Rain water health

[Dollythehun]

👍

[isurus79]

Seems like a bunch of extra work to filter out stuff the plants don't care about! My plants get unfiltered rainwater with tannins along with whatever bird/squirrel/fox has pooed on the roof. Not gonna lie, my plants look damn good.

[estación seca]

I only filter out the leaves and large stuff because it's going to be sitting inside lidded black plastic garbage barrels, and I don't want stuff molding in there.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Seems like a bunch of extra work to filter out stuff the plants don't care about! My plants get unfiltered rainwater with tannins along with whatever bird/squirrel/fox has pooed on the roof. Not gonna lie, my plants look damn good.

And humility runs in your family...

Lol. Jk. I couldn’t resist. Your plants are quite lovely, as is your water storage.

ES, 900 gallons? How do you move that by yourself? Is this in many linked 55gal drums or are you using hogsheads or those water totes with the steel exo?

I am trying to even understand those numbers

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Seems like a bunch of extra work to filter out stuff the plants don't care about!

I agree.

Per my earlier post, the only reason I filter at all is that I am later going to use that water in a pump sprayer (which would clog if I didn't filter).

My collected rain water, before filtration, is full of all kinds of recognizable stuff. Mine is collected off of a large glass-topped patio table, which I prop up on one side before a big rain (produces a clear runoff point). Bird poop on the table before rain is gone after, so it's in the bucket. There are all sorts of bug and spider molted exoskeletons and other bug body parts, and the usual large and small plant bits. Dust, grit, and pollen sometimes makes it through the filter, sometimes doesn't. All of that stuff puts nutrients into the water. If you can water it on your plants outdoors, unfiltered or minimally filtered, even better.

[Dollythehun]

Thanks all. My mind is set at ease. I'll water away as I have been.

[Ray]

To give you further ease, when I lived in KY, most houses in the area had underground concrete cisterns that collected rainwater off the roof for general household use - drinking, cooking and washing.

[Dollythehun]

Ewww. My mind is eased. TY all.

[DirtyCoconuts]

yeah but now i am imagining cooking and washing in my orchid water and MY mind is horrified LOL

[Leafmite]

I always get a lovely array of black specks in my collected water...from coal-burning electricity generating plants or a refinery, most likely. Very pleasant to think that is in our air we are breathing.