Reclaimed water for palms.

[JubaeaMan138]

Was wondering if anyone had any idea how palms would hold up if I used my washing machine water set up on a drip system for watering after unfiltered out the lint. Would the soaps be harmful?

[Jim in Los Altos]

Nope. Laundry detergents are not a problem and the old fashioned ones with phosphates are fertilizer. I've watered many of my palms with wash machine water over the years and they look terrific. The area in the picture below gets copious amounts of gray water since my washer is nearby.

[JubaeaMan138]

Excellent! Sounds like I'll be starting this project then I'll let the grass die before I let the palms die haha

[Jim in Los Altos]

Ohh yes, palms always take presidence over grass!

[MattyB]

You might find the emitters will clog, so think about a simple pvc pipe with holes drilled in it or something like that.

[Sabal Steve]

Here's a previous thread from one of our former members. Unfortunately, he won't have anything to add.

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/41872-which-palms-can-take-gray-water/

It starts here:

Palms that like Gray water

• brahea
• sabal
• chamaedorea
• trachycarpus

Palms that tolerate gray water

• parajubaea
• livistona
• phoenix
• chuniophoenix
• allagoptera
• butia
• jubaea
• jubaeopsis
• archontophoenix
• trithrinax
• kentia

Palms that hate gray water

• syagrus
• dypsis
• licuala
• beccariophoenix
• euterpe
• ceroxylon
• hedyscepe
• arenga

[Pedro 65]

Palms that hate gray water

• syagrus
• dypsis
• licuala
• beccariophoenix
• euterpe
• ceroxylon
• hedyscepe
• arenga

I move a large pvc pipe ( so nothing clogs) connected to the emitter pipe from the washing machine and also from our shower/bathwater to Licuala's, Arenga's, Dypsis. Beccariophoenix, others and they all "crank" from it, funny to see it mentioned that they all hate it so I'd take that thread as "1 persons" view and I think Alex was talkn "Grey" water not just washing machine water, all best to him @ his new Hawaii location .

edit.. Kerriodoxa elegans "love" water from the washing machine/shower/bath and dont 4get the lime /dolomite , Bismarks, and Archo's"relish" washing , shower/bath water and so would "tons" of Palms

Pete

[Hammer]

Any ideas on creating a simple passive filter system to clean up the gray water? I thinking rocks, sand and activated carbon?

[Pip]

Any ideas on creating a simple passive filter system to clean up the gray water? I thinking rocks, sand and activated carbon?

A series of interconnected old bathtubs filled with the above planted with fast growing reeds. It should take 7 to 10 days for the water to be processed. The water that flows out the last bath tub can be used for irrigation. The reeds can be cut down and shredded to make mulch or compost. This system does need to be renewed over a period of years as the media the reeds grow on does become toxic and needs to go to landfill.

[Jim in Los Altos]

With all due respect to Axel, I've given gray water (wash machine and dishwasher) to the palms on his "they hate it list" and they've thrived on it. I wonder what was in his "gray" water?

[daxin]

Here is a link with salinity tolerance ratings for some common palms.

http://www.salinitymanagement.org/Salinity%20Management%20Guide/cp/cp_7_table-3.html

I guess not all reclaimed water are created equal. It is important to know the salinity level and it will be very helpful if you have regular rainfall or clean water irrigation to dilute and flush down the salts. Aren't some of the fancy rare Chamaedoreas extremely sensitive to salinity level in irrigation water?

[Donald Sanders]

I live on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii. We have a long dry season, I am fortunate to have county water, very good water and it is expensive. I use 2 separate gray line systems. My shower drain is hooked up to a hose below our house. We systematically move the hose around the garden to deep water palms. We have another system for our laundry. We connect big pvc pipes and move them from palm to palm with the gray water from the laundry.

None of my palms have ever suffered from the gray water. They actually look good and I have never observed any bad consequences from my gray line irrigation. I recommend it.

Good luck, especially if you live in California.

Don

[Hilo Jason]

Thanks for starting this thread, I need to start using my gray water in my yard after reading this.

[Pedro 65]

Palms I didnt mention that get "loads n loads" of washing machine water and relish it is Attalea and Raphia's planted close to the house

Pete

[Mandrew968]

With all due respect to Axel, I've given gray water (wash machine and dishwasher) to the palms on his "they hate it list" and they've thrived on it. I wonder what was in his "gray" water?

This is just a prime example of many of us see a 'result' and think we know the 'cause' of it, when in fact there could be many different causes. Hence the birth of misinformation. You can't blame Axel--almost everyone does it and it's something I really try not to do; better to just say, "this has worked for me, or hasn't worked for me". No need to give specific 'reasons' for our 'results', just remember what you practice! At Least Axel had the forethought to be scientific--or at least thorough with his practices and documentation... miss his contributions to Palmtalk.