Tap Water for monthly flush?

[smokinjoe1952]

I am currently using distilled water and K-lite fertilizer for normal watering. I use a concentrated batch of K-lite, then mix to a concentration of 25 ppm N, which is used each time I water.

However, I use tap water to thoroughly flush the plants once each month. I flush right out of the faucet.

My question for this thread is: Is flushing with tap water OK once each month? I don't want to be adding more " bad stuff" than I am flushing out.

I have been buying gallon jugs of distilled water at the grocery store @ .99 cents each. I noticed that I can also buy RO water at only .39 if bought in 5 gal containers.

I would rather not hassle with it if you water experts think that tap water is OK for the monthly flush. I realize it may depend on what is in the water, so my municipal water dept. sent me a report. It appears that TDS is about 325. I can provide specific details from the water report if necessary.

I believe my most water quality sensitive plants a are couple Phrags and Paphs.


Thanks in advance for any feedback.

SJ

[jkofferdahl]

If you have a water quality report then you already have your answer. Look at it and look at the neediest orchids you grow and decide.

The tap water where I live is fine, and my orchids are thriving with it. I've previously lived in places where that wasn't the case. And I would hope that nobody in Flint, MI, ever watered their orchids with local tap water!

[Salixx]

If you drink your tap water, there's probably no real bad stuff in your water. Of course, that's not saying it isn't hard and thus bad for many orchids, just not toxic.

I don't know about Phrags, but look at where your Paphs come from or what's in their lineage (if you know). Some might do better in hard water if they come from places where they grow in limestone.

You can buy a gH test kit designed for aquariums fairly cheap to get a general idea of what your water looks like and go from there.

FWIW, my less sensitive plants in S/H get their regular waterings with 1/2 tap and 1/2 RO. I flush them once a month with straight RO. This would be mostly my Catts, Oncs, Paphs and misc. types. Sensitive plants, like the Masdevallias never get tap unless it's something urgent.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by Salixx

If you drink your tap water, there's probably no real bad stuff in your water. Of course, that's not saying it isn't hard and thus bad for many orchids, just not toxic.

I don't know about Phrags, but look at where your Paphs come from or what's in their lineage (if you know). Some might do better in hard water if they come from places where they grow in limestone.

You can buy a gH test kit designed for aquariums fairly cheap to get a general idea of what your water looks like and go from there.

FWIW, my less sensitive plants in S/H get their regular waterings with 1/2 tap and 1/2 RO. I flush them once a month with straight RO. This would be mostly my Catts, Oncs, Paphs and misc. types. Sensitive plants, like the Masdevallias never get tap unless it's something urgent.

As he said, he's got a water report. It has all of the data he'll need.

[Salixx]

Oops, I must be going blind! I missed a whole paragraph! That makes more sense why you said what you did jk...

My apologies.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by Salixx

Oops, I must be going blind! I missed a whole paragraph! That makes more sense why you said what you did jk...

My apologies.

No apology necessary! You actually gave me a nice laugh (sorry, it was at your expense). I figured you had just missed that line.

[Orchid Whisperer]

TDS of 325 ppm is pretty high. I am guessing you live somewhere in the western USA, near an ocean, or someplace with a lot of limestone, shale, buried salt, glacial till, etc. Regardless, if you water with distilled water, but flush with high TDS water, your flush may be making matters worse, not better.

If you get rainfall somewhat often, and your city/county does not restrict you from collecting it yourself, and you own your own home, consider installing a rain barrel. Or, depending on how many plants you have, consider installing a home reverse osmosis (RO) unit.

[smokinjoe1952]

Sorry for being too wordy!

I live in eastern Iowa.

The reason I don't get a low end RO system, is that I don't think you can run them once a month, and then them sit idle for 30 days...which is what i would want to do.

I may consider adding some tap water to my distilled water for normal watering. It seems like many growers do that for buffering/pH control.

I might get a 5 gallons of RO water from the grocery store, and see if I can get all my plants (~17) flushed with that amount of water. If so, I might make the switch to flushing with RO water.

As far as reading the water report, I understand what TDS represents, and how it relates to orchids, but am not really knowledgeable about max. amounts of the specific solids detailed in the water report.

SJ

[Ray]

1) If you want your plants to grow best, flush them at every watering by flooding the pots with your dilute fertilizer solution, and letting them drain.

2) I'm not sure why - if you use purified water for your regular watering, that your RO system would sit idle for a month, but even if that was the case, as long as you leave the system full of water to prevent the membrane from drying out, it's really no problem.

[smokinjoe1952]

1. I really wish I could, but they are in a grow chamber, a little ways away from the sink, and in the 2 pot systems which are harder to flush.

2. I really only use about 4 gallons of water for watering each month. I would want the RO system to generate those 4 gallons, then enough for a monthly flush. Then I would disconnect it from the sink until next the month.

Ray - If I would get your low end model, I assume it has a CTA membrane, and that, as you say, the (chlorinated) water residing in the unit would prevent serious biological blooms and the membrane from drying out.

Would that be accurate?