So is it better to water your seedlings grown in doors band your houseplants with rainwater instead of tap water? I always thought that seedlings especially needed tap water as it was more sterile.
I'd not worry about rain vs tap. Millions of weeds germinate when it rains, so it can't be too bad.
We water our plants and animals with water from a butt, and we ourselves drink water as it comes, straight from the hillside, untreated and unfiltered except by the soil. It tastes lovely and our daughter was reared on it. When she moved to Manchester as an adult, the water made her ill and she had to get a water filter!
If nitrogen is the answer then surely diluted miracle grow or equivalent would the trick too.. or better seeing as it would contain other elements.. but somehow yes I do notice the rain water tend to produce growth spurt beyond that would be expected of fertilisers alone.. somehow..
My soil is very sandy and hence free draining so watering is something I often have to resort to, it’s so lovely to have all this rain so it can bolster the soil deep down. Using a hose never seems to have as good an effect as the rain. I have water butts and use them to water indoor plants especially my orchids.
We water our plants and animals with water from a butt, and we ourselves drink water as it comes, straight from the hillside, untreated and unfiltered except by the soil. It tastes lovely and our daughter was reared on it. When she moved to Manchester as an adult, the water made her ill and she had to get a water filter!
You should have hardened her stomach first, tap water in the morning and water from hillside for rest of the day for a couple of weeks before sending her off to Manchester 😂
Love watering my plants with the rain water from my water butt. I think plants prefer it because it’s natural and not treated with chemicals like the tapwater. 🌺🌺🌺
I used to keep tropical fish and would check the amount of Total Dissolved Solids in the water to ensure a healthy tank. The TDS of my (hard) tap water here is around 0.9 The TDS of rainwater from my butt is around 0.03 So rain water has far less stuff dissolved in it than tap water.
Rainwater is much better than tap water for feeding plants too as you can safely add more fertilizer. Plants can handle a max TDS of around 2.0 If I use tap water (TDS around 1.0) I can only add fertilizer to bring it up to about 1.8 If I use rainwater (TDS around 0.03) I can safely add a lot more fertilizer to bring the TDS up to around 1.8
It's not something I actually DO though
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The TDS of my (hard) tap water here is around 0.9
The TDS of rainwater from my butt is around 0.03
So rain water has far less stuff dissolved in it than tap water.
Rainwater is much better than tap water for feeding plants too as you can safely add more fertilizer.
Plants can handle a max TDS of around 2.0
If I use tap water (TDS around 1.0) I can only add fertilizer to bring it up to about 1.8
If I use rainwater (TDS around 0.03) I can safely add a lot more fertilizer to bring the TDS up to around 1.8
It's not something I actually DO though
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.