Tag Archives


Ask Gardenerd: Tap Water Concerns

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Christy

Here’s a question urban gardeners ask themselves at least once while standing next to a garden hose as the smell of chlorine wafts across the yard. George from Wisconsin proposed it this week on Ask Gardenerd (edited for length): “Hi, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Sage Advice | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

New Drought, or New Normal?

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Christy

Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency as California has yet another year of lower than average rainfall. In the case of 2013-2014, almost none. Not only is rainfall at an all-time low, temperatures have been at an all-time high. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, What's Growin' On | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Gray Water for Vegetables?

Posted on November 6, 2008 by Christy

A forward-thinking gardenerd wrote in this week:

“I am considering a gray water system to use on a vegetable garden. Is this safe to do? If so, is it considered organic?”

My first thought was, no – it’s not really safe to use, but it might be with the right system.  Then I took to the cyberspace waves and found a few bits of information:

In many states it is actually illegal to use gray water on vegetable gardens.  You should check with your municipal sewage service to see what laws apply where you live.

In states where gray water systems are legal, they …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Water sweet Water

Posted on August 12, 2008 by Christy

A recent addition to the Gardenerd community asked:

“I am wondering what kind of water source is acceptable for organic vegetable gardening. Specifically, I am on a city water supply which contains chlorine and other additives. Should I try to find a garden hose filter (if these exist) or would it be better to use my reverse osmosis system indoors and carry the water to the garden?  Thanks for all your help.”

This is a great question; thanks for writing in.  My opinion about filtering water for the garden is basically that if you can do it, all the …
Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged | 1 Comment