Homestead mailing list

[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

EarthNSky wrote:

> Bill Jones wrote:
>
>  
>
> > It that why my greenhouse, where it never rains at all, has a layer of 
> > white alkali just as in a desert?
> >    
>
> Unless you are watering with distilled water, your water contains 
> mineral salts and various ions.  As you water, these leach out and 
> create that white stuff on the pots and such.  The moisture in the 
> greenhouse alone may be enough to leach out the minerals from the 
> potting mix/soils, creating white salts.
>
> Bev
>  
Of course.  But take away the plastic sheet from the greenhouse, and 
after one year of leaching with  60" of rain, the alkaline deposits will 
be gone, obviously.  It should be obvious to anyone that there is indeed 
a relationship between pH and rainfall levels.

Bill
S. Oregon coast