Has anyone here used either of these for watering their girls? My well water is over 200 ppm TDS’s. I have a tester for that and I’m gonna get a PH tester. I’m gonna use FFOF with perlite so soil PH will be good. I can get distilled, or RO water if need be. Any suggestions?
Either will work. I am blessed with 80ppm tap water. It works great
Spend the money and get an Apera ph20. I promise your girls will love you for it.
It all depends on what’s upstream.
If you drink your well water, it’s okay for your plants. That’s a high number of solids, but if they aren’t stuff thats’ bad for you, it’s not bad for your cannabis. Just make sure the pH is correct, and that’s easy to do once it’s out of the well and into the watering can.
Rainwater is generally good. Can you capture and store the rain?
There is a granular blend you can use to add to well water. It was made at Michigan state university and is called MSU well water blend. I have heard spring water is the best to use. I would not use river or stream water unless filtered and tested. Could be something you don’t want in your watering schedule added upstream. I’m not much for RO systems and the constant changing of filters.
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This can be a good practice . . . it can also contaminate your garden. In general, falling rainwater is clean, but to stay that way the entire collection system must be just as clean . . . collect rainwater from a gutter system on a house with a new shingle roof . . . let it sit 30 minutes and you’ll see a an oily film on the surface, not to mention all the pollen, sap, dust, insects and bird crap that it’s filtered through on its way to the barrel.
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Yes, an asphalt roof will put petroleum into the garden. But all the other stuff is in the garden anyway and will be neutral or beneficial - bird crap definitely is desirable.
Fortunate landscaping can direct runoff to the garden. So much rain is wasted being shunted off to the gutters and municipal sewer system.
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Maybe neutral or beneficial for an outside vegetable garden . . . I don’t want petroleum and raw crap in my reservoirs so I’ll stick with RO and if I waste more water that way, well, if it benefits my girls so be it . . .
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200 isn’t hateful if it’s running out of a softening system, you want those salts (calcium magnesium)
I start with 110ppm at 7.1ph at 90F
I’ve thought about using my pond water but honestly I’m dialed in as of now and don’t wanna mess it up
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I’m on well water and it’s great. TDS will always be higher with well water due to the natural minerals. What you don’t want it salinity. That is also why you never use softened water.
I’m my garden, I use a roof cistern that catches rain water off the shed roof. Best water I could hope for. Straight out of the sky.
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I am on well and soften my water , it’s a great source of calcium and magnesium and my water starts at 7 every time , in soil it is wonderful
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I use rainwater most of the time. The PH varies from 7.1 to 7.8, but it is so much better than my tap water which is consistently 8.8.
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You sound pretty sure of yourself so have at it.
Is softened water safe for plants?
While softened water can do wonders in a home for everyday use, it’s not a great option for watering plants. Softened water typically has a high amount of sodium, which most plants don’t tolerate.
In medieval times, invading forces would salt the fields of those they were placing under siege so that their crops would fail. It is the Sodium and not the nitrates that destroy your plants.
But hey! They are your plants and from the looks of it, your’s are not doing too well.
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