Last year I watered three times a week, fairly deeply.

This year I am pressed for time so I am watering once a week
but very deeply. Making the rounds in a cycle so that there
is time for the water to soak in. (I still use the &%$# hose,
so all is imprecise.)

The roses seem to like it, even though it has been in the
nineties. I like it because if it is Saturday, it must mean
water the roses. However--I should point out that I have no
brand new baby plants; all are 1-5 years in the ground or large
pots.

I think the established-plant-only part is key. Very deep watering
once per week was not enough for most of my first year plants here in
Georgia last year. They did well enough in May and June, but the heat
of August was just too much for them.

We just had statewide watering restrictions go into effect on
Wednesday, so now watering is only allowed on three specific days per
week. (That hurt, because I didn't hear which days were my days until
late in the 11 o'clock news on Wednesday night. Who waters on which
day is based on house number, and Thursday is not one of my days.
Friday is off limits for everybody, and I was out of town until 10pm
today, leaving time to do only one of the beds before midnight...)

This summer, I'm planning on two fairly deep waterings for the beds
with new plants and one very deep watering for the established beds.
If that doesn't do the trick, next year I'll probably have to switch
one of the larger beds from roses to daylilies.



On Sat, 29 May 2004 20:57:39 -0400 (EDT), "Shiva"
wrote:

Last year I watered three times a week, fairly deeply.

This year I am pressed for time so I am watering once a week
but very deeply. Making the rounds in a cycle so that there
is time for the water to soak in. (I still use the &%$# hose,
so all is imprecise.)

The roses seem to like it, even though it has been in the
nineties. I like it because if it is Saturday, it must mean
water the roses. However--I should point out that I have no
brand new baby plants; all are 1-5 years in the ground or large
pots.

We just had statewide watering restrictions go into effect on
Wednesday, so now watering is only allowed on three specific days per
week.

Put a bucket or two in the tub when you shower and use that water to water the
roses. You can also reuse dishwater for the same purpose.

Beth

There is a reason that most building codes do not allow for reuse of
bath water (and even more so, water from the clothes washer). The
amount of human skin that is removed from us, along with various
bacteria and other bits and pieces we leave behind, and then put into
the soil is a health hazard..... Do this with caution.

doesn't seem to apply to dishwater though, especially the rinse water.

ben

Bethgsd wrote:

We just had statewide watering restrictions go into effect on
Wednesday, so now watering is only allowed on three specific days per
week.


Put a bucket or two in the tub when you shower and use that water to water the
roses. You can also reuse dishwater for the same purpose.

Beth

ben boorman wrote:

There is a reason that most building codes do not allow for reuse of
bath water (and even more so, water from the clothes washer). The
amount of human skin that is removed from us, along with various
bacteria and other bits and pieces we leave behind, and then put into
the soil is a health hazard..... Do this with caution.

doesn't seem to apply to dishwater though, especially the rinse water.

ben


This might have to do with detergents used--otherwise this notion
is patently ridiculous, at least for those who bathe every day and
wipe their asses as needed. For the love of God. Where do you live?

On 30 May 2004 14:13:52 GMT, ojunk (Bethgsd) wrote:

We just had statewide watering restrictions go into effect on
Wednesday, so now watering is only allowed on three specific days per
week.

Put a bucket or two in the tub when you shower and use that water to water the
roses. You can also reuse dishwater for the same purpose.

Beth

The new restrictions aren't that big a deal, other than the fact that
they were proposed and implemented so quickly. We had been in drought
and on odd / even day restrictions for several years. The
restrictions were lifted in January with the announcement that the
drought was over and the reservoirs full.

I decided that with water plentiful (my county even had to release
water from the largest reservoir this spring as a precaution against
flooding) this would be the best year in over a decade for nurturing
fledgling plants and vines through the summer heat. So I stocked up -
about a truckload of hosta, blackberries, grapes, raspberries,
buddleia, asiatic lilies, gladiola, boysenberries, blueberries,
gooseberries, miscellaneous small perennials, and close to 50 rose
bushes.

Then last Tuesday the story came out that the state dept of natural
resources would discuss the possibility of statewide watering
restrictions. And they not only discussed it, but put it into effect
the very next day.

With so many plants involved, a bucket or two of gray water really
won't accomplish much. So I'll deep water the roses twice a week,
regularly water the baby fruit vines three times a week, and simply
hope for the best.

If that bombs out, I'll give up on the vines, keep the blueberries and
about half of the established roses, and start trading the rest of the
roses for daylilies...

doesn't really matter where you live. Study the issue before you assume
you are the only one with a clean ass......



Shiva wrote:
ben boorman wrote:


There is a reason that most building codes do not allow for reuse of
bath water (and even more so, water from the clothes washer). The
amount of human skin that is removed from us, along with various
bacteria and other bits and pieces we leave behind, and then put into
the soil is a health hazard..... Do this with caution.

doesn't seem to apply to dishwater though, especially the rinse water.

ben



This might have to do with detergents used--otherwise this notion
is patently ridiculous, at least for those who bathe every day and
wipe their asses as needed. For the love of God. Where do you live?

On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 04:09:45 GMT, ben boorman
wrote:

doesn't really matter where you live. Study the issue before you assume
you are the only one with a clean ass......

What do "building codes" have to do with allowing you to pour used
bathwater on roses?

If you're talking about "city codes", that's different. Some
localities allow the use of bath "grey water" for garden purposes
during droughts while prohibiting them at other times.

In fact, it seems to be a growing trend, *if* you do your research.

Shiva wrote:
ben boorman wrote:


There is a reason that most building codes do not allow for reuse of
bath water (and even more so, water from the clothes washer). The
amount of human skin that is removed from us, along with various
bacteria and other bits and pieces we leave behind, and then put into
the soil is a health hazard..... Do this with caution.

doesn't seem to apply to dishwater though, especially the rinse water.

ben



This might have to do with detergents used--otherwise this notion
is patently ridiculous, at least for those who bathe every day and
wipe their asses as needed. For the love of God. Where do you live?

"building codes" or "city codes" or "county codes" set up how you can do
various things to your property. You cannot set up your plumbing to use
"gray water" in areas that may come in contact with people. Such as
your yard, etc... Many newer homes have some sort of filtering system
to allow for that usage. No matter how clean one is, the fact of
getting clean means somethings are washed off. If you are using
bathwater on your yard, do you want your kids rolling in some elses
discards....

Gardens do not seem to be that much of an issue here, but the codes were
written with safety in mind. Please don't disparage me from wanting you
to live a long healthy life.

ben

dave weil wrote:

On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 04:09:45 GMT, ben boorman
wrote:


doesn't really matter where you live. Study the issue before you assume
you are the only one with a clean ass......


What do "building codes" have to do with allowing you to pour used
bathwater on roses?

If you're talking about "city codes", that's different. Some
localities allow the use of bath "grey water" for garden purposes
during droughts while prohibiting them at other times.

In fact, it seems to be a growing trend, *if* you do your research.


Shiva wrote:

ben boorman wrote:



There is a reason that most building codes do not allow for reuse of
bath water (and even more so, water from the clothes washer). The
amount of human skin that is removed from us, along with various
bacteria and other bits and pieces we leave behind, and then put into
the soil is a health hazard..... Do this with caution.

doesn't seem to apply to dishwater though, especially the rinse water.

ben



This might have to do with detergents used--otherwise this notion
is patently ridiculous, at least for those who bathe every day and
wipe their asses as needed. For the love of God. Where do you live?

On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 13:48:55 GMT, ben boorman
wrote:

"building codes" or "city codes" or "county codes" set up how you can do
various things to your property. You cannot set up your plumbing to use
"gray water" in areas that may come in contact with people. Such as
your yard, etc... Many newer homes have some sort of filtering system
to allow for that usage. No matter how clean one is, the fact of
getting clean means somethings are washed off. If you are using
bathwater on your yard, do you want your kids rolling in some elses
discards....

You *do* know that soil is naturally *full* of bacteria of all types,
right? Are you afraid of using compost and other "hot" materials as
fertilizers? As you walk barefoot through your yard, you are sloughing
off skin. Yes, I'm using overstatement, but so are you. For the amount
of "skin" and other undesirables would be very slight in a bucket
designed to catch stray water in a shower, unless you're STANDING IN
IT, of course (which was the original suggestion that you responded
to). As to grey water from *bathwater*, I'd be far more concerned
about the detergent level damaging my plants than I would about
potential health hazards from sloughed off skin (we're not talking
about unprocessed raw sewage after all).

" You cannot set up your plumbing to use "gray water" in areas that may come in contact with people"

This doesn't mean using it for gardening purposes. Check out the
Arizona guidelines. They prohibit this sort of use but allow it for
gardens, composting and lawn irrigation. See your next statement,
which is what we're talking about, after all.

http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater...ex.htm#arizona

Gardens do not seem to be that much of an issue here, but the codes were
written with safety in mind. Please don't disparage me from wanting you
to live a long healthy life.

Ummmm, I have a hard time seeing how using shower water in my garden
is going to prevent me from living a long life. Having said that, we
don't have drought problems where I live, so it's not something that
I'm going to be doing any time soon.

Still, I'd suggest that you take your own advice and do some research
before you make global sweeping generalizations. There are many
municipalties that are now allowing grey water for gardening purposes
during droughts.

ben

dave weil wrote:

On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 04:09:45 GMT, ben boorman
wrote:


doesn't really matter where you live. Study the issue before you assume
you are the only one with a clean ass......


What do "building codes" have to do with allowing you to pour used
bathwater on roses?

If you're talking about "city codes", that's different. Some
localities allow the use of bath "grey water" for garden purposes
during droughts while prohibiting them at other times.

In fact, it seems to be a growing trend, *if* you do your research.


Shiva wrote:

ben boorman wrote:



There is a reason that most building codes do not allow for reuse of
bath water (and even more so, water from the clothes washer). The
amount of human skin that is removed from us, along with various
bacteria and other bits and pieces we leave behind, and then put into
the soil is a health hazard..... Do this with caution.

doesn't seem to apply to dishwater though, especially the rinse water.

ben



This might have to do with detergents used--otherwise this notion
is patently ridiculous, at least for those who bathe every day and
wipe their asses as needed. For the love of God. Where do you live?

On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 09:26:38 -0500, dave weil
wrote:

For the amount
of "skin" and other undesirables would be very slight in a bucket
designed to catch stray water in a shower, unless you're STANDING IN
IT, of course (which was the original suggestion that you responded
to).

I meant to say that the original suggestion was to collect shower
water, *not* stand in the bucket.

chuckle

"dave weil" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 13:48:55 GMT, ben boorman
wrote:

"building codes" or "city codes" or "county codes" set up how you can do
various things to your property. You cannot set up your plumbing to use
"gray water" in areas that may come in contact with people. Such as
your yard, etc... Many newer homes have some sort of filtering system
to allow for that usage. No matter how clean one is, the fact of
getting clean means somethings are washed off. If you are using
bathwater on your yard, do you want your kids rolling in some elses
discards....

You *do* know that soil is naturally *full* of bacteria of all types,
right? Are you afraid of using compost and other "hot" materials as
fertilizers? As you walk barefoot through your yard, you are sloughing
off skin. Yes, I'm using overstatement, but so are you. For the amount
of "skin" and other undesirables would be very slight in a bucket
designed to catch stray water in a shower, unless you're STANDING IN
IT, of course (which was the original suggestion that you responded
to). As to grey water from *bathwater*, I'd be far more concerned
about the detergent level damaging my plants than I would about
potential health hazards from sloughed off skin (we're not talking
about unprocessed raw sewage after all).

" You cannot set up your plumbing to use "gray water" in areas that may
come in contact with people"

This doesn't mean using it for gardening purposes. Check out the
Arizona guidelines. They prohibit this sort of use but allow it for
gardens, composting and lawn irrigation. See your next statement,
which is what we're talking about, after all.

http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater...ex.htm#arizona

Gardens do not seem to be that much of an issue here, but the codes were
written with safety in mind. Please don't disparage me from wanting you
to live a long healthy life.

Ummmm, I have a hard time seeing how using shower water in my garden
is going to prevent me from living a long life. Having said that, we
don't have drought problems where I live, so it's not something that
I'm going to be doing any time soon.

Still, I'd suggest that you take your own advice and do some research
before you make global sweeping generalizations. There are many
municipalties that are now allowing grey water for gardening purposes
during droughts.



There are many communities in the perennially drought stricken West that
*require* the use of grey water on landscaping, and they are beginning to
look at black water recycling as well. There are NO "building codes" that
deal with the use of greywater in the garden, just discharge of it into a
city's rainwater sewer system, which is prohibited because of the possible
phosphates contained in the greywater have to be treated, wheras the
rainwater does not. The phosphates contained in modern "soaps" (which are
actually chemically detergents) are minimal and won't harm your garden
plants. It has zero to do with "bacteria". Sounds like a little OCD talking
there.