New discussion on R.O. water

[Ray]

Jerry, whether it's an internal reservoir (my pot design), and external one (pot tray) or large nursery tray is irrelevant. And yes, I occasionally forget to water enough to keep the reservoirs full too. "Constantly" full is the goal.

I recommend against using shared trays, though, as that common bath is the ideal way to share plant pathogens!

[Jerry Delaney]

No argument from me Ray about sharing the same "bath water". At one time, I only had about half a dozen Phrags and each had it's own separate saucer (the little clear round plastic tray for setting pots in) and they didn't have to "share". Unfortunately, I suffer from an incurable disease that my wife has termed as "one of" disease (you know, just have to have one of these and one of those) and the half dozen grew into over 4 dozen! As a result, space became a huge problem so pot edge to pot edge they went into a single large tray! Being an industrial microbiologist nearly all my working life, I should know better, huh. It has become a case of "do as I say, not as I do". Just to prove how dumb I am, I am in the process of putting together another Phrag order!!

[nhman]

Here in New Hampshire, esp in this season and in these recent days, I just go out, scoop up some more fresh fallen snow and let it melt. Repeat as needed. Fresh, clean water!!

[orchids3]

Chuckle, When I retired in Connecticut I tied a snow shove to the front of my car and drove south until noone knew what it was - thats were I stayed.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by nhman

Here in New Hampshire, esp in this season and in these recent days, I just go out, scoop up some more fresh fallen snow and let it melt. Repeat as needed. Fresh, clean water!!

That's too funny! I tried that once, but at 10% moisture, it takes 50 "gallons" of snow to make the 5 gallons of water I use each watering. Since many of mine are watered daily, I would have zero snow build up by spring!

[Damon]

Originally Posted by Ross

Reverse Osmosis water has been discussed here, nearly to death. But one factor that comes up a lot is that it may be "wasteful", in some folks eyes.

I did a pretty exhaustive search on the web this afternoon, and based on what I came up with, plus my personal knowledge having used R.O. water for years, I came up with:

1) RO is wasteful - well it appears, that may or may not, be the case depending on where you live and the type of unit you install. According to this web site: About.com: http://www.osmonics.com/products/page833.htm , reverse osmosis systems are often pressure systems that appear (to me) to have little waste. That is the case with Culligen systems and lots of commercial Home Depot style systems as well.

2) "Waste" may be a relative thing, depending on where you live. I personally live in one of the Great Lakes States where water seems to be in abundance. If I am not in error, several of the lower mid-west states' Governors recently tried a maneuver to get a canal dug to drain water from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River to allow barges to float! This might be a definition of waste. So if water is pressed though a membrain and a certain amount is cast off to "go down the drain" - where does that water go? In my case (and most others) it goes back to the source. In my case, that is back to ground water. In the case of the Floridians enjoying RO water, that is the gulf or the Atlantic - slightly higher in salt.

3) Lots of people here seem to be struggling with how to best get water to their orchids in the highest quality within their means. RO is very affordable and very earth friendly. I only hope this thread serves to start a meaningful discussion with backed-up evidence.

Thanks a lot for sharing your views on Reverse Osmosis water.I hope this information helps.