Water Quality

Electrical Conductivity
„ Measure of soluble salts (also may be represented in
ppm)
„ Lower is better
„ Different species of plants have different thresholds of
tolerance
„ High soluble salts particularly calcium and magnesium
are called hard water – can be reduced by “softening” or
replacing these elements with potassium (not sodium as
in home softeners)
„ These nutrients may be beneficial depending on
amount
„ Ideal EC is 0.1-0.5 mS/cm (S=Siemen an inverse ohm)
Nutrient Content
„ Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, (Macro)
„ Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur (or sulfates),
Boron, Chlorine, Copper, Iron, Manganese,
Molybdenum, and Zinc (Micro)
„ Aluminum, Fluoride, Sodium
„ Toxicity or blocking issues with high levels
„ Need to adjust fertilizer regime to
accommodate nutrient content
Alkalinity
„ Ideal pH water 6-7
„ Growth adversely affected the further outside
this range you go
„ Carbonates, Bicorbonates and Carbonic acid
can act as a buffer in water but larger
amounts can cause pH levels to rise
„ High pH (more H+ than 0H-) interferes with
plants absorption of nutrients
Soil buffering capacity
„ Soiless mixes often have small buffering capacity
(the ability to moderate swings in pH)
„ Small containers like plugs also have reduced
buffering capacity
„ Garden soil has the greatest buffering capacity
„ In greenhouse situations it may be necessary to
neutralize alkalinity level by injecting an acid into
the water. E.g. phosphoric acid, sufuric acid or
Nitric acid (add nutrients so keep track of
amount)
Reverse Osmosis
„ In extreme cases it may be economically feasible
to install a Reverse Osmosis Unit.
„ Super fine screen removes elements from water
allowing mainly water to come through (usually
99% water)
„ This reduces problems with dissolved elements
„ Another alternative is de-ionization (removes all
ionized (charged) particles in the water by
running over electrically charged resin beads.
Often used with sea water
Pond water
„ Has all the same issues as drinking water –
high soluble salts, nutrients etc. But has the
added issue of pathogens
„ Pass water over UltraViolet lights
„ Inject Ozone O3
„ Inject Chlorine
„ Heat treatment
„ Ultra Filtration
How to Water your plants
„ Break up into teams of two – one person who
has read the section “The art and Science of
Watering” pgs. 16 & 17 and one person who
has not.
„ The student who has read the section will
relay the information to the other student who
will share what they learned with the class.
Important terms: :

„ Perched water table - A water table usually of

limited area maintained above the normal
free water elevation by the presence of an
intervening impermeable confining strata
„ Container capacity – how much water vs. air
space it holds when saturated with water.