Hi,

Actually, I was told that the water was very soft here in Ottawa. They have
the pH this low to prevent damage to the pipes. We have a problem with lead
pipes and lead getting into the drinking water here and the change in pH is
supposed to reduce that. I as told that if the water was harder, the
minerals coat the pipes and reduce the lead.

Anyway, I was surprised by the low value and was wondering if this was the
reason my pines were dying.

Regards,

Gordon Williams


----- Original Message -----
From: "Pickering, Nick"
To: "'Gordon Williams'"
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 10:53 AM
Subject: [IBC] Water pH


Blimey. That is very hard water !!

You can reduce the pH of the water you give to your plants by adding
vinegar. It's worthwhile taking a litre of water, adding small
amounts of vinegar, until the pH reads about 6-7. Then you should know
how much water you need to add to your can before each watering. The
procedure is pretty quick.

Seriously, i've never come across such hard water as that.

Regards

Nick

BTW, you can use lemon juice, phosphoric acid, etc. as a 'pH down'
solution. (Bicarbonate of Soda can be used as a 'pH up').

-----Original Message-----
From: Gordon Williams ]
Sent: 11 July 2003 15:50
To:
Subject: [IBC] Water pH


Hi,

I have been trying to grow mugho pines over the last few years with
limited
success. So far I have killed about 5. I thought that it might be too
little sun or too much water, but now I am unsure. Even the ones that
survived 1 full year never did flourish and eventually died. Recently I
had
the house water tested and the pH came back at 9.2. I spoke to someone in
the water treatment office and he didn't think that the water would affect
the plants because the soil would quickly change the pH of the water.

Any comments about if this might be a potential problem and what might be
done to correct it if required.

Regards,

Gordon Williams


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