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I am living in Tartu where the water is middle hard. I think that it is partially the reason why some of my plants are dying.

I manage my plants by

  • watering once a week by room temperature, 20C, water middle-hard
  • showering them once a month - cleaning dusts away
  • removing death parts of the plants if needed everyday

I personally filter the same water which I drink. However, I do not filter it to water the plants. The filtering does not affect the calcium level of the water.

Possible reasons why some of my plants are dying

  • the high level of the calcium is the problem why some of my plants are dying
  • little light during the winter time, I am not using bright light bulbs for them
  • the water has much different microflora than for instance human

How would you soften the water?

It is probable that the light is the key problem. However, I would like to get your comments about if the hardness of the water affect on plants.

Léo Léopold Hertz 준영
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3 Answers3

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Well, I'll make my comment an answer: Use rainwater for your plants (but please, do not drink unfiltered).

In case you live in an apartment, you may consider this idea to harvest it.

Patrick B.
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  • Thank you for the great idea! There is winter here now, but it does not matter, since I can heat up snow. – Léo Léopold Hertz 준영 Dec 16 '12 at 23:40
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    Still, be careful where you take the snow. You'd be surprised (or maybe not) how many "bad things" can be on/in it. So, if you can, gather the snow from a save, undisturbed place. – Patrick B. Dec 17 '12 at 07:16
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    And another thing: make sure the water has the same temperature when watering, you don't want to "surprise" the roots with 2 C cold water in their to 25 C heated environment. – Patrick B. Dec 17 '12 at 12:32
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If you must use "city" water let it air out for at least 24 hours or use a air stone to evap the chlorine and other volatile molecules.

user1815
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You can use peat moss as a media to soften water. I use it im my aquarium as part of my water treatment. I bought a 3yrd compressed bale of it at the local garden center (pure canadian sphagnum) for a few bucks.

You can either soak it with water or pour water through it. Warm water works best as when its dry it resists wetting. If you soak it just put it in a bucket and squeezes the water out you want to use, but that can be a lot of work.

I put it in a bucket with a little hole in the bottom. Pour water in the top, collect it in a container below. In my case I water my plants from my aquarium, So that water goes in there to refill what I took for the plants.

It's pretty solid if you don't mind the setup or the water having a color to it, as your watering plants with it I imagine you don't.

Don Wei
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