Water quality - wasn't sure where to post this

The problem we have is that our well water contains a lot of calcium and iron. Last year we put in a misting system and although we ran the water through two filters it still coated everything with limestone dust and we had to give it up. Ran into an expert horticulturalist on a plane yesterday and he said the water isn't good for irrigation because it would raise the PH of the soil. He suggested sulfur to lower the PH or adding peat to the soil (we have done that in the past). Does anyone have additional information on the subject?

thanks

What is the pH of your water right out of the tap? Have you had the soil tested? I used to keep fish in well water that had so much iron in it that my hair turned orange. With the fish, I kept species that would tolerate high pH and hard water. It was easier to change which fish I bought than to try to change the water and keep it stable. Have you lived there long? What plants do well or poorly for you?

Water out of the tap is 7.5
Always have had trouble with the blueberries - even after we dug in peat and used acid fert.
We started a perennial plant nursery so want to develope the best growing conditions possible for a variety of plants.

Hmm, water right out of the tap at 7.5 is not bad at all. It is a little higher than neutral and might not be the best for acid loving plants, say azaleas, but it is not so high that I would even consider trying to change it. I'm afraid I don't know anything about blueberries except that I read recently that the lowbush varieties are less demanding than the highbush.
Seems like maybe the problem is less pH than just high mineral content, and I don't think there is much you can do for that on a scale that would be practical for irrigation uses. For in the house, I would suggest looking into reverse osmosis filters for your drinking water, but they would be way to expensive for outdoor use. Water that goes through a watersoftener comes out with different minerals but not necessarily fewer minerals. Most of the time you trade heavy metals for salts with a softener, which probably wouldn't help. I used to get what I called "hard water creep" around the top of my fish tanks. You are probably familiar with it-that kind of white crusty stuff left over when the water evaporates. I'm afraid my only solution for the fish was just to wipe it up regularly. Sorry I can't be of more help.

You're the second person that I've contacted that thought an RO system would work - we have been looking to that. If for nothing else, we are going to get a small one for the GH misting system. I'm propegating trees and shrubs and the misting system worked well last year until it covered everything with limestone. Thanks for your in put.