What Type of Water Is Best For Your Garden
Thankfully, it feels like we are well on our way to cooler temperatures in South Texas. Fall is the season that we all anticipate here in South Texas, even more than Spring or Summer. After months of the extreme heat and humidity of the summer, it is time to get back outdoors and start planning your fall garden. Fall is the perfect time to plant trees and shrubs because the root systems of your plants have plenty of time to recover from transplanting and grow new roots. The cooler temperatures also can reduce the stress on your new plants and the increased rainfall during the autumn season means less watering for those garden additions. Fall also means that pests that thrive on heat and humidity, like mosquitos, move along and don’t make it a chore to be outside. So what is the BEST water for your plants and garden?
Softened Water
If you already have an Alamo Water Softeners system in your home, you should know that your trees, shrubs and garden may require different water than what comes inside of your home from your softener system. If you have a softener system installed, your softener system will appropriately get rid of the calcium, magnesium and other minerals in your water to protect your plumbing and appliances. However, your trees, shrubs and garden relies on some of those minerals to help your plants stay healthy and green. Most water softener systems rely on sodium to help clean the water of minerals that create hard water. This water may slow down your plants growth and if you use it to water your grass, may end up killing it over time.
Tap or Outdoor Tap Water
When your water is treated by SAWS, they add chemicals and minerals like chlorine, fluoride and salts which can be beneficial for people, but not plants. While plants can do very well on tap water its not the best for plant growth, especially if you have hard water…like the water in South Texas.
Distilled Water
The WQA (Water Quality Association) says that distilled water is best for plants since it does not contain harmful chemicals or minerals. Deionized or Reverse Osmosis waters also do not contain harmful minerals or chemicals and is one of the most beneficial types of water for your plants. Sure you can go out and purchase a gallon of distilled water from your local grocery store, but think about the size of your plants and garden, and then think about how many gallons you will need to purchase to keep it growing throughout the season? Alamo Water Softeners has a variety of products that can help you to create distilled water in your home. First of all our whole home filter can create that water and bring it straight to your tap so that all you need to do is fill your watering can and take it to your indoor plants or out to your garden. We can also install your very own Reverse Osmosis System that can create this distilled water for you at a very specific location in your home. Both are great options to keep your indoor and outdoor plants happy and healthy.
Rain Water
Straight from the original source, you probably already guessed that this is the best choice for watering plants. There are many ways to harness rainwater. Rain water can be collected in buckets, or if you have lots of plants to water, it may be beneficial to purchase a rain collection barrel, which usually comes with a hose attachment so you can easily water all the plants in your home and garden.
As always, we are here to help with all of your water and plumbing solutions. Contact Alamo Water Softeners in San Antonio today at (210) 274-6122.
