Hardness, Mg, and Ca; K

[schmidt at coyote_csusm.edu (Michael Schmidt)]

>> What you REALLY want to know
>> is the concentration of calcium, magnesium and potassium in your water.
>
>And exactly WHY would a "general hardness" test kit NOT tell you the
>concentration of ca and mg in the water?
>

It will tell you the sum of Ca and Mg. But plants have different
requirements for the two, and it would be best to know each separately.


>
>> Potassium in particular is NOT measured at all.
>
>Why do you include K in a discussion of hardness?  Are you confused as to what
>hardness means?

Maybe it's NOT a discussion of hardness. Maybe it's a discussion of ionic
species in the water, and why "hardness" does a poor job of measuring
these. But K+ is quite important to plant growth and it's worth knowing the
concentration of it.

Michael Schmidt
California State University, San Marcos
San Marcos, CA

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