Rainwater and Steam Distilled Water - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Leafmite · #11 06-01-2023, 02:53 PM

The problem with distilled water is it does not have any minerals and most fertilizers expect you to be using tap water so they do not have these minerals or enough of these minerals. Rain water actually collects stuff from the air (The water I collect during a rain is pretty dirty). Most orchids grow where there are either many critters or pockets of decaying leaves and so the plants get the nutrients that they need.

When I switched from Pond water (ornamental pond, filled with both tap and rain water) to distilled water, for the first time, I experienced Calcium deficiency...in a huge way. I call it the 'Black Death' because I lost so many really great Cattleyas and a few other orchids. I used a fertilizer for orchids but I did not know that it was not complete, that it expected the water used with it to have minerals. Even when I used the MSU for rain water, I still had issues.

I use tap water now for all my plants but the Carnivorous plants. My orchids seem fine with it even though the water is hard, probably because our water contains a nice amount of Calcium.

WaterWitchin · #12 06-02-2023, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiOrcDen

Thank you for this, I can appreciate the concept!

I was wondering, what about this type of setup...

I have found a system where you can set up a small sprinkler system with a pump in a reservoir, perhaps a high drinking water jug, or something bigger.

So, suppose I use a steam distiller to produce very pure water. What if I set up this sprinkler system to sprinkle lightly at frequent intervals throughout the day. Wouldn't this be somewhat like a light rain throughout the day? (Or if possible (don't know if this'd work better or worse) have a constant light sprinkle all day)

And since you mentioned that you cannot overwater a mounted orchid... why not mount all Orchids and sprinkle throughout the day with the steam distilled water? (I'm sure there's a good answer, just wondering what that might be!)

I am very curious, though, whether the first setup I described would work well??

Ummm, an automatic sprinkler or misting system isn't a new concept. Yes, they're great. I've been using a MistKing system for a couple of decades now on my orchids and a few other plants, and I certainly wasn't a ground breaker. It's how the big boys have been watering in nurseries and greenhouses since forever.

Why not mount all orchids and set up automatic watering? That's great if you have the desire and can afford the area and equipment to do so. And have different areas for ones who wouldn't like that setup. There's no one size fits all in the plant world, and orchids are also just plants.

There are a lot of folks who want some orchids but don't have the space, or money, or desire to care for that many plants. And setting up a system to distill, then putting it into an irrigation system with a reservoir the size of a tall drinking container? That idea boggles my mind.

Leave distilled anything to the pros who bottle it for irons, sterilizing medical equipment, using in lead batteries, etc, and the moonshiners who've perfected the distillation process for profit. It's not necessary and it's expensive to distill it. Then you have the expense of adding back in the minerals you took out in order to make it suitable for plants in general. Why even consider it?

The KISS system works well in many arenas, including growing plants.