REVIEW: Gard’n Gro™ Garden Dechlorinator

For us city dwellers who don't have the opportunity to access untreated water straight from the source,  there is often a concern about what is in our water and how it affects our gardens.  Sometimes, it's easier saner to not think about it at all.  For the facets in our homes, we can add all the fancy filters on the market or use specialize drinking pitchers that filter our water, but when it comes to what goes into our soil -- what options are there?

Organic farmers and gardeners have known for years that a very effective and safe way to protect their plants and the environment from insects, disease, and pests is through the use of beneficial bacteria.  The healthier a plant is, the more likely it is to resist pests and disease. However, highly chlorinated water can kill microorganisms that are there to protect the plant from the onslaught of problems.

Until today, most home gardeners had no choice but to use municipal water in growing their plants or employ time consuming methods to evaporate the chlorine.

The Rainshow'r® Gard'n Gro™ Filter System is a completely non-toxic de-chlorinator that promotes healthy plant nutrition and growth in your garden by eliminating the harsh toxic effects of chlorinated water while returning the natural balance to your soil, compost, or mulch. By simply adding this small inline filter to your hose spigot can remove at least 85% of the chlorine in water.

BENEFITS OF THE GARD'N GRO HOSE FILTER:

* Enhances the effectiveness of the non-chemical pest control methods.
* Protects ladybugs, lacewings, and beneficial nematodes.
* Features replaceable cartridge filters.
* Prevents hose wear with a specially designed, shock absorbing hose saver.
* The Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro is completely non-toxic.
* The Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro will process a minimum of 20,000 gallons of water.
* The Gard'n Gro effectively removes over 85% of the chlorine from garden hose water.

The Gard’n Gro converts free chlorine to a harmless chloride. Its unique "redox" media of copper and zinc works on the principle of electrochemical oxidation reduction. The Rainshow’’r Gard’n Gro is completely non-toxic. The redox media will remain effective for hundreds of usages. The Gard’n Gro will process a minimum of 20,000 gallons of water which can be more than doubled by following simple maintenance instructions.

The Gard’n Gro is also a healthy alternative for bathing your pets, whose coats can become brittle and their skin dry and flaky when exposed to chlorine! Automobile enthusiasts will find their carnuba wax jobs last far longer when cars are washed with water that has had the chlorine removed. Cartridges should be replaced each growing season, or if indicated by a chlorine test (Cartridges run about $36 from AllFilters.com). Comes with 36" custom hose saver.

SOME FAQs FROM THE MANUFACTURER:

Why should I remove chlorine from my garden?

Chlorine is designed to kill living organisms such as fungi and bacteria that can contaminate your water source. It does such a great job of killing these organisms that it can be harmful to your plants, because your plants rely on some of the fungi and bacteria to survive.

Every plant's survival is based on the nutrients it receives from its water and soil. A healthy soil is made up of beneficial bacteria, molds and various forms of fungi (the very things that chlorine was designed to kill). Organic farmers and gardeners have known for years that the safest way to protect their plants and the environment from insects, disease, and pests is through the use of beneficial bacteria. Highly chlorinated water can kill microorganisms in the soil that are there to protect the plant and its food source. As a rule, commercial farmers and horticulturists do not use chlorinated municipal city water to irrigate their crops.

How can I get chlorine out of my gardening water?

Until today most home gardeners had no choice but to use municipal water in growing their plants. Rainshow'r has changed all that with the development of the Gard'n Gro Garden Dechlorinator. Now it is possible for home gardeners to steer away from chlorinated water and move toward a cleaner, healthier choice with the Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro Garden Dechlorinator.

How does the Gard'n Gro remove chlorine?

The Gard'n Gro converts free chlorine to a harmless chloride. Its unique "redox" media of copper and zinc works on the principle of electrochemical oxidation reduction. The Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro is completely non-toxic. The "redox" media will remain effective for hundreds of usages. The Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro will process a minimum of 20,000 gallons of water which can be more than doubled by following simple maintenance instructions. The Gard'n Gro effectively removes over 85% of the chlorine from garden hose water.

Are there other uses for my Gard'n Gro?

The Gard'n Gro is also a healthy alternative for bathing your pets, whose coats can become brittle and their skin dry and flaky when exposed to chlorine. Automobile ennthusiasts will find their carnuba wax jobs last far longer when cars are washed with dechlorinated water. The Gard'n Gro is specially designed for the garden, not as a drinking water filter. Its filtration media effectively removes choline from your garden water, but it is not designed to remove particulate matter or other water contaminants. The Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro is proudly offered by the designers of the Rainshow'r line of chlorine removing shower filters.

OUR REVIEW:

At the Urban Homestead model, we put these chlorine filters to the test.   The first issue we found out was that older homes with ancient plumbing, like ours,  may experience pressure problems.  Of course this isn't due to any fault of the product's but it needs to be mentioned in case you have low water pressure at your home as well. Anyhow, if you're not expecting "fire-house" type pressure, it really shouldn't affect anything.

The Gard'n Gro Filter has a well-made appearance and feels very solid and heavy. On the Urban Homestead model, tools are put through the harsh test of everyday use. And with our lack of space, equipment and tools are sometimes left out in the elements. It can get messy around here and chaotic -- tools fall, are stepped on, or just neglected of care. The Gard'n Gro Filter held up well to our abuse -- and that's saying ALOT!

Unfortunately, we don't have any documentation on the performance of plants being watered with de-chlorinated water or vice versa. I would need to set up a test plot somewhere to do research. With a tiny garden that needs to provide at peak level for our subsistence living, we can't really set up trial areas for research and education. Whether or not using de-chlorinated water helps for a record harvest, I couldn't say for certain.

We also used the Gard'n Gro Filter for the Aqua-phonics Fish Water and the animals (goats) seemed to like the filtered water better. All in all, we definitely recommend the Gard'n Gro Filter for any Urban Homestead project or home garden.

To purchase a filter, please visit: http://www.allfilters.com/gardenfilters/waterfilters/rainshower-garden-gro

You do need to replace the cartridges each growing season (approx. 20,000 gallons). These run about $36.00 (http://www.allfilters.com/gardenfilters/replacementfilters/garden-gro-replacement)

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