[samuria]

been using this butt for years, watered some tom plants
which i was given yesterday and they are now dead?
all shriveled up. could it be acid rain etc.as wife watered some french beans she had sown and same happened to them?
water in butt runs off my workshop and greenhouse...

[Subversive_plot]

I can't imagine this would be caused by acid rain.

Has any chemical, cleaner, herbicide been used anywhere near your workshop or greenhouse?  What has weather been like (anything unusually cold dry, etc.)?  If it's on an allotment, or near a neighbor, have they used anything that could drift onto your plot?

[samuria]

neighbour not used anything. weather had a few really cold days,
i have not use any thing chemical.
now emptied the water butt it was just green and had a stale smell???

[New shoot]

If your plants were in a greenhouse and you watered them while it was sunny, any water drops on the foliage would act as magnifying lenses and fry the leaves.

Try watering something you don’t care about next time.  Weeds spring to mind 

It might have just been a one-off if the water was tainted. 

[al78]

If your plants were in a greenhouse and you watered them while it was sunny, any water drops on the foliage would act as magnifying lenses and fry the leaves.

This is a myth.

https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/top-watering-myths/7688.html

[New shoot]

This is a myth.

https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/top-watering-myths/7688.html

I think you will find that most of the articles stating this refer to watering plants outside.  There was a study on this and this is the one generally quoted if an actual source is mentioned. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/43074909_Optics_of_sunlit_water_drops_on_leaves_Conditions_under_which_sunburn_is_possible


In a greenhouse you have an artificial environment where temperatures and light levels are intensified, plus less air movement.  I have frizzled enough seedlings to have invested in some black plastic gravel trays for my greenhouse benches, so I can water from below.  Maybe it was coincidence, but I tend not to fry things now and that is good enough for me 

[al78]

This is a myth.

https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/top-watering-myths/7688.html

I think you will find that most of the articles stating this refer to watering plants outside.  There was a study on this and this is the one generally quoted if an actual source is mentioned. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/43074909_Optics_of_sunlit_water_drops_on_leaves_Conditions_under_which_sunburn_is_possible


In a greenhouse you have an artificial environment where temperatures and light levels are intensified, plus less air movement.  I have frizzled enough seedlings to have invested in some black plastic gravel trays for my greenhouse benches, so I can water from below.  Maybe it was coincidence, but I tend not to fry things now and that is good enough for me 

How can light levels be intensified in a greenhouse? Glazing does not act like a magnifying glass so solar radiation should enter without changing intensity. If you remove the glazing the plants are experiencing the same solar radiation.

[Gleavo]

Getting rid of the water and cleaning the butt sounds like the best thing. Acid rain isn't really a thing in this country (thankfully) so likely it's either something that's been on either roof or something has directly got into the butt. Bit worrying that it would be so strong to actually kill plants when diluted so much though.



 

[Subversive_plot]

neighbour not used anything. weather had a few really cold days,
i have not use any thing chemical.
now emptied the water butt it was just green and had a stale smell???

This is just an educated guess, but if you have eliminated chemicals as a cause, it could be that the stale green water had some type of pathogen in it. Bacteria, fungus, who knows?

I agree with Gleavo's suggestion.  If possible, when you clean, use something to disinfect (bleach possibly) and drain to a place where the bleach will not cause harm (drain, etc.). Rinse afterward before refilling.

If you can't drain it properly, I'm not sure what to suggest.

[samuria]

thanks for the replies folks.
i cleaned it out with my karcher pressure washer straight into the drain. 

[mdjlucan]

reckon it's either frost  Or  weedkiller

[mdjlucan]

You should've done a water test

[Subversive_plot]

You should've done a water test

Samuria had already indicated that chemicals, such as weed killers, were not used in the area feeding into the water butt.  Not really necessary to run an expensive water test.

[jambop]

You should've done a water test

Samuria had already indicated that chemicals, such as weed killers, were not used in the area feeding into the water butt.  Not really necessary to run an expensive water test.

Yes but what if some nerdowell put the substance deliberately into the water butt ?