Best soaps for plants and insects?

[Chestnut]

I know, it seems an odd question at first, but there is some logic, honest!

We are heading towards a hosepipe ban, and I am keen to recycle water where possible.

But, I am instinctively wary about putting soaps and shampoos on small seedlings and crops which rely on pollinating insects, are visited by bats and protected species, and drain directly into natural watercourses without any decontamination along the way...

Am I worrying unnecessarily?

And/or, is there anything I could do with choice of soaps and shampoos to minimise the impact on wildlife?

[rary]

There are eco. soaps on the market made from vegetable extracts, I use an eco washing up liquid for spraying my,veg. I don't know about hair shampoo, but would imagine there will be eco products available. Anything that we can do to protect the environment is a plus

[hamamelis]

It's not just me reading the thread title and imagining a line of ants with tiny loofahs right?

*cough* anyway, serious answer:

From what I've heard and read, it's not really the soap you should be worrying about, it's bacteria. Use 'grey water' as soon as you can, don't leave it standing around, because it really can go nasty fast if it's not treated/filtered, as nice warm water with some nutrients in it is great for bacteria to grow in. Don't use bathwater on stuff you're going to be eating shortly- it's OK to use on stuff like tomatoes if it's not splashed on the fruit at all, but not on your lettuce.

Soap shouldn't really be a problem for pollinators in the tiny quantity that would actually wind up on the flowers, and unless there's a watercourse literally right next to where you're watering, run-off shouldn't be an issue either; soil and plants are pretty good at filtering out soap, and it will break down in the soil, though using eco friendly products could break down faster, and certainly wouldn't hurt. If you regularly watered with soapy water long term, you might get excessive sodium in the soil, but it shouldn't be much problem over a month or two (more of an issue places like Australia, where a dry spell could last years) and stuff labelled as eco friendly should be lower sodium.

[Chestnut]

^^^I had ladybirds in showercaps...

The plot is about 10 metres from the stream, but that’s certainly plenty to avoid direct run-off.

I am ok with a few bacteria-from what I recall from school they take about 20mins to multiply, so even if it takes me an hour to get dressed, water siphoned into containers and down to the allotment and onto the soil, it’ll only be 8 times the number I started with
However, I will take heed and not store overnight, as each bacterium could have over a billion progeny by then:eek

[Derbydal]

^^^I had ladybirds in showercaps...

The plot is about 10 metres from the stream, but that’s certainly plenty to avoid direct run-off.

I am ok with a few bacteria-from what I recall from school they take about 20mins to multiply, so even if it takes me an hour to get dressed, water siphoned into containers and down to the allotment and onto the soil, it’ll only be 8 times the number I started with
However, I will take heed and not store overnight, as each bacterium could have over a billion progeny by then:eek

would it not be easeier to get the water from the stream ? atb Dal.

[Chestnut]

Unfortunately, it is a very belligerent, unhelpful stream (TFIC)!
It is full of water when we have had plenty of rain to water the plot, and just a slightly damp bed of mud at the moment