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Post by daylilydude on Sept 13, 2017 3:46:48 GMT -5
This one was asked by meandtk... What is the effect of chlorinated water on germination? Will it hinder it?
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Post by spike on Sept 13, 2017 9:02:16 GMT -5
First let me say the "Question of the day" has become my favorite forum.
Since we have a well that question kind of startled me for a second. That is something I never thought about before so good question. Very interested in the answer.
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Post by meandtk on Sept 13, 2017 10:44:03 GMT -5
I received a mixed sort of response on Doc's. At the present, I cannot conclusively say. I can say that I see some sprouts. I ran the sprinkler for thirty minutes today. I will try to report later.
Does anyone have any experience? I ask because I got 30% germination, perhaps, last Sept, when watering during a dry spell. $100 water bill and very little greens.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Sept 13, 2017 11:12:38 GMT -5
Well, I've pretty much always had municipal water unless it's raining, and I've never had problems with germination that I could pinpoint to water. Most of the time my lack of germination is due to old seed (or a bad batch of seed) or trying to germinate at the wrong temps. Lettuce just isn't going to sprout when it's 95ºF (or 45ºF) no matter how much I want it to. Also, my germination indoors is almost never bad, and I only use tap water for that so I would say that chlorinated water does not affect my germination. Science may have a different answer or the ratios of germination may change with some scientific testing, but if I were to garden by science it would no longer be a fun hobby.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 13, 2017 12:09:39 GMT -5
Here's a related topic, that indicates to me that chlorinated water would probably have no negative efects on seed germination:
Years ago, when researching ways to speed up pepper seed germination, I found something I could not believe - The U of NUMEX recommended soaking seeds in a 10% sodium hypochlorite solution for 10-20 min! That's double the strength of regular chlorine bleach. Of course, different seeds would react differently, but this sort of set my mind at ease about using tap water.
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Post by paulf on Sept 13, 2017 15:25:22 GMT -5
Our water system rarely adds chlorine to the system and when we do it is a 10% sodium hypochlorite. This occurs only in the spring and fall and only if we need to disinfect water we purchase from a rural water supply. So, when I do germination and seedling watering it is with raw water. NuMEX and several other universities all say the same thing about soaking seeds in bleach. I think this is done to purify the seeds and get rid of any lingering bacterial disease problems. Many seed companies also treat seeds as they are saving them with bleach before sending them to seed retailers for the same reason. Big batches of seeds are easier to bleach than ferment. This Canadian study explains: www.tomatosolutions.ca/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/tomdis.pdf. Most of the studies indicate a little doesn't hurt and in fact helps germination or at least disinfects seeds. Excess bleach will burn foliage and kill roots, but in the very small amounts of chlorine added to water systems I doubt any damage would occur.
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Post by meandtk on Sept 13, 2017 17:37:50 GMT -5
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 13, 2017 23:35:46 GMT -5
I know that it sounds funny saying that I need rain right after a hurricane passed by, but the rain passed East of me by about 20-30 miles. I got little more than sprinkles, and the soil is dry again. So I hope we both get good rains soon, Jason!
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