Hard water info/tips please?

[ghexton]

Hello All,

I live in Lincolnshire in hard water area (Anglican water) , google tells me the water will have a PH of around 8.5, however i haven't personally tested this.

Will this cause issues when watering seedlings, veg and fruit?
Will i need to lower this PH? and if so what is the best way?

I don't have a water butt or different supply to hand.

Appreciate all the help, thank you.

G

[ameno]

It will be absolutely fine for veg seedling, and indeed most plants. I live in a hard water area, and always use tap water for seedlings. Most veg actually prefer a slightly alkaline soil, anyway.

You shouldn't, however, use it for watering plants which need acid soil, like blueberries, cranberries, camellia, rhododendron, heather, and even citrus and raspberries, ideally.
If you have a dehumidifier, the water from that is pure water. Otherwise, one cap of vinegar in one gallon of tap water should bring it to neutral or very slightly acidic, which will be fine for watering acid-loving plants.

[DannyK]

So you get Holy Water! Sorry but that was brilliant typo!
Here our water comes through chalk, is very hard and I've never had any problems but I've not tried germinating acid lovers.
Rain water might cause problems with seedlings and spores washed in from roof.

[ghexton]

Thanks @ameno and @dannyk. Very helpful that will save me some £££. i do have blueberries, citrus and raspberries to look after so i will just add a cap of vinegar to watering can an do them separately.

[Logunner]

Hello All,

I live in Lincolnshire in hard water area (Anglican water) , google tells me the water will have a PH of around 8.5, however i haven't personally tested this.

Will this cause issues when watering seedlings, veg and fruit?
Will i need to lower this PH? and if so what is the best way?

I don't have a water butt or different supply to hand.

Appreciate all the help, thank you.

G

Quick call to anglian water and you will have an accurate answer.... don’t rely on google

Feel free to ask them to come test your ‘ drinking water ‘ supply, it’s a free service that they are legally obliged to carry out, just tell them it tastes funny. You will then have a full breakdown of the pcv’s along with PH and chlorination.

[ghexton]

I may just give them a call, sound long though.

Also regards adding vinegar do you mean white or malt?

[ameno]

I may just give them a call, sound long though.

Also regards adding vinegar do you mean white or malt?

White if you can, but malt should be fine if you have nothing else available.