[wbmkk]

I got two water butts for my new allotment, but as I don't have the glass fitted to the greenhouse yet, I decided to fill them in the meantime with tap water.

My neighbour on the plot (probably in his 30th year on the allotment) said I shouldn't be using tap water ... he would only use it in a rear emergency.

He reckons there are too many chemicals which aren't good for the crops. He also said that the soil gets hardened if 'that water' is used ... ie a crust forms on the soil.

I think he was serious .... but is he correct ?

I know tap water is cold, so it should be left to get warmer before drenching all the plants .... but surely if it's good enough for us to drink, it should be OK for a few plants 

[JayG]

The chlorine in tap water isn't very good for plants, but most of it evaporates after a day or so.

Your tap water may be very hard, very soft, or more likely somewhere in between, but it's extremely unlikely to form a crust on the soil whatever sort it is. Repeated watering with 'hard' water may increase the pH, which is not desirable for ericaceous plants, but for everything else it's a drink, without which they would otherwise die in drought conditions.

Watering warm plants with very cold water isn't likely to make them jump for joy, but if stored in butts it's absolutely fine unless you are trying to water straight after a particularly cold night.

[mumofstig]

As the water stands in the butt til you need it, it looses it's chlorine 

[grinling]

try not to over water as it deters deep root growth.