Does anyone here use rain water for their orchids?
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last yearlast modified: last yearMeyermike(Zone 6a Ma.) thanked Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, ALtsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
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Comments (18)Corrie, Here is another advert I just read re: eliminating chloramine: Removing Chloramines from Water Chloramine, which consists of a mixture of chlorine and ammonia, is added to the water of many cities as a substitute for free chlorine. It is often referred to in the plural, as "chloramines," because it can take on a number of forms according to the pH and mineral content of the water. The whole reduction discussion for chloramines can become quite complex, but the main thing you need to know is that chloramine is removed from water with essentially the same strategies that are used to remove chlorine. This means that carbon filtration is the best removal method, and, contrary to urban legends, filter carbon does indeed remove chloramine. The problem is that it takes more carbon and more contact time to do the job. In practical terms this means that if your city disinfects your tap water with chloramines youÂll need to get a larger and better carbon filter than you would need if chlorine alone were used. For drinking water you can consider high quality carbon units like Multi-Pure, or double and triple units that use lots of carbon. And, contrary to another widely promoted myth, reverse osmosis units do remove chloramine. In fact, they do it well, because any good RO unit contains a couple of carbon filters and the water gets an extra slow pass through the first one. In choosing carbon for chloramine removal, a specially prepared carbon called "catalytic" carbon is far superior to regular carbon. Catalytic carbon is a specifically processed grade of filter carbon that is designed especially for, among other things, exceptional chloramine removal. Your thoughts?? Raybo...See MoreDoes anyone use this method? Growing orchids in glass bowls?
Comments (4)Depends upon the plants and light source. Glass bowls and vases do not allow for a lot of air movement which many chids require. Furthermore, for high light chids, there is the danger of cooking the plant or roots in a glass container on a sunny sill. Just because you see people on YouTube doing it, doesn't mean it is a good idea. There is a lot of misinforming garbage on YouTube. (Still see all sorts of folks trying to promote keeping cacti and succulents in such containers, for example.) A vanda completely inside such a container is not likely to be a good idea long term. I have known folks who have grown vandas with the plant body on top of a tall vase with the roots dangling down into the vase. Generally rocks or glass pebbles were added to the bottom inch or two of a large vase for looks and ballast. Only a small amount of water among the rocks was allowed to remain. Watering the plant was done by misting with a spray bottle or take the plant out and over to the shower/sink/hose for a good wetting before putting back in the vase....See MoreDo you use rain or tap water? How important is it to your plants?
Comments (29)Wow, very interesting everyone on all your views and what you all do. As for me I will answer my own questions too in the hopes it will help others also) I was wondering if many here uses rain water and consider it a very important to the success to your orchids? Yes, I do and when I do the roots always look more vibrant and healthy. When I use tap, it discolors my pots, roots to my orchids and seems to make many of the tips of my plants turn brown. Take for instant 'ptothos'. I can't use tap water. I can't use my tap water on my palms, carnivorous plants, ferns and mosses along with all of my orchids. How do you collect it? I collect water in a 30 gallon bucket from my roof from a roof gutter that pours it straight into it. Then I use a hose and sifon all the water I collect into my 30 gallon buckets in my basement. 6 to be exact. Enough to last me thorugh the whole year when I keep refilling. I do use tap water for all outside plants and baskets. Do you use bottled water? Not for plants , just for humidifer use along with bottled water. Tap water would destroy my machines. Do you use tap? Only for outdoor plants, and to flush out my orchids, which I will come right behind when I have time and rinse with rain water. Do you flush your orchid pots and how often? Yes, once a week at least. The roots always fatten up and turn a rich green . When I just water or use a sprayer, the roots seem to stay partially dehydrated anyways. Why do you you use rain water? It's cleaner, very low TDS (2ppm). Rainwater also contains a little nitrogen. Do you SOAK your orchids or just water them in? Both) Do you feel it's important to spray your orchids and why? I do this to wet everything near where my orchids sit, and top moisten the top layer of many of them while the bottom still dries out. It's easier for me to do this with mounted ones. those I can't reach in the green house, and to keep the spider mites in check and leaves clean. Do you use a humidifier? A BIG FAT yes!! I don't use one in my greenhouse or my sunroom that does not have a heating system in there. I do use one in my sunny warm heated room uspstairs where I sleep and where all my plants reside of the air in there would be bone dry and warm. Do you measure the moisture in the growin room? I use a standard humidity/temp meter. I have to know how much humidity I have in there to make sure there is not too much to prevent mold issues and too little to prevent plant issues. So I adjust my humdifier accordingly. Thansks for all the feedabck. I had no idea about water and the issues they can prevent like explained above. I wish I could afford to use a RO machine or I would do that too. Thanks everyone....See MoreDoes anyone here have experience using quartz on shower walls?
Comments (4)$80 would be rock bottom. Not sure I‘d trust anyone who charged the same amount as a counter top. This is much harder than you think. The material has to actually be able to travel through the house and through the bathroom door. Very often, that route isn’t large enough to have that happen, and walls must be taken down, and rebuilt, just to get it in the bathroom. Now, the bath walls have to be super flat and plumb. That requires reframing all of lf them, or sistering all of them. Before the job is ever templated. You don’t get to cut a faucet hole in it after it’s installed. Your shower stub outs are fixed in place, and this has to fit precisely. Plus the stainless lugs in the studs that this has to mount to, etc. $100 a square would be more the starting point. And only a very few folks in each region are going to really have the skill to start thinking about this....See MoreBillsc
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