Watering

[Ray]

Water quality varies all over the map - literally and figuratively (see AOS article) - and all orchids can benefit from the use of pure water.

I don't know what you pay for purified water out west, but the best price I've seen here on the east coast is $0.79/gallon. If you want to get serious about using it for your orchids, you'll save money by purchasing an RO system - not to mention not having to lug bottles home from the store!

For folks with smaller collections, in apartments, I build counter-top systems that one can connect to the sink spigot, fill up your jugs, then just put it away until you need it again. Dividing the relatively small purchase price by the minimum RO production before any filters are replaced, the cost is $0.09/gallon (most folks are getting 33%-50% more gallons out than the minimum). In the long run, replacing filters on the recommended frequency, that drops to $0.0475 during the life of the membrane (6000 gallons of pure water produced). Going forward, that drops even more.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Originally Posted by Ray

Water quality varies all over the map - literally and figuratively (see AOS article) - and all orchids can benefit from the use of pure water.

I don't know what you pay for purified water out west, but the best price I've seen here on the east coast is $0.79/gallon. If you want to get serious about using it for your orchids, you'll save money by purchasing an RO system - not to mention not having to lug bottles home from the store!

For folks with smaller collections, in apartments, I build counter-top systems that one can connect to the sink spigot, fill up your jugs, then just put it away until you need it again. Dividing the relatively small purchase price by the minimum RO production before any filters are replaced, the cost is $0.09/gallon (most folks are getting 33%-50% more gallons out than the minimum). In the long run, replacing filters on the recommended frequency, that drops to $0.0475 during the life of the membrane (6000 gallons of pure water produced). Going forward, that drops even more.

^^ I agree with this, even though I haven't done it yet. I am paying .25 for a bit over 2 gallons. It's not bad but I am getting tired of lugging bottles in the winter. At least in the summer I only do it for my humidifiers as I use rain water for the plants.

One of these days Ray, one of these days.