City water and mycorrhizae

[chancethegardener]

What is the impact of the content of the city water on mycorrhizae? Here in Tampa, city doesn't use chlorine in its treatment process but they use chlordane instead. In other words, please correct me if I am not right but there is no point to let water sit before brewing compost tea or preparing a mycorrhizae solution because there is no chlorine to evaporate. As far as I know, chlordane is a compound that has been used as an insecticide and it doesn't evaporate.

My question is: How does chlordane and other content in the city water affect mycozrrhizae activity? What do you use to filter your garden water? Are there any nozzles that come with an attached coal filter?

[RayR]

I think you mean Chloramine. Chlordane is a highly toxic insecticide.

I don't know if Chloramine has any effect on mycorrhizae, I don't think I've seen any mention of it, not sure. Chloramine in tap water is antibacterial to species that are not resistant to low levels of oxidants.
Chloramine is very stable in solution with water, but unstable and reacts quickly in contact with many organic and inorganic compounds like those the soil. If you want to neutralize the Chloramine in your water before making compost tea or preparing your mycorrhizal dip, you can add Molasses or Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), either will act as a reducing agent like those commercial products sold for neutralizing Chlorine and Chloramine in aquariums and fish ponds.

[chancethegardener]

Sorry, I meant chloramine . I always add molasses when making compost tea and/or mycorrhizae tea. It's good to know that I was doing the right thing without knowing it. Should I let molasses + tap water sit for some time before I add anything in it?

[chancethegardener]

In the water quality report, a range of 1.0-3.9 ppm is reported for Chloramines.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by chancethegardener

Sorry, I meant chloramine . I always add molasses when making compost tea and/or mycorrhizae tea. It's good to know that I was doing the right thing without knowing it. Should I let molasses + tap water sit for some time before I add anything in it?

It's probably a safe bet to let it stand for awhile if you are not using a Chloramine/Chlorine test kit.
Our water here is treated with Chlorine, and since Chlorine is highly volatile in water it outgasses quickly especially when exposed to sunlight, so there is no need for me to test it for free Chlorine.
The interesting thing about Chloramine and Chlorine is the way they are changed in complex chemical soups like compost and soil. Free Chlorine in contact with organic matter can create Chloramines, the bonds of Chlorine and Ammonia in Choromines can be broken down in chemical reactions to release free Chlorine and Ammonia or the oxidizing effects of Chloramine and Chlorine can both be neutralized by reacting with reducing sugars and acids. Humic and fulvic acids in organic matter can neutralize Chloramines, I've read that Dr. Elaine Ingham recommends increasing the amount of humic acid compounds by adding more compost in compost tea to to deal with Chloramines.