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Citrus General Discussion / TDS levels and gray water watering
« on: September 21, 2022, 05:59:26 AM »
With the drought restrictions here in S.Calif, I've been watering my citrus with gray water. I've also started checking the TDS (total dissolved solids/salts) levels to make sure the gray water isn't harming the trees. But I don't have any reference levels as to what levels are too high. I have some old citrus trees in the ground and also some young ones. The soil at my house is silty sand/sandy silt and drains well.
My tap water is showing about 310 on the TDS meter. Since I've started using soap nuts instead of laundry detergent, the laundry gray water levels have been 300-350. With regular detergent I get 400-500, and the highest I've measured so far was 650 from a 5 gal bucket of Oxiclean and water.
I'm also watering a loquat and a pear tree with the gray water.
I've read that citrus is sensitive to salt but haven't found any TDS reference levels. Does anyone know what I should be watching out for?
John
My tap water is showing about 310 on the TDS meter. Since I've started using soap nuts instead of laundry detergent, the laundry gray water levels have been 300-350. With regular detergent I get 400-500, and the highest I've measured so far was 650 from a 5 gal bucket of Oxiclean and water.
I'm also watering a loquat and a pear tree with the gray water.
I've read that citrus is sensitive to salt but haven't found any TDS reference levels. Does anyone know what I should be watching out for?
John