The usual recommendation for those with a water softener in the house is to water their plants/garden with water from the outside faucets which are usually NOT included in the softener system. Otherwise, the softener can be bypassed for garden watering with most set-ups.

This is not to say that the water softening process is harmful to the plants - that point is highly debated - but that it is unnecessary for the plants, "potentially" a problem, provides no benefits, and so should be avoided.

dave

Hi TT-
We also are on a well, and have a water softener. Since the water softener is inbetween the well accumulator tank in the basement and the pipes that lead out to all the faucets/hoses, watering with un-softened water is unfortunately not an option for us, as suggested by digdirt-

When we first added the softener, I was concerned about the garden-I didnt need to be. Even tho we have it set pretty high, I have seen no adverse effects on plants or yeild-I generally have too much of everything! But, I should say that I rely on rain alot, and water only inbetween dry spells...
Hope this helps!
mmarla

Yes, the salt -- actually, sodium -- can damage your soil. It makes it "run together," thereby ruining drainage.

But the remedy is easy. Because this is one place where gypsum is truly helpful. Mix it into the ground according to directions.

I just turn off our water softner system. Of course mine is only a year old but it comes with a shut-off key it you want to water without the softner. I have been using the water system without turning anything off also and haven't seen any problem YET.

In Florida, you should have plenty of natural rainfall to wash the sodium from the water softener out of the root zone. If the softened water were your only source of moisture for the plants (arid zone), then over time sodium accumulation could destroy the soil structure and kill anything you plant.

The sodium will "dissolve" into the soil moisture, but also "sticks" to the soil. Applying some gypsum occasionally provides calcium which will also "stick" to the soil, leaving the sodium in the soil water where it can be better leached away with excess water.

Just use the water when you need it. If you start seeing salt damage to the plants or a white crust developing on top of the ground, stop using the softened water and let excess rainwater or unsoftened water flush the salts out of the soil. You could also take annual soil samples and have them tested. The first test becomes your reference to see how they change over time and if sodium is accumulating. As long as the sodium levels don't get into the high range and soluble salts also stay low, you have nothing to worry about.

Good advice above -- sodium in the water shouldn't be a big problem in your climate with abundant rainfall.

But, I just wanted to comment that you can also switch to Potassium chloride pellets in your water softener if you wish -- this would provide your plants with a vital nutrient and also make the water much more healthy for your family to consume. These are sold at most any store, Morton makes them, among other manufacturers. Only down side is that they are quite a bit more expensive than Sodium chloride pellets.

Dennis
SE Michigan

Thanks everyone for the advice & info! Appreciate everyone's input. Everyone here is so nice & helpful!

Unless you have a small garden that takes a very short time to water, I'd recommend turning the softener off beforehand. Or, use a faucet that isn't hooked up to the softener as others also mentioned. My unit has a horizontal metal bar on the top that says "push for service" on one end (on) and "bypass" (off).

Even though we use potassium cloride pellets in ours, I still turn mine off when watering the garden. That way, I don't prematurely wear out the unit, which isn't cheap to replace.

Glad I found this thread. I guess I'm not the only one concerned about this. Crazy how the more you get involved in gardening, the more concerns you have about what could be potentially harmful. I am now going to start bypassing the softener when watering because unfortunately it does treat the water going to the outside spigot.

We switched to potassium chloride tablets about 6 months ago. The water is still soft, but potassium is good for you and fine on your plants. We use outside faucets for watering plants, but now and then I've watered herbs straight from the kitchen faucet with no damage.

I use potassium in the summer, sodium in the winter. We reuse a lot of graywater in the summer for landscaping and thus use the potassium at that time. I prefer the potassium but the price has tripled (or more) in the last several years so do not use it year round. Our water is exceptionally hard so the softener uses more of it too.

What is a 40lb bag of potassium chloride going for nowadays?

Around here it is $25. About 8 years ago, I remember spending under $5.

What's the problem putting hard water on gardens? If your Ph is OK, your garden is OK.

It's not the hard water I'm worried about. It's the sodium levels from the salt that's used to soften the hard water.

If you're not softening the hard water (because you don't have to), you don't have any salt.

Well, the aquifer the water is stored in is surrounded by limestone which happens to be the foundation for my soil. The majority of the water for my garden comes from the hose. So all of those things in the water that makes it hard is being added to the already alkaline soil. Most of the plants in my vegetable garden handle this okay, some of my roses, not as much and my Japanese maples get rain water, only. Of the 2 outdoor spigots on my house, one gets water through the softener and one does not. I hook the hose up to the one that does not, just due to the high price of the potassium. I give dirty looks to the person in the house who will sometimes use the other spigot out of convenience. If I have to water a more sensitive plant with the hard water, I sometimes add some vinegar to react with the limestone. I also make a point to make sure to leave some beds open (i.e., do not cover all with row cover fabric) so that any little of natural precipitation I get can help leach out some of the build up from the water.

I think that's the right strategy. Treat the pH for sensitive plants, and not the minerals per se. They're already in your soil. It's the same for me. My water is not distateful-type hard, but it is alkaline from percolation through limestone. So anything I do to acidify my soil is pretty much defeated by irrigation with groundwater. I've pretty much given up trying to acidify my beds.