I have been flushing out my DIY Hydroponic garden because something toxic got into it last Friday...
I had over 25 cherry tomatoes that would be on my salad today but now, they have been dropping like autumn pine cones.
I had started trying out domestic help to do odd jobs, some cleaning, and fix it tasks around the house. I get behind on things and also wanted someone to stop by a couple of times per week to see that I am still kicking. I am not that old, not even sixty yet, but the plan was to find a person that I could trust with the house key and take care of bills, plants, etc. when I go on vacation. It would take some time to get to know someone and develop that trust.
First try lasted a couple days. I did not fire them. They just did not come anymore. All had been going well and I did not even notice anything had gone wrong until Saturday. I saw my tomatoes and all the flowers falling whole onto the dirt. I could not figure it out.
Then I saw the avocado plant had a white crust around the main trunk. It hit me. I remember asking my new help to hand me the bleach bottle, the one marked water from the table near the balcony door. I had poured that water into the reservoir of my hydroponic system, then poured a cup of it to water all the house plants.
Remember my mimosa plant? You know, the one that folds up when you touch it?
Yeah, it was on the list of plants that I went to water.
The think is that the bleach was under the sink with the cleaning supplies and the old bleach bottle that I always fill for watering the plants never had a cap on it. I rarely use bleach - maybe once per year. Anyway, it is only something that I would know, that is, me and the big letters that say "Water" on the one with water in it. It is a bit much to ask for someone to check to make sure they are not handing me poison when it is obvious that I am about to pour it on my vegetable garden. You would think there would be a bit of curiosity - one quick whiff to check it the water smelled like bleach. I did not smell it because my sense of smell bit the dust years ago from smoking since childhood. I have been off the cigs for almost ten years but I did not get my smell back yet.
I did not even freak out about it. Accidents happen. But now I have no help and a one time per day watering of the plants has become a six time per day flushing of the dirt in all the plants and dumping out the trays to get rid of the bleach.
By the time I had figured it out, the hardest hit plants had no chance. The avocado is the same one that had survived it's pot being in storage for six months. It did not even flinch at having its roots bathed in pure bleach. It is totally fine.
I keep flushing them all out with filtered water. We will see what happens as time goes on.
A lucky thing is that I had a blockage in the drainage system so four pots were not impacted. I just repaired that blockage yesterday and all if flowing well now. All post are being flushed with ten gallons of water per day. When I can't taste bleach anymore, I will put the water to start circulating again - then replant what is missing.
It seems that the newly planted squash plant is thriving, the celery seems okay and the spinach might make it as well.
