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Well water vs. city water. Any effect on fig growth?

While watering my plants tonight, I wondered...do figs, or any plant for that matter, respond differently when watered with well water vs city water?  I have well water with a softener and I use salt pellets.  Just curious as to what you all thought/experienced.
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We only have city water so other than rain, there is no alternative. All plants seem to prefer natural rainfall, but here that is too infrequent. Our city water has a pH of about 8 which is good for figs. They probably would prefer no chlorine, but that's not possible.
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Well water can have extreme pH values. For example, here in Warrenton, Va the well water has a pH of 5.9 which will slowly lower your figs soil pH. In other areas city water can have very high chlorine levels (ex. Wash., D.C.) which is not good for very fragile living things. I'm not sure how much your water does effect your figs but it can to some degree, anyway.
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I don't have well water, but I have always wondered about rainwater. I store it and use it to water my in ground blueberry bushes because it is acidic, and my native soil is not. My blueberries grow great. How acidic is rainwater? I haven't gotten around to checking it, but have googled it at an average pH of 5.6, one day I will check it here. Occasionally I have some rainwater in the can and water my figs with it but I try not make a habit of it for two reasons. Number one is because we don't get excessive rain here and by the time it rains my stores are near empty so there's not enough to go around. Number two is the low pH.

We are adding lime to our potted growing mediums for figs to raise the pH. City water pH is elevated, I have heard they elevate it to be basic so it is less corrosive on metal pipes. It has always made sense to me that the elevated pH of city water would be helpful in our potting medium, and I agree with Gina that the figs could do without the high level of chlorine. 

IMO, if your well water is basic then it would be much better for potted fig tree growth than city water due to the lack of added chlorine. I don't know much about well water pH, maybe it's normally acidic or neutral? I'm guessing it varies around the country depending on ground minerals.

The flip side, is your well water contaminated with environmental pollutants or not. Depending on location and well depth I have seen reports that say many shallow wells have heavy metal contamination. As said in the beginning, I don't have a well, but if I did I would have the water tested, but that's just me. I suppose the water quality argument could go on forever because city water has at times shown levels of prescription medications and I'm sure many other pollutants as well.

In my area, most of our water comes from mountain reservoirs. All in all the water quality isn't that bad, between 125-300 ppm with a pH of 7.5-8.5, and my plants seem to appreciate it :)

Ha, I've been writing this post on and off for the last 30 minutes due to constant child interruption.  Michael has answered  my uncertainties.


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FiggyFrank,

Are you saying you use the water that goes through your softener to water your plants?  If so it is not a great idea.  Not only is it a waste of salt as the more water you use the more often you need to recharge but softened water is just not good for the plants at all.  It is easy to bypass and take irrigation water before it goes in to the softener.  I'm assuming you don't use the softened water on the plants and I just read it wrong.

Well water can have a very big impact on your plants.  Here in Florida I grow 140 or so blueberry bushes and we are on a limerock aquifer so the PH of our water is quite high and the water is very high in bicarbonates which is the real problem.  That is where it all gets tricky as you can have a lower PH water and have it fine for the figs and another person with the same PH can have water that is horrible for the figs.  The bicarbonates which are buffers are really the culprit and make all the difference.  For the BB I added a 300 gallon tank with it's own pump and use that to run the 3 irrigation lines that water the blueberries.  I add 3 cups of 33% sulfuric acid (battery acid) to the 300 gallons of water which changes the bicarbonates in the water to gypsum and makes the water great for the blueberries.  On the other hand the figs love the high PH bicarbonate rich water. 

City water with chlorine really is not that much of a problem.  The best way is not to use drip irrigation or just a hose but instead micro sprinklers or most any sprinkler head or even just a nozzle on the end of the hose that makes a spray.  When the water leaves the nozzle it is aerosolized, mixes with the air and doing so causes most if not all of the chlorine to instantly leave solution and return to a gas and dissipate in the air leaving you nice chlorine free water.  The finer the spray the more chlorine is removed but in any case it would drop the chlorine to a safe level for almost all plants.  
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Originally Posted by cis4elk
I don't have well water, but I have always wondered about rainwater. I store it and use it to water my in ground blueberry bushes because it is acidic, and my native soil is not. My blueberries grow great. How acidic is rainwater? I haven't gotten around to checking it, but have googled it at an average pH of 5.6, 


Rainwater is almost neutral.  In most areas it is 6-6.5 though if you are in an area that has acid rain like near a city it can be lower.  That PH is still WAY to high for blueberries......the difference is and why people recommend rain water for blueberries is that rain water contains no bicarbonates and they are the problem much more so than PH.  
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If you don't like the chlorine in treated water going on your plants you can get rid of it.  If you are able to fill a bucket with water a day ahead of watering the plants the chlorine will off gas out of the water.  The more surface area the container has exposing the water to air the quicker the chlorine will evaporate.
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Wow, the timing of this post is uncanny as I had planned on posting a thread about off gassing chlorine as Womack described.

I have 55 gallon drums that I use to cover my trees during the cold/windy times of winter.  I thought I could fill several of the drums with water and let it off gas a day or two before I use it to water the trees.  I have two issues with this.
1) The heat the water will absorb while being left in the summer heat for a day or two.  As is I have to run the hose for awhile before the water coming out doesn't burn my hand... yeah it gets that hot.
2) I can see where this is an issue in containers, but is it for in ground trees?  Or will the mulch/soil effectively filter the water?

One possible solution to the heat build up is to pump air into the water.  I would think the chlorine would off gas within hours rather than days.
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Womack, the chlorine used in NYC does not evaporate. I was told now chlorine salts are used and if you leave a glass of water out, actually it will smell/ taste more of chlorine the next day
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For the BB I added a 300 gallon tank with it's own pump and use that to run the 3 irrigation lines that water the blueberries. I add 3 cups of 33% sulfuric acid (battery acid) to the 300 gallons of water which changes the bicarbonates in the water to gypsum and makes the water great for the blueberries. 


I grow about 50 blueberries in containers and hand water them all. In summer, usually daily - blueberries are unforgiving with respect to drying out. I also have used battery acid to lower the pH. When I started w the blueberries I had trash cans appropriately spaced and mixed the acid/nutrients/water and watered with a bucket. It worked very well, but was obviously labor intensive. I loved going into the automotive store and asking for a large container of battery acid and explaining what I wanted it for. It humored them, and me, lol. Mostly now I have switched to using a mixture of dry citric acid and various dry fertilizers which I sprinkle on about every week or two. They seem to like it and that is simply far easier to use. But in truth, the plants preferred the sulfuric acid treatment. I also fertilize year round, but lighter at this time of year. No frosts to zap tender shoots here.

As to off-gassing the chlorine, that would work if you don't have too many plants to deal with. But after having watered my 50 blueberries with buckets for a few years, it gets very old fast. My figs don't seem to mind the chlorinated city water. But then everything out here, soil and water, is in the 8 pH range, so maybe it all evens out. Our rains aren't even that acidic. Only measured that once however.
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Originally Posted by stefpix
Womack, the chlorine used in NYC does not evaporate. I was told now chlorine salts are used and if you leave a glass of water out, actually it will smell/ taste more of chlorine the next day


You can call your water company and ask what kind of chlorination they use. I forget the particulars, but people who keep fish do this.
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Originally Posted by Gina
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For the BB I added a 300 gallon tank with it's own pump and use that to run the 3 irrigation lines that water the blueberries. I add 3 cups of 33% sulfuric acid (battery acid) to the 300 gallons of water which changes the bicarbonates in the water to gypsum and makes the water great for the blueberries. 


I grow about 50 blueberries in containers and hand water them all. In summer, usually daily - blueberries are unforgiving with respect to drying out. I also have used battery acid to lower the pH. When I started w the blueberries I had trash cans appropriately spaced and mixed the acid/nutrients/water and watered with a bucket. It worked very well, but was obviously labor intensive. I loved going into the automotive store and asking for a large container of battery acid and explaining what I wanted it for. It humored them, and me, lol. Mostly now I have switched to using a mixture of dry citric acid and various dry fertilizers which I sprinkle on about every week or two. They seem to like it and that is simply far easier to use. But in truth, the plants preferred the sulfuric acid treatment. I also fertilize year round, but lighter at this time of year. No frosts to zap tender shoots here.

As to off-gassing the chlorine, that would work if you don't have too many plants to deal with. But after having watered my 50 blueberries with buckets for a few years, it gets very old fast. My figs don't seem to mind the chlorinated city water. But then everything out here, soil and water, is in the 8 pH range, so maybe it all evens out. Our rains aren't even that acidic. Only measured that once however.


Gina,

When I first started growing them I did almost the same as you but I would dip water out of the lake we live on with the front end loader and treat that water in the tractors bucket.  The lakes water PH was just a bit less than the well water but the lake water bicarbonate load was much less.  Once I hit 25 BB or so I gave up on that so I applaud you for hand watering 50 plants.

The problem with using citric acid, vinegar or any organic acid is as soon as the soil microbes act on the acid it becomes ineffective so it's ability to alter PH is very temporary.  The sulfuric acid reaction is permanent.   
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Stefpix,
That is interesting.  I guess for the NYC crowd your only other option is a water filtration system.

Gina,
The off gassing technique is definitely more applicable on a small scale.

James,
I haven't personally noticed a difference in plants (potted or in ground).  I water both from a well and from a municipal water source.

If the drums are going to be left in place you might be able to insulate them against the high temps, but the aerators commonly used in aquariums would probably allow the chlorine to offgas much faster.

I am going to install a couple of rain barrels complete with goldfish once I get my gutters installed.  Then I will be able to comparable all three water sources side by side.

Of course water sources are so variable across the country that the answers to the questions may vary greatly from place to place.
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Originally Posted by WillsC

Gina,

When I first started growing them I did almost the same as you but I would dip water out of the lake we live on with the front end loader and treat that water in the tractors bucket.  The lakes water PH was just a bit less than the well water but the lake water bicarbonate load was much less.  Once I hit 25 BB or so I gave up on that so I applaud you for hand watering 50 plants.

The problem with using citric acid, vinegar or any organic acid is as soon as the soil microbes act on the acid it becomes ineffective so it's ability to alter PH is very temporary.  The sulfuric acid reaction is permanent.   


We do have very good water pressure, and I've got a good layout for the hose, so it doesnt take that much time. Maybe 15 minutes. Not including the figs and other things. And I usually enjoy it. I have friends and they have their BBs on drip, but they lose a plant or two every year when an emitter fails.

I agree that sulfuric acid is better and 'the plan' was to keep using it periodically. But that hasnt happened. I've been using only the citric for about a year, and judging by the plants, it's working well enough. I've got good, healthy, green growth with very little chlorosis so that the time and effort saved is worth it to me. But I'm just a home grower prone to excesses. :)
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Originally Posted by Gina
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Originally Posted by WillsC

Gina,

When I first started growing them I did almost the same as you but I would dip water out of the lake we live on with the front end loader and treat that water in the tractors bucket.  The lakes water PH was just a bit less than the well water but the lake water bicarbonate load was much less.  Once I hit 25 BB or so I gave up on that so I applaud you for hand watering 50 plants.

The problem with using citric acid, vinegar or any organic acid is as soon as the soil microbes act on the acid it becomes ineffective so it's ability to alter PH is very temporary.  The sulfuric acid reaction is permanent.   


We do have very good water pressure, and I've got a good layout for the hose, so it doesnt take that much time. Maybe 15 minutes. Not including the figs and other things. And I usually enjoy it. I have friends and they have their BBs on drip, but they lose a plant or two every year when an emitter fails.

I agree that sulfuric acid is better and 'the plan' was to keep using it periodically. But that hasnt happened. I've been using only the citric for about a year, and judging by the plants, it's working well enough. I've got good, healthy, green growth with very little chlorosis so that the time and effort saved is worth it to me. But I'm just a home grower prone to excesses. :)


We are all just hoarders:) We just chose plants instead of newspapers, magazines or bits of string.   Healthy green leaves is the most we can hope for.  It is possible your bicarbonate load there is low even if your PH is high.  
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