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  • From: Meg Mullett <meg@kcnet.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Re: natural water softening
  • Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 10:24:25 -0600

Hi David,

Since it sounds like you have only a few plants, there are a number of
things you can do to help them stay healthy.

The first, and most important, is use proper watering technique.

Hard water is defined by having a certain amount of calcium and or
magnesium dissolved in the water. When the water is allowed to sit and
evaporate, the water evaporates, but it leaves these calcium and
magnesium "salts" in and on the surface of the soil. (ever see crusty
white stuff on the surface of your potting medium?) If you are just
giving your plants a little "drink" every day, these salts then build up
until the result is a very salty potting medium.

So, the first thing to do is always water your plants thoroughly,
flushing the soil completely, until it is draining freely and fast from
the bottom. Do not allow the water to sit in the pot, or in the tray
beneath the pot. Do not spritz the plants, as that just makes the water
evaporate faster off the leaf of the plant, resulting in salt spots on
the leaves, which kills the plant cells underneath, resulting in
"speckles".

Spearmint, like most mints, is a very hardy plant and if you use proper
watering techniques, should not be affected too much by hard water. Put
the pot in the sink and thoroughly flush it with water. Flush it a
couple of times. Then put it back in its sunny place and don't water
again until the soil is dry.

Gardenias, however, are a bit more finicky.

Calcium raises the pH (make it more alkaline/less acid) of the
soil, but gardenia roots are designed to best be able to uptake water
and nutrients if the soil is somewhat acid (has a lower pH). They also
are
sensitive to chlorine and fluoride, which are often added to city tap
water.

So what to do?

1. Always use an acidic potting medium. Professional growers use 100%
sphagum peat. If you want to use a "potting soil mix", though the term
is misleading because there's no actual soil in any of them, use one
that says "for acid loving plants".

2. Remove the chlorine and fluoride from the water prior to watering.
Counter top filters, like Brita, will remove chlorine and some of the
fluoride. Boiling the water will remove the chlorine, as well as *some*
of the mineral salts. I don't know if it will remove fluoride. Of
course, always allow the water to return to room temperature prior to
watering the plant.

3. Always use proper watering technique, flushing the pot thoroughly
each time you water.

I respectfully disagree with the person that recommended adding vinegar
to your water. While vinegar is an acid, (acetic acid) and will
therefore lower the pH of the water, it will not actually remove any of
the calcium or magnesium from the water, so your potential to build up
mineral salts in the potting medium is still there. And, - unless you
invest
in a good pH meter (under 100$) and only add enough vinegar to bring the
pH of the water to around neutral, you have the potential of making the
water too acidic and killing the plant. Straight vinegar is often used
as an herbicide.

A few links you may find intersting:
Houseplants diseases and disorders factsheet:
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC2251.htm

Water Considerations for Container Production of Plants:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-557.html

On growing gardenias:
http://www.behnkes.com/page.php?group_page_id=420


Hope this helps. Good luck!

Meg in KS

>
>
> Meg,
>
> I'm in central New Jersey. I'm not really sure what minerals are
> causing the water to be hard, but the residue, the taste, and the way it
> interacts with skin/hair are giveaways. In the southern part of the state,
> the water is very soft (and quite delicious!).
>
> I had a spearmint plant that had a pattern of leaf spots consistent
> with exposure to hard water, but what I'm really worried about is my
> gardenia. Supposedly they are very sensitive to both hard water and the
> presence of salts (which, unfortunately, seems to rule out using salt to
> remediate the water).
>
> - David




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