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Thread: Water Quality: It does make a difference.

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  1. #31
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    I live outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I have a rain barrel for summer. I was also wondering how my plants would do using the water out of our Koi pond. That probably has a lot of good nutrients. Next summer. For now, I'll use straight well water.

  2. #32
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    Kyleigh
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    Does this water from the dehumidifier really do the trick? I'm ​so intrigued!

  3. #33
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    I used to use dehumidifier water through the summer up until a few years ago and will be using it again for the plants in the basement. My collection has grown a bit so use rain water for the most part.

  4. #34
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    In Chennai, India I use RO water and Tap water intermittently.
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  5. #35
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    Geoff Hands
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    Chlorine and other halides are no problem. Just natural disinfectants. The two essential factors are ionic content, (see below) measured as EC, and acidity measured as pH.
    Disas grow ontheedge of streams formed by condensationfrom theclouds which (3 days out of 4 ) cap the mountain tops in South Africa. that water is extremely pure, but the rock etc is very acidic. I have sampled it -the water and got readings below 200 microSiemens , and acidity as low as 4.5.
    But it is an interesting question - how far these conditions are essential to grow them. Disas are not the easiest orchids.
    As to ionic content , not everything ionises. I have a theory , that it is the ionisable stuff which is potentially harmful. I think that what happens in any medium is similartowhat happens in electroplating , when the heavy metals moveto the cathode ( or it the anode ? No matter ) which effetivelyconcentratestge potentiallypoisonous stuff on the roots. too complex to explain further here, but anyone into electro-chemistry may catch my drift.

    And yes I use R O , as my tap water is 500 microSiemens and pH 7.8, and rain water collected from my roof is frequently contaminated bybirds, leaves, pollen etc ( I live ontheedge of forest ). Modern pumped, essentially pumped, R O systems are very efficient, give me water at 11 microSiemens, no problem.

  6. #36
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    I have no issue with a few bird droppings in the rain water but living in the city there is a problem with carbon buildup, mainly from car emissions. In the colder months the rain barrels are not out ( the water would freeze and crack the barrel) so I place buckets under the spout. I have to discard the water for the 1st 1/2 hour or so as the roof rinses off. The water in the pails looks like sewer sludge. I use a small pump positioned 6" off the bottom of the barrel when they are out. As an aside, I live on a minor bird migration route. One day 3 years ago I had 41 robins in my backyard.

  7. #37
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    I have alway been puzzled about water quality needed by orchids ! Thank you all for explaining things in such detail ! My two orchids are growing happily on my mango tree and temperature is at 38 degrees Centigrade. I hose the plants with tap water and spray them with RO water everyday. I depend on water to keep them cool and hopefully keep the humidity at required levels .Looking forward to see whether the Dendrobium phalanopsis orchids will reward me with blooms one day!
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    ---------- Post Merged at 04:49 AM ----------

    I have alway been puzzled about water quality needed by orchids ! Thank you all for explaining things in such detail ! My two orchids are growing happily on my mango tree and temperature is at 38 degrees Centigrade. I hose the plants with tap water and spray them with RO water everyday. I depend on water to keep them cool and hopefully keep the humidity at required levels .Looking forward to see whether the Dendrobium phalanopsis orchids will reward me with blooms one day!
    Posted via Mobile Device

  8. #38
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    Only gets to those kind of temperatures occasionally here Sninan. I hide in the basement when it does and only go out when I have to. I water my mounted plants and vanda 2-3 times a day in the summer.

  9. #39
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    Geoff Hands
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    Quote Originally Posted by uncasteeb View Post
    In the UK the use of waterbutts( large plastic containers) is very popular.These catch rain from the down pipes from the guttering.The roofing materials in the UK is mostly inert( slates , concrete etc) so no impurities leech into the water..
    WHOA there, correction, if by "concrete" you mean red clay tiles - by far and away the commonest roofing material in UK, you are way out when you say nothing leaches from them. Frost tends to lift microscopic amounts, and extreme variations in temperature does the same . Do you realise that those tiles have to be replaced when they get so thin that the rain goes through them ? OK that takes about 100 years on the average, but all that cementitious material has found its way into the rain tub in that time. The worst is after a long hot dry spell - OK that doesn't happen very often -but it does happen from time to time, and roof tiles get very hot just with sunshine. BUT I have been growing orchids for more than 50 years in UK and using pH meters on my water supply for most of that time. i have seen pH readings so high you would not believe in double figures. Do NOT assume that because its rain off the roof it is safe for orchids... Or if I were still trading selling orchids, I would give you the opposite advice , how good for sales that would be, you buying replacements .

  10. #40
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    Elio
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    The quality of irrigation water is essential for good cultivation.
    Where you live, the water is bad for plants a PH over 8.0, as well as leaving annoying whitish spots on the leaves, with time lime crystallizes on the traditional suffocation.
    For crops it is essential to use rainwater, properly treated and brought to optimal values, or reverse osmosis.
    The first forces us to a collection, taking care not to contaminate it, store it, etc.
    For convenience I opted for reverse osmosis, use at ppm 50 and PH 6.2 (optimal values ​​for almost all orchids, except for some exceptions, eg paph bellatulum, which likes a higher PH, about 7.0).
    For fertilizers, I prepare three different concentrations to support the exogenations of the various species, force 1, ppm 300, force 1/2, ppm 150, force 1/4, ppm 80.
    Ppm 300 for Phalaenopsis;
    Ppm 150 for dendrobium, some bulbophyllum and almost all paphiopedilum (some require smaller concentrations, such as micranthum and particularly sensitive ones, so that the roots of roots are not run off, it is advisable to run the solution after about two hours of administration).
    Also the paph. They splatter on calcific and no, the bark is prepared in a mododiversity, but this is another topic.
    Ppm 80, for many rafts, for Chiloschista minor concentrations, or for Scaphosepalum Rapax I do

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