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Update on using laundry water in the garden
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Posted by aachenelf z5 Mpls, MN (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 08 at 14:57
| A few months ago, I started a post about using sudsy laundry water in the garden. With a bit of trepidation, I decided to do it and have continued to do so all summer. I have no idea if the water is doing this or what, but I've never had such incredible plant growth and blooms on my perennials. I don't use chemical fertilizers, so I'm not sure what's happening here. The only thing different this year on my part is the use of the laundry water.
A couple of examples:
An agapanthus I've had for years usually produced around 12-15 flower spikes. This year it's around 30.
My Rudbeckia triloba never grew over 2 feet tall. This year, they're all around 4 feet tall and look almost like shrubs.
I don't know if it's this water doing this or not, but it's certainly not hurting anything. I'm curious if anyone else has been doing this?
Kevin |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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- Posted by dorisl 5 NW Chicago burbs (My Page) on
Mon, Jul 21, 08 at 17:53
| very interesting! What kind of soap do you use in the washer? :) |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Doris took the words out of my mouth - what type of soap are you using? Maureen |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Please don't hate me, but usually Tide liquid 2x. I'm sure that stuff is terrible for the environment, but what's on sale is what I buy. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| I am planning to redirect my gray water this winter (have to go under the house) - now i can't wait! |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| I, for one, am glad to hear that you use that detergent. I'm in a similar boat and can't really afford green detergent right now. (I do try to wash my clothes only when they're truly dirty, though, often wearing them 2x before laundering.) I might have to look into diverting our laundry water. If anyone has any particular resources/how-to's they'd suggest, I'd love to hear! |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| You guys, seriously, try Dr Bronner's liquid soap. You need absolutely ludicrously small amounts for a load of laundry. In my front loader I used a TEAspoon per load and my larger, less efficient washer took two whole tablespoons. And it's great for the garden as well. Kristin |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Question. What do you use as a bleach alternative? I do a load of whites about every 7-10 days and would love to find a substitute. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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I don't. I'm pretty sure that stuff would be deadly for plants.
As an alternative, I've been doing two things that seem to really help get whites whiter. My usual laundry cycle goes for about 15 minutes. I just increase it to 25-30 minutes by turning back the dial. I've also been using rainwater when available for washing clothes. That stuff is incredible! Whites really come out white and you use about 1/2 the amount of detergent. K |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| How do you get the water from the washer to the garden? My washer's in the basement. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| So is mine. I haul it out in 5 gal buckets. Lot of work, but I don't mind. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Wow! I couldn't even pick up a 5 gal bucket! Guess I'll have to think of something else. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Does your basement have a window? You could use a submersible pump and a hose. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| But would the electricity used to run the pump negate the benefit of saving the water? |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| No basement windows I can use. Most of these little pumps can pump a lot of water in a very short amount of time, so I think the electricity used would be minimal. The pumps themselves can cost a bit. Maybe you could find one on Craigslist or something for cheap. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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- Posted by dorisl 5 NW Chicago burbs (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 25, 08 at 21:33
| Im going to throw a theory out here, more wishful thinking than anything. Maybe the detergent is helping control the earwigs/slugs etc pests. Its often recommended to drop the bugs into soapy water to kill them. why not drop the soapy water on the bugs instead? The added pest control relieves pressure off the plants resistance and allows more energy toward growing. gotta go find some laundry to do..... |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Not sure, but I still haven't noticed any slug damage. That's about the only pest I ever have other than squirrels. You know, now that I think about it I haven't seen very many of them in my yard this year. I usually have herds of them digging and chewing and all that. |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Kevin, I do believe all your squirrels have come to CT for the summer - and they're staying at my house! I always have lots of squirrels, but this year.... One morning I looked out the front door, and it was actually a bit creepy, like a horror movie, lol. I counted, as best I could up to about 35 squirrels just in the front yard, in an area about 50x20 feet. It was like a squirrel convention... or a scene out of The Birds, except it was squirrels, lol. I've been trying to figure out a way to use my laundry water, as well as my shower water and my dishwasher water for a while now. My dishwasher and washer machine already run to a dry well, as opposed to the septic, so there is a separate pipe, but it's down in the basement and I have to figure out a way to access it, and then get it 100 feet or more across the driveway out to the garden. I do have basement windows, so maybe I'll look into a barrel and submersible pump, and just use it for stuff closer to the house. Being on a well, and growing cut flowers for the farmer's market, I'm always looking for ideas to save water. I wish I had the brain of an engineer, lol, or at least the mechanical talent of a handyman. Alas, I have neither... :)
Dee |
RE: Update on using laundry water in the garden
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| Dee Are you telling all those little bus tickets to points East I left around the garden worked? They are pretty creepy in numbers aren't they? I was thinking about this and usually I try to buy unscented laundry soap, but it doesn't always work out that way. Maybe they really don't like the smell of the stuff in the garden? Critters can be kind of picky that way I think. Getting the water out of the house by mechanical means is something I should probably look into, but I consider the manual labor just another way to stay in shape. It also makes me think twice and even three times before I do a load of laundry. I can usually stretch another few days out that pair of jeans. |
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