Tap water vs. rain water
Hi Guys, I have been collecting rain water and storing it in large containers for watering and feeding. I was just reading an article that indicated that rain water might make my feeding solution too acidic. The idea being that the fert manufacturers compensate in the chemistry of their product to allow for the tendency of tap water to be on the basic side. Does this mean that I am better off mixing my fertilizing solution using tap water? I live in Stuart Florida and I'm not sure what the PH factor is in our water. I know it is quite soft. There is no water softener in my townhouse so I guess the city water is fairly alkaline. Also our water has flouride added much to my displeasure. What effect would this have if any? Any thoughts on this. I'm mostly interested in fertiliser mixtures. Right now I use a commercial 20-14-13 fertilizer and a 11-35-15 bloom booster when spike appears. Any advice would be appreciated.
This is an exerpt from the article I read ......"Without going into solubility details of the specific ions, research has shown that a pH of around 5.5-6.5 is ideal for the vast majority of orchids. Remember that the chemistry of your nutrient solution is determined by both the fertilizer and your water supply. Figuring that most people will use tapwater, most general-purpose formulas are designed with a generic array of dissolved solids in mind, so will provide a good pH when used out of the box. If those are used in pure water - reverse osmosis, distilled, deionized, or collected rainwater - it is likely that the pH will be extremely acidic and not suitable for the plants. In that case, the addition of a neutralizer is necessary, whether that be aquarium "pH-Up," Dyna-Gro ProTekt, or some other means. Recognizing the importance of pH in the overall equation of plant nutrition, the blend developed for Michigan State University's study was designed to provide the proper pH when used with pure water."
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