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water water, water, and more water

peter pepper

peter pepper

Hey has anyone ever experimented with the kind of water you use to water your peppers? And by kind I mean say distilled, tap, RO (reverse osmosis), and rain water. I know that when it rains it makes my grass grow faster and more than just watering from the sprinkler. The reason I'm asking is would it be worth it to collect rain water (suppose to rain tonight/tomorrow) and use this on my seedlings? Any thoughts or experiences would be great.

PP
 
Last year I noticed a huge growth spurt after a good soaking rain. I say if it is easily done, collect the rain water and use it.
 
I have a rain barrel collection system that is 3 55 gallon drums in series under a down spout from my patio...I used it last year and liked it but can not vouch for the results because 165 gallons was enough for just one watering (I had 327 plants in 5 gallon containers)...

what I used it for was mixing my feed in it...I fed once a week and we didn't get enough rain to keep them full

I had to resort to city water which worked out OK...
 
If you're in, or near a big city then rainwater can be quite acidic but otherwise its great to use. I use well-water and rainwater, and have no need to filter out any goodies.
Edit: Also watch the incredible growth after a lightning storm
 
My father in law always has a beautiful garden and all he uses is rain water. He collects it from each spout in 55 gallon barrels, I picked him up a pump that a garden hose hooks up too. Now he doesn't have to transfer it in buckets!:)
 
bigt said:
I've always used well water. I know it has plenty of minerals from my toilets and fixtures.
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Man, I bet you got some interesting tasting well water. :lol:
 
I've found rain water causes the plants to become really happy and green. Also magnetically treated and spun water helps to increase growth as well (ie: M-State water)
 
so it seems there is agreement that rain water is the best. i did a quick search on google and ppl think this is due to the fact that rain water is untreated (ie chlorine) whereas city water is treated.

those of us here in cold weather areas - i bet snow would work the same, don't see why not. maybe next snow I'll collect some and let it melt and use that. do you think 'yellow snow' would even be better yet?
 
a farmer taught me this

I always noticed how well plants do after a rain but I didnt know this. The electricity in the storm clouds causes plants to be able to absorb nitrogen and get lush and green even sometimes without the rain.
 
peter pepper said:
so it seems there is agreement that rain water is the best. i did a quick search on google and ppl think this is due to the fact that rain water is untreated (ie chlorine) whereas city water is treated.

those of us here in cold weather areas - i bet snow would work the same, don't see why not. maybe next snow I'll collect some and let it melt and use that. do you think 'yellow snow' would even be better yet?
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Up here where the Husky's grow, we don't eat that yellow snow!:lol: But I bet its full of nutes!!!!!!!!!
 
peter pepper said:
those of us here in cold weather areas - i bet snow would work the same, don't see why not. maybe next snow I'll collect some and let it melt and use that. do you think 'yellow snow' would even be better yet?
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I've seen many people recommend diluted urine as a fertilizer, so it might work well. Never tried it myself and would be concerned about odor if used indoors:)

I wonder if rainwater really is better, or if it is all (or some) of the other factors of rainy weather that makes the difference. Lower temperatures, higher humidity, that the whole plant gets wet and not just the roots etc etc etc.
 
MrArboc said:
I've seen many people recommend diluted urine as a fertilizer, so it might work well. Never tried it myself and would be concerned about odor if used indoors:)

I wonder if rainwater really is better, or if it is all (or some) of the other factors of rainy weather that makes the difference. Lower temperatures, higher humidity, that the whole plant gets wet and not just the roots etc etc etc.
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Rain does filter the air! So who knows what kind of particles it picks up on the way down.;)
 
joeknowsjolokia said:
Rain does filter the air! So who knows what kind of particles it picks up on the way down.;)
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Most of the nasties are out of the air and onto the ground within 2 hours of a heavy rain. We used to collect and drink the rainwater in LA during the rainy season. Amazing stuff.
 
I watched a kid's show in England (probably London) where they did a basic test with a few plants and the rain watered plants quickly died from the acid in the rain. Crude test but proves you should check your ph and ppm's of your rainwater to be safe if you're near a smoggy city.
 
I used rainwater (or melted snow) last year on my plants and though it didn't hurt anything, I can't say it made much difference. I've used only tap water (I drain it from the toilet tank) but let it sit for a day or two.

Mike
 
joeknowsjolokia said:
Rain does filter the air! So who knows what kind of particles it picks up on the way down.;)
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That should be a real concern for those people who don't use artificial products in fear of poisoning the crop - why bother using clean (?) seaweed and stuff when you don't know what the h*ll is in the water?

I don't live anywhere close to any industry or major road, but still the last of the snow that melts is far from white. Everything that has fallen from the sky during 6 months is concentrated - good things and bad things. I would rather eat yellow snow than that;)
 
Yeah but every medium carries good and bad stuff. It all depends on the parts per million of particles to water. Not to make it difficult, but its not that serious of an issue!:)
 
No need to use rain water here. There is no polluting industry anywhere near here, and almost no traffic. The water from the tap is the best I've ever tasted. When I moved here a year ago I made a phone call to the local water supplier because I needed to know how the water was treated, because of my aquariums. There are no additives, not even chlorine :) And the pH is dead on 7.0. So my tap water is just as clean as the rain water.
 
wordwiz said:
I used rainwater (or melted snow) last year on my plants and though it didn't hurt anything, I can't say it made much difference. I've used only tap water (I drain it from the toilet tank) but let it sit for a day or two.

Mike
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Hey Mike,
Why from the toilet tank and not the faucet? I mean The water that comes into the tank is the same as the water that comes out of your faucet but I am just curious.
 
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