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[TBM]

I'm starting this thread to open a discussion about what type of water is used when watering plants, since the quality of water will inevitably effect the plant's growth. Does anyone use different water for different plants? My tap water is quite hard and has chlorine added so it has no use for my plants, I even filter for drinking water because the water tastes bad

Currently I've been watering all of my plants with distilled water, but I'm wondering if it could be beneficial to switch to watering with spring water (I can buy larger quantities for cheaper than the 1 gal jugs of distilled I can find). All of my plants are still small but after a couple years I've got a feeling like I'll be using a lot of water

Any input is appreciated

[Sunshine]

This is a GREAT idea for a thread. +1

I NEVER use tap water. It contains chlorine and fluoride. I don't think either of those are good for plants. Or rather, I don't think its good for them with the high levels of those chemicals found in tap water.

Distilled water is way to expensive to water my plants with. I use around a gallon to two gallons a day. At one point I was using spring water taken directly from a spring but driving to get it was a hassle.

Now I use rain water. In my area we don't have 'acid' rain. I have a big garbage can under a break in our gutters and it fills up every time it rains. I transfer that into a big bucket and keep it under my grow table. What could be better than using what plants get naturally?

I think well water and spring water would be great but I think rain water is best. I also think river water would be good, provided it isn't contaminated by chemicals and the like.

[PermieGing]

rain water and spring water, but REAL spring water, if possible.

real spring water as in directly from the spring, and contains many minerals etc

[New Wisdom]

I have a community well where I live, so I've been using that. I'm sure they put a little bit of chlorine in it to sterilize, but it seems to be doing very well.

[nobody]

I use a combination of rain water and well water. Distilled water is not good for plants grown in soil, the distillation process removes most trace minerals. If you have to purchase water i would recommend mineral water, that way the trace elements and minerals in the soil can be replaced to some degree.

[MadPlanter]

Obviously tap water isn't great due to chemicals but I've had to use it for extended periods of time and my plants do just fine. What I notice is that the impurities in tap water makes crusty stuff on the soil...probably calcium. Recently though I use rain water in a kiddy pool reservoir. As long as fertilization is done regularly I don't figure distilled water could hurt much.

[hereje]

My property runs on well water and its set up with a filtering system for house water - when watering plants i aloways use straight unfiltered well water because its high in nitrates due to the farmland around the area and i do see a small difference

I would also refuse to water plants with chlorine water but if you was to get a large bucket or barrel and fill it with tap water then let it sit for a few days the chlorine will evaproate off and you wouldnt have to buy any distilled or spring water

[olyd88]

I used tap water for daily watering, it has chlorine and fluoride but my plants still doing good, grow healthy and fruiting. Anyway i would want to try river water and rain water to see any positive changes to the growth soon.

[Mandrake]

Keep in mind that chloride ions are actually required for photosynthesis, in concentrations even higher than Fe+. It all comes down to the particularities of the running water you have in your location and your growing setup. It's a good idea to analyse or find out about the minerals in your water and its pH. Like hereje pointed out, excess chlorine can be easily evaporated leaving your tap water rest in a bowl for a couple days, if it's present in high concentrations. Most of the problems with tap water have to do with hardness, high pH and high concentrations of dry residue, especially calcium carbonate. A little bit of investigation might result in good news - like knowing the treatment your tap water requires to be used efficiently as irrigation water. This can include pH correction (phosporic acid works great for gardening), micronutrients supplementation, or the need for a light reverse osmosis filter. Measuring EC is also interesting to prevent nutrient burn... different waters need different amounts of fertilizer to get a balanced EC.

Distilled/deionized water can always be useful (germination, rehydration, misting, etc.) but as mentioned before it does not deliver anything to the soil but solvent.

Mandrake

[TBM]

Thanks for all the advice! I can easily switch to watering with spring water, maybe even set up something to collect rain water next spring once the rain season starts up again