Water is one of the basic elements of life, as it is vital to all living things.

Water flows through the "veins" of your garden, into the veins of the plants. But much of the water we use has all sorts of things flowing through it that the plants may not be able to handle. Flouridation! Chlorination!! Sound familiar? I was having a chat with Mike James over at Southwest Fertilizer the other day and for years he and I (and of course his entire staff) have been on the same page for years about how to deal with hard-to-diagnose problems that always seem to start with "Yellowing Grass." Take All Patch would be a great example. But there are always those diagnosis' that just seem imponderable because, while we thought it was Take All Patch or St. Augustine Decline or Chlorosis or WHATEVER, the treatment didn't work. Maybe the treatment would have worked if there wasn't Chlorine in the water.

Chlorine is designed to kill living organisms such as harmful bacteria that can contaminate your water source. It does such a good job of killing these organisms that it can be harmful to your plant growth because your plants rely on the beneficial bacteria in the soil to digest and convert the compost and humus into plant nutrients. Every plant's survival is based on the nutrients it receives from its water and soil. And we may be negating all that with highly chlorinated waters

A healthy soil is made up of beneficial bacteria, molds, and various forms of fungi. These are the same organisms that chlorine put in your water hose is 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 water to irrigate their crops. So, Mike and I may have had one of those AH-HA moments that hope helps you out. This is obviously not for everyone, especially for those who don't have an obvious problem in the first place. But if you have yellowing grass that no amount of fungicide or compost or fertilizer can fix, maybe it's time to drill for natural water.

But here's the catch: Most of us cannot drill a well for yard watering and are left with no choice but to use the chlorinated municipal water on our soil. And until this moment, we pretty much worked with what we were dealt. But along comes a new product that I hope will give you that AH-HA moment as well. There is finally a de-chlorinator on the market that could solve a lot of these problems. And we can attach it to our outdoor watering needs alone. You may have to change a filter on it a couple of times a year, but for a lot less than throwing more and more chemicals at a myriad of problems.

It's called Rainshow'r Gard'n Gro Dechlorinator. 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 Gard'n Gro is completely nontoxic.

The "redox" media will remain effective for hundreds of uses The two Gard'n Gro cartridges will process approximately 20,000 to 25,000 gallons of water depending on water quality. The Gard'n Gro's effectiveness can be increased by reversing the unit monthly to dislodge particulate matter from the filters. In addition, the useful life and effectiveness of the Gard'n Gro filters can be significantly extended with the Gard'n Gro Pre filter which will maintain a high electrochemical environment within the KDF media.

Lab tests show as high as a 94% chlorine reduction as 2 ppm (more than double the average water supply) for 10,000. We estimate that 85% reduction would be possible for 25,000 gallons and recommend replacing the cartridges once a year regardless of water use.

The Gard'n Gro is also a healthy alternative for bathing pets whose coats can become brittle and their skin dry and flaky when exposed to chlorine. Auto enthusiasts will find their organic carnuba wax jobs last far longer when cars are washed with dechlorinated water.

Gard'n Gro is specially designed for the garden, not as a drinking water filter. Its filtration media effectively removes chlorine from your garden water, but it is not designed to remove organic contaminants or improve the taste and odor.

For more information visit the Rainshow'r Web site. (Above info reprinted from Rainshower Mfg., Inc.)

Right now, the only place I know you can get this product is from Southwest Fertilizer. But I'm sure it will be available at many hardware stores in the future.

Before anyone says "Oh, this is just an advertisement" let me assure you that it's NOT! I'm certain I will be recommending this product to people to help solve a simple problem of yellowing grass, when all other things aren't working so people don't waste money on treatments that would ultimately be negated by the chlorine in simple tap water.

If a product is new and innovative, I could care less if they ever advertise, as long as the product does what it says and is available to the home gardener here in Houston. No one pays to be on these email tips. These email tips simply are "what I want to talk about each week." To prove that point: Did you know I don't get "paid to do this" email service? It's not part of my job description either. Nor has anyone ever said "you must make an email tip about my product or service" to keep their radio advertising business.

So, if I seem passionate about this product/idea, it's because I hope it truly translates to one of those AH-HA moments for myself and everyone else that may have struggled with solving a yellowing grass problem, that is NOT Take All Patch.