Best water for a vegetable garden

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DonL

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Hello all,

What is best to use for watering a garden ?

Soft-water or water directly from a water well before it goes threw a softener.

I have some iron in my well water.

Thanks for any experience that you may have.

Have a great day.

DonL
 

LLigetfa

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None of the above.

Plants like rain water. Salt softened water is not a close substitute. Potassium softened water is a little better.
 

Cookie

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I have a rain barrel which collects the rain water and, this is what I use to water my indoor & outdoor plants how feasible it is to water a garden is questionable though.
 

DonL

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Thank You all for the input.

I do have a rain barrel Cookie, but it has been so dry I have been filling it up with the water hose.

I keep it mainly for the wildlife. They drink about 2 to 3 inches a day.
I use soft water for my fish in the pond, They like to be a little slick. The salt helps them also.

Maybe I need to get another rain barrel.

It has been over 90 days sense we have had any measurable rain.

Thanks all, Have a Great Day.

DonL.
 

Cookie

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Kind of reminds me of the movie, with Diane Keaton, Baby Boom, in it, her well went dry, the wellman comes and she tells him to fill it up with the garden hose, lol.
 

DonL

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Hello all,

I have not seen that movie Cookie.

Some time we go out of our way to take care of the wildlife.

I at least like to make sure they have water. They have plenty to eat in my forest.

I just wonder if they get spoiled. They probably laugh behind our backs, lol.

Have a Great Day.

DonL
 

Cookie

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I love my wildlife so much so, that I make my neighbor's crazy. I feed the deer which eats their shrubs and flowers and I do hear about it. One time, a deer gave birth on my lawn, and it took forever for his mom to come back, until, then, I took care of him. Well, he is huge today. I don't know if you saw my last avatar of a little deer, but that was him. My one neighbor hates them but his eyesight is bad and while my baby deer and I were out in the back playing one day, he yelled over, " is that a deer?" I said, " that is the new neighbor's dog down the road." :)

In the picture, the cat wants out and the new neighbor's dog wants in!
 

DonL

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Very nice Cookie.

I like to see the cats teeth chatter, when they see something out side.

Nice Looking Deer.

Enjoy the Day, It is nice in Texas today.

DonL
 

Cookie

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Rain delay today. But still work. Here is a pic of my Cooper hawk, Popcorn. He comes down when I sit on the deck, I feed him... popcorn. When he was little like this picture, I made him a poached egg, you know he loved it. I am surprised cause I can pet his head and pick up his feet. :)

He's cool.

oops, that's my neighbor's cat. Try again.
 

DonL

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That is nice Cookie.

Does the bird and cat get along ?

Here where I live they frown on people taking in wildlife, But it is better than their alternative.

We need more people like You on this earth.

Have a great evening.

DonL
 

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If you talked to my neighbor's they would say... less people.

I have 2 cats, one is actually 23 years old, the one at the door, he is great. They both stay indoors. The other one came with papers from the rescue saying he was deaf. Oh, boy he is a sweetheart, so funny. After many months of trying to figure out how to train a deaf cat, I learned something new, CATS CAN FAKE YOU OUT! HE is not deaf! Ask him if he wants a "treat." He hears me. That is funny.

The bird, the deer and other wildlife, and neighbor's cats, stay outside. Except in winter I bring my neighbor's cat in. She is a sweetheart. And, my 23 year old cat asked one day, " what is that?" I said, " something you don't want to know about now, lol."

The younger one knows. EVEN though he is fixed he knows, and wants to scratch out the eyes of the person who did this to him. She's a beauty.

My baby deer is fully grown now. Believe this or not, he comes around at night and waits for me on the side. He gently rubs his antlers, when they are there of course, on my legs, and I got to pet his head. He is very nice. I leave apples out for him. And, other things. One day, or night, he brought around his babies... So amazing. I do think I spend more time outside my house than in it.

I got an amazing chipmunk. His name is Chipper, if you want I will post his pic. It took no time in making friends with him. I started by leaving him some nuts etc. And, now he brings back the empties. LOL. I have to give him more, and then, he leaves me something. He left me a bunch of twigs one time, and dirt. I didn't know if he was objecting to the menu or times got lean in the bushes.

I am able to, believe this or not, give him a berry, and i can shake his paw, and then, he knows, he extends the other wanting another berry. He can get very loud, if I forget to leave him something, they do make a sound like a chirp.
 

LLigetfa

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Eh Cookie, maybe you could come do your Pied Piper thing and get rid of the deer, squirrels, skunks, and whatever wildlife that are a nuisance here. At first, when we bought the 18 acres here, the wife was so enamoured with the wildlife that she fed and otherwise encouraged them. Now she prefixes them with "damn" as in "those damn deer" since they destroy her shrubs and gardens.

They are welcome to 15 of the acres out back. I just wish we could keep them out of the 3 acres around the house.
 

Cookie

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ha ha ha ha, I can just see it. :)
Well, tell your wife she can't have her cake & eat it, too. She got choices to make. They got to eat and since, we really do invade their natural habit by building in it as we do, we should be nice enough to share what really belongs to them anyways. But, if you want to keep deer off of something it is pretty simple, you can do as my neighbor's do and plants things they don't like, or surround the garden with a high enough fence or flowers, they don't like. You can find tons of information on the net by googling those key words. My one neighbor doesn't like ground hogs, against twpship ordiance he walks around looking like Jermiah Johnson with a rifle looking for them. He asked me this one day, if I saw the pesky groundhog, I shook my head in no particular answer all the while, watching the groundhog watching me from behind his woodpile. Eventually, I said, " I think he went that-a-way pointing over across the road, giving the groundhog a thumbs up to get away. Which he took.

One day, sadly, people will look out their window and only see their other neighbor's house and nothing, of real beauty & nature will be left. Unless, you consider bricks or siding a thing of wonder.
 

DonL

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Hello all,

Yes Cookie I would not mind seeing a Picture of Chipper if you have one handy.

I have many Pests also, but You have to take the good with the bad, unfortunately.

I was using an electric fences to keep pest out, but they get smart.

I had a mini plum tree last year and was waiting for the plums to ripen, and a squirrel came and took every one of them.
I would not have minded sharing with the squirrels, But they did not want to share with me.

They will be after my pecans this year.

Have a great day.

DonL
 

Cookie

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I got the picture of Chipper. :) ( I am supposed to be working) This is where he leaves me his refillables and presents.

Funny, my one neighbor who helped me with the baby deer, he would take turns bottle feeding it, is great. And, he, back then was in his late 70's. He warned me about out other neighbor who earned his nickname, Meatball Mike by making poison meatballs and distributing them around the outside his house to get rid of cats, dogs, little chippers, and the like. Anything which eats a meatball. Not good. But, some folks you can't tell anything to, they know it all. Between my other neighbor and I we took care of his meatballs for him.
 

DonL

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That is a nice picture. Is it me or is it a little out of focus ?

My outdoor cats bring me field mice and put them on the front porch.

I wonder why they do that ?

I hope You don't work to hard.

Are you a network administrator ? Working at home ?

Have a nice afternoon.

DonL
 

Cookie

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It is my photography skills. lol. Good aren't they, want to hire me? Let me do your wedding... :)
I think your cats like you, and are bringing you a treat or a present. Myself, I would thank them, but not partake in it, too rich in protein for my diet. I wear many hats for a living, you wouldn't believe, but network administrator is not one of them, and, I bet the masses of people who depend on it working is glad or should be, lol

I work very hard when the boss is around.
 

DonL

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I would hire you if your pictures were in focus, lol.

I though it was me getting old.

I do network administration was why I was asking.

Should I take the presents that the cats bring to me. I normally leave them there.
Would they feel better if i collect them ?

Animals are smarter than they are given credit for.

They are like a woman, I like to see them happy. They provide more than people realize...

Have a great evening.

DonL
 

Cookie

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I wouldn't leave them lay around, lol. If I knew more about my computers I could fix mine. :) Work is what did mine in. I do alot on the computer out of necessity and, for the ease of it. I do evaulations for kids with special needs, I write, RE, and as added fun, I work a small job at a retail shop, thanks to the economy. In other words, it is with me, or I am with it. I have an office I try not to visit it too often, for I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea. I think the USA needs a woman president it would make all men start to pay attention to what is going on, lol. Are you tech support with a provider?

I am woman.
 
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