ericwicken3376]

Water crystal gel or Water Beads is any gel which contains a large amount of water. Water gel is usually composed of a water-absorbing polymer such as a polyacrylamide (frequently Polymethylacrylate or Sodium Polyacrylate). Sometimes referred to as superabsorbent polymer (SAP) or, in dry form, as slush powder.

[@akeny1]

i got mine up to a half a golf ball size but using spring water that comes out of the tap up in the woods in very high elevation and you can buy them at craft fairs

[@emdee31]

yes id does. what u get for electronic components is for moisture absorption so they are treated with certain inorganic salts to avoid expansion as it may damage the device when u keep them inside it. The ones in video is PURE DEHYDROHALOGENATED (water and halogen removed) SILICA GEL. but ur questions have been answered... they are safe 2 play with or any other purpose.

[@insomniacdragon1875]

they actually work really well with bamboo plants

[@KEYO_87]

I work in the garden center of Walmart and we have plants with these things in their container and I literally just play with them my whole shift.

[@bbishop7791]

put them in hot water and they grow really fast so the hour turns into about 20-30 mins.... theyre called spit balls at hobby lobby but theyre also called a variety of different things... add food coloring if you want them to turn green

[@6Delan]

They are polymers and that means they are like microscopic chain links that hold water and expand. They come in different shapes and sizes. If you mix them with potting soil they are perfect for growing plants. As far as I know there is no other way to speed up the absorption process. Orbys and Exploders are the exact same things as these tada.

[@DirtTrackDave]

Polymer crystals are similar and if I had to guess thats what they are made of. They are used in diapers also in small farming operations where rain is limited they hold the water and release it slowly. My dad had a garden and I used some on some squash and few other crops he had. Very handy if in a drought prone area. Polymer crystals are too expensive in large scale farming.

[@fkkkkkenig]

Neat! Thanks for the tip.

[@BeardedNorthBiker]

i think this is what is used in wrist coolers. Like have them in water for a while, and they'l stay wet for days. Perfect for cooling the ateries. use them around my neck and wrists in hot operations :D

[@sylver369]

They're silicon based I think. You can get them at Walmart. Homesense sells them already expanded with scents in them to make your place smell good. They can expand larger than 5x, I took some of the homesense ones and put them in water now they're 3x bigger than they were. Most diapers actually have a powdered form of this for liquid absorbing.

[@Wiill11]

The balls you see in the video are made of a super absorbent polymer. Usually these consist of polyacrylamide or polyacrylate. You should see this as a network of long polymer strings with waterabsorbing parts into it.. The water will absorb into the polymer but because of the waterabsorbing parts but it won't actually dissolve the rest of the polymer because it is such a big, non-dissolvable molecule. And yes, they are safe, the same material is actually used in diapers.

[@ReallyWemja]

cool i didnt know that where can you get the pure silica gel things ?

[@KOGR11]

This is mostly sodium hydroxide. A toy company called xploderz sells them around ammunition of a nerf type launcher system. Though the actual pellet itself is not their own invention and was supposed to be used as water retaining vessels for plants. If you keep the balls in dry air for sometime the balls will dehydrate and go back to their original pellet form.

[@TheJTM45]

They're superabsorbent polymers. They're non-toxic and if swallowed in small quantities they should just pass through your system without any problems but it's probably not advisable (and definitely not in large quantities!). They're sold as a kids toy called 'Orbeez' and they sell them in packs of 1000 (3 colours per pack) for around $5.

[@black7649]

Plant balls are actually polymers which are long chains of molecules that trap water and make it expand.

[@nicoleshen8708]

Hey, I bought some at the 99 cents store once for my vase, :P

[@MatanteDodo]

They're made of acrylamide gelly. It's non-toxic, although I wouldn't eat it. It's biodegradable too. The recommended disposal method is to bury it in your backyard and let soil bacteria take care of it. Acrylamide is used as an alternative to gelatin and agarose. Although they can each be used to form a rubbery gel of desired consistence, they have different chemical properties and applications.

[@paigecederlund1062]

i have tons of those because at marshalls they have scented ones for fragrance

[@sandyski100]

boil popping videos got me here!

[@chunyenl]

Some of them seem to reproduce too. Ive seen smaller ones coming out from larger ones

[@cloverprince]

Are they used in sanitary napkins or nappys?

[@MichaelELambert]

They can also be used to water plants. In place of water, hydrate them to their full potential and bury them in the soil. Your plants will feed off their moisture until there is no more to feed FROM. It might work, It might not. They should have them containing food and when hydrated, the plants could not only be watered but be fed its needed nutrients. Good luck if decided to try my suggestion.

[@meizheng230]

how much do orbeez. cost i hope somebody just et me one if those I been waiting at

[@Whippedcreamism]

Hey! These are coral eggs. People use them for many different things like foot massages and facials. You can buy them in a lot of places, so just look up Coral Eggs

[@ericwicken3376]

Water gels are used for Watering or potting plants.[1] Use in gardens to save water. plants.[2] Supplying water to small animals as an alternative to supplying water in a dish. Some small animals tend to fall into dishes of water and drown.[3] Colorful decorations or artificial snow.[4][5] In a dry state as absorbent filler inside disposable diapers.[6] In a dry state in large bags for controlling or containing floods.[7]

[@sulfuricacid896]

They were also called orbeezs and i got them at a target in daly city near serramoute

[@squizz222]

They look like those little colorful orb condiments they have at Red Mango.

[@Screamlollol97]

They're made of superabsorbent polymers and are safe to use. Maybe you can buy it in a shop were they sell flowers. At least in Sweden they sell them in a few shops...

[@LasaventurasdeSaldi]

expanding with water or so big/small?

[@99KFAM99]

I call them soil beads. And use them for hydroponics.

[@MrxxNinoxx1]

will it blend?

[@beelzebubs0bum]

dried polymer gel, there are safe to handle but I would not recommend swallowing any as they have mildly toxic compound that makes them a solid as polymer is normally a liquid. you can buy them at a variety of places or you can make your own at home using a mixture of wood glue and borax

[@Knee_Nahh]

Thank you, Internets.

[@MegaMonoblanco]

does that work with water gems?

[@MatiasAlric]

gotta love the suspense /horror music...

[@mandolinsara]

They are made of a water absorbing polymer, all they do is absorb water, if you leave them out to dry, they expel water. All the balls do is just make your water last longer in the pot or spot that you have your plant in. They are non toxic.

[@JoelyPatoly1]

We bought some at the Dollar Tree for my son to play with. They are called water beads

[@Chowbizful]

My little brother played with this it was ready to use but I've no idea in what it's made ...

[@CullyOpen]

It's a polymer that absorbs 50x its weight in water. For horticultural applications where water is not readily available

[@NotWolverine]

They're full of a variation of sodiumpolyacrylate, which is the same thing that makes baby diapers absorbent. And if they can be put around babies, they're 100% safe.

[@oscarpereira7675]

what u do is after adding hot water, put some cold water in it to make a rapid change in temperature which for some reason makes the ballz grow faster and bigger. also what u could do is put an animal in the container because the poop does something

[@johanthebig]

Fantastic

[@junutci]

how would that work?

[@OMEGAGunZ]

I love the sinister background music

[@fufuy0]

That's cool. Here, take this cookie.

[@sydneypotok108]

lol, not gunna lie, my friend and I have some of these and they are nontoxic. We bit into them (yes I said bit) and found out that they are not just water inside a thin shell, but they are really like a gel.

[@kevinspears3731]

where do you buy this stuff

[@richardsalim5941]

I don't know where to get them, but you can do the same thing with gummy bears. The absorb the water the same way living cells do.

[@skatejason]

You can get them at garden supply stores for pretty cheap.

[@Chrisbuildsbadassfences]

it's obviously the food of choice of the Draco, an alien species found in the movie Enemy Mine

[@mollyhubbardddd]

its made out of a polymor, the stuff that is in babys nappys (diapers) it just soaks up the water

[@mattlikesgames1]

are they used in place of watering plants?

[@M3gan313]

Where do you get them?

[@Just_HereLOL]

what happens if you swallow them?

[@sarababy29]

where can i buy plant balls?

[@Sfarcar]

They suck in the water and then expand just like a straw wrap when you add water to the scrumbelled paper wrapper it expands this can also be achived with some rubbers.

[@getsmokednerd-w4z]

ok here is the thing in serbia that costs about 100 dinar's that's about 1 dollar that balls are used for weddings they keep flowers in bowls fresh and wattered

[@LoveMeTheWayIAm413]

They are probably "a chemical absorbent called sodium polyacrylate. Sodium polyacrylate is an amazing water absorber -- it can absorb 200 to 300 times its weight in tap water (even more if the water is distilled) and hold it in a gooey gel." (I got that from a website) You can get it from craft stores.

[@Noujiin]

You know he wrote that because in the beginning it says one hour, but when it's shown in the video the counter in the bottom right corner says "100 minutes"?

[@dragonblaze45]

Well, there are some products just like that called Orbeez. They come in all different colors from pink to blue, and I'm pretty sure they're safe. You can buy them on Amazon, maybe Walmart, and definitely at Toys R Us. Orbeez I think grow faster, because it is a children's product. You can buy about 8 ounces of them for just $2.39 on Amazon. Hope I helped!!! :)

[@aldenmackay4220]

U can buy at dollar stores and to speed the process up you just make it so u have More water but the same amount of plant balls

[@aimocamper]

can i plant wed in it?

[@micanikko]

Ah. I remember buying them from nearby stores. We used to call them "kisses" and think that they were alive coz they grow (its weird I know. lol.) And in my country, we call them "sago." There is a type of "plant balls" that can be eaten. But you SHOULDN'T eat the ones from those kind of merchandise. They're not food. At least not anymore. But there are some that are edible.

[@3bringmemusic3]

If they're still searching after nearly 5 years, I'm sure you've been helpful.

[@tjmann3419]

Where can you get them from???

[@ethanschwabe3869]

Theres these things just like them called orbeez in stores but theyre not colored green Instead randomized

[@Xenibalt]

good question wtf are those?

[@NanemoStarCraft]

Well, he didn't say that clip was from an hour long period, just that they need approx 1h to reach a good size.

[@GeneralBuzzKiII]

I'm guessing it's the lack of space when they expand that makes the difference

[@Space_Armadillo]

do they look like they would taste good to anyone els?

[@isaiahthomas9825]

can you use them for airsofting

[@Acidjoker]

There to hold moisture for your plants so you rarely need to water them they can hold about the same nutrieiants as soil can

[@sabrinamoua3766]

They are polymer and its safe to touch and all that but not to eat and you can buy them at walmart and target or even on line they are also known as orbiez or something

[@megastarsport]

Is there such thing as metric time?

[@rixterz11]

they're evolving!

[@matpegheata]

best worst joke in the best place at the right moment :))))

[@ansshanand]

WHERE TO buy it from???

[@Sinnamonie]

When I was a kid, we called them 'water babies'

[@ronken14]

woah plants have balls! :o

[@hamneggwich]

I figured they were made of the same stuff. Cheers for the chemical name :D

[@ChantalQC1969]

you are so cool!

[@Fosi94]

i love that things!" are SO funny xD

[@littlesnuggle529]

One of my questions would've been "Is it edible?" and "What does it taste like?"