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I used city water last year on my pumpkins and I think that it contributed to a lousy first year. This year I plan on using two 55 or 65 gallon rain barrels to catch water from my houses downspouts. From what I've read, it sounds like I could go through that amount of water in a couple of days in the middle of summer. So I will need to supplement my water supply with my city water. How can I dechlorinate it before use? I have heard that letting it sit in a barrel in the sun for a few days may work. Can I find dechlorinating tablets and if so will the other chemicals in the water do any damage? Does anybody else have any experience with this problem? Tony

3/21/2005 6:21:57 PM

Eugene,OR

Sodium Thiosulfate will dechlorinate water...it is used in fish ponds...something about how it chemically bonds with chlorine and turns it into an innert gas. I don't think it is necessary to dechlorinate your water for your pumpkins though.

3/21/2005 6:25:20 PM

In the shade - PDX, OR

Insto chlor or similar type product.
You know the stuff used by people who keep fish tanks , aquariums etc. It removes the chlorine and chloramine from city water.

You can find at any local pet store.

For that kind of volume treatment I would suggest you buy bulk.

3/21/2005 6:39:22 PM

Azores,terceira Island

by leaving the water sit for a couple of days it will evaporate most of the chlorine...Ryan

3/21/2005 7:12:16 PM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

Is there such thing as a filter between the source and your hose that would do the job? Seems that would be an easier top manage method than remembering to pop in chemicals ever so often.

3/21/2005 7:25:59 PM

Ottawa, Ohio

carbon filter. A nice self backwashing one would be the best and would last a very long time. Otherwise you can use the throw-away kind. Cheaper but doesn't last very long.

3/21/2005 8:08:31 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

let it sit for a few days like AGFEVER said

3/21/2005 8:36:36 PM

Taber, Alberta

I had a few 25 gallon drums last year I filled with snow in March and used that water for the first month or so. In June, I filled the barrels up with city water and let them sit for a day or two to evaporate the chlorine. July came, and I just got lazy and just used water right from the tap. 716 pounds last year from that water wasn't that bad. I'd rather not use city water, but I'll probably get lazy again in the summer. We'll see how it does.

3/21/2005 10:40:17 PM

Indiana

I havent ever had a problem using city water, but if you want to get rid of the chlorine you can put a bubbler in the barrels to help get rid of it faster.
Steve

3/22/2005 11:38:47 AM

Chico, Ca

At the brewery we first hit it with A big UV light then run it through a large carbon filter.

3/23/2005 1:14:36 AM

Thanks for the replies. I decided to scrap the whole idea. Instead I found a filter called the gard'n gro, and it claims that it filters out over 85% of the chlorine in tap water. I'll just connect that to my tap and run my garden hose to a drip system and be done with it. It supposedly opperates best at a low flow of two to four gallons/minute anyway so I figure that I will give it a try.

3/23/2005 1:15:58 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Where did you find the filter?

3/23/2005 7:44:34 AM

WSM: punch gard'n gro into google and it will bring up many web sites that carry it. Most sites price it at $44 - $49,. I found a website that conducted a test with the filter, and it actually proved to filter out as much as 94% of the chlorine in their test.

3/23/2005 9:20:05 AM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

I wonder if you could rig something up with one of those Brita filters. Maybe it wouldn't filter fast enough? But, that might not be a problem for a drip system.

3/23/2005 11:36:51 AM

Garden

Brita filters only last about 150 gallons :)

Do you guys really think the chlorine hinders plant growth?
It does seem like my lawn grows faster after a good storm....

3/23/2005 7:30:32 PM

The gard'n gro chlorine filter claims that it will filter out the chlorine up to about 20,000 gallons if used with something like a drip system. The only reason that the chlorine concerns me is that I am trying to maintain a mostly organic patch. I have been working hard for the past year to bring my organic matter level up and build healthy soil. I think that the natural micro-organisms in the soil would be attacked by the chlorine in the water destroying everything that i've worked to build. I am still learning, but I have been reading a lot of literature on composting and organic gardening, and from what I've read I believe that chlorine could be very dangerous to the soil. Just my opinion.

3/23/2005 9:24:02 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

If allowing water to sit for a couple of days in a barrel will release the chlorine, does the top of the barrel have to be open? Will a small hole in the barrel allow the chlorine to escape? Dad has bad reaction to mosquitoe bites and open barrels are mosquitoe breeding grounds...or waters!!!

3/23/2005 9:49:56 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

a few drops of kerosene in a barrel of water will take care of mosquitos for a few days/week

3/24/2005 7:49:09 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

What will the kerosene do to the plants?

3/24/2005 8:15:32 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

i tried the filter thing, a dual filter system one for chlorine one for organics, never the less they both would clog up in no time.
Glenn

3/24/2005 8:36:46 AM

Western NY

Tony - you may want to check with your local Health Dept. I work for our county one, and water sampling is part of our job. Some places run higher chlorine residuals than others. You might want to see just how much you usually have running through your water first. We usually try to hit different spots for samples, so you may be able to get them to come to your house to grab one of their required samples. They will have to take a chlorine reading when they do so. As far as letting it sit in a barrel for a few days - i'm not too sure. A fish bubbler will help a lot, but i just don't think you have enough of a surface area : volume ratio to burn it off that quick. maybe i'm wrong. i'll have to test that out sometime.

3/24/2005 9:53:48 AM

Garden

And the fish bubbler would deter mosquitos too. They dont like moving water.

3/24/2005 2:53:50 PM

Montoursville, PA

The few drops up to half an ounce of kero in a barrel won't hurt a thing. If that little bit of petro bothers you go to half an ounce of any cooking oil...of your choice to cholk out the skeeters.

The chlorine will evaporate out of a glass of water overnight. No way to test a barrel full but I should think it would clear overnight. Of more concern in high city water use is the continued addition of the rat poison they put in and claim it prevents tooth decay. As far as I know it does not evaporate out like the chlorine will.

We do not put city water or public drinking water on any plants in house or garden unless our good well breaks down in a very dry period.

3/24/2005 4:17:31 PM

Omaha, NE (N41-15-42 )

This is what I used last year and will continue to use this year.
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=6471&cid1=-99&cid2=-99&cid3=-99

We have chloramine in our city water, which is toxic to fish. Isn't that the only reason Warrior is a restricted use pesticide?

3/24/2005 11:39:30 PM

Western NY

no, Warrior is classified as a mild skin irritant (maybe more than mild), so it automatically gets thrown in the same category as some of the nasty ones.

3/25/2005 8:05:53 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Here is a shot of one of our water storage units that the North Shore Boyz use. Regular water tests are done everywhere and your city, town, county can provide you with statistical details of what is added and why. Chlorine is designed and will evaporate off as you let it sit to warm before adding the water to your patch. Well water, city water, mountain runoff...pretty much all the same H2O.


Planting time is soon/Glenn

4/1/2005 2:50:26 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Sorry, here is the link to our water suppy;

http://www.pbase.ca/galleries/d.cgi?image=pictures/350_5095_jfr.jpg

and

http://www.pbase.ca/galleries/d.cgi?image=pictures/245_4583.jpg

4/1/2005 2:52:15 AM