Water Quality
 

Although my plants generally seem to grow very well, I occasionally get a strong root that blackens and collapses. I'm almost sure this is due to high salt content in the water, even though I pay close attention to not adding excessive fertilizer.

...anyway it prompted me to call the local water board, only to find I have pH 8.3 (consistently, which is not conducive to the uptake of nutrients) and TDS (total dissolved solids) of 375ppm.. Wow...

...so now I intend to collect rainwater (easy in Florida summers) and add back 10-15% city water, to re-introduce some minor salts.

Collecting rain-water might be a challenge here in winter so I might have to resort to a RO system... much as I hate to waste the water they use, but if I can limit the RO use to a couple of low usage months a year, maybe I can live with the situation.

How many of us know or check the quality of our water?

Don't sweat the "waste" of an RO system.

The flush water can be used for irrigation of other plants, humidification, or dumped on the ground, where it will ultimately reenter the aquifer. Mine fills a small pond, which the birds and frogs love.