Tap water
Kevin Harris
Posts: 2
Hi Guy's
Can anybody help please a few years ago I brought a chemical from my local garden centre which changed tap water into safe water so that my Rhododendrons and Azaleas could survive the hot summer months after I have used up all my rain water I can't remember what it was called so any help would be great thanks.
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Posts
Kevin I think if you left tap water in a container of some sort for a few days it would be ok to use. I haven't tried it on plants but have topped up my pond in the past with no ill effects on the fish. The chemicals go in a day or too. My acid loving plants like cold tea now and again!
That works to get rid of the chlorine etc so that you can use it in a pond, but it won't alter the PH of the water - if Kevin's tap water is as hard as ours, it won't be good for ericaceous plants at all - however I don't know of anything that will remove the lime in the water to make it safe enough to use on his plants - obviously distilled water could be used but that would be expensive.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Kevin, the removal of calcite from water is an expensive process often including filters with de-ionising crystals or acid with filters to remove the acid and calcite dangerous and expensive.
The answer is install extra water tubs to collect rain water and use only on the Azaleas and Rhododendrons cheap safe and by far the best way.
Water for your general plants can be put out in buckets and left to gas off for a few days, A tub half full of fine gravel and sand can be used to filter off some of the calcite which is soluble in water, the tap at the base will need a filter to stop the sand clogging it.
As an engineer at ICI with boilers needing super soft water we had a water softening plant larger than the boilers and we have very soft water in this area, self cleaning is really not an option.
Frank.
Pine needles help if you have to use tap water you just use them as a mulch it helps to alter PH but Im not sure about the requirements of your plant. It works for blueberry's don't they require the same conditions?
Hi Guy's.
Thanks for all the tips and advice i'll give them all a try and see which one works best
Cheers
I put a drop of vinegar in the water, don't know if it does anything, but plants don't suffer and appear healthy.
..my water butts are almost expired as I'm reaching an almost drought situation where I am, can you believe.... Alan Titchmarsh always recommended putting a couple of tea bags in a watering can and leave overnight... so I do that sometimes, I also have fixed to my sink, an alternative tap attached to one of those de ionisers and de calcifying filters whatever you call them - can't remember the name... not expensive to have fixed...and I fill a can with this when I want... don't use for the kettle except when I have guests as they wouldn't want a film of lime floating in their tea cups...