Hose water

[Mannex17]

I have three rather large Sarracenia in gallon-sized pots outside on my deck. I tried watering them with gallon jugs of distilled water, but that went very fast, and it was a pain to drive out and get more all of the time.

Recently I've gotten lazy and started using hose water. I live near Pittsburgh, and it seems like our water is pretty crappy, but I hear Sarrs are more tolerant of hard water, and the pots aren't in trays, so after I top-water them, all of the excess water drains.

Can they handle this?

 

[herenorthere]

Do you have a well or is it a public water supply? If public, you can get a copy of their quality data and one of the criteria is total dissolved solids. The lower that number the better. But you should figure out a way to get a better water supply. My supply during the Sarracenia growing season is from the basement dehumidifier. Water dripping from airconditioners and rain water are also good sources. At one time, I even put my wheelbarrow out in the open before any rain and used the water it collected.

 

[sarracenia]

yeah, i'd call the water dept. and get their total dissolved solids avg. for the drinking water. i think i read somewhere that less than 100 ppm is ok for Sarracenia. Where I live, it averages about 120, but I have used it from time to time with no negative effects that I can tell...yet

 

[Mannex17]

That dehumidifier water thing sounds like a good idea.  I'll give it a try when summer heats up.   Is there anywhere where I could get a free water report online?  Or should I just call my water provider and ask?

EDIT: You posted before I did, Sarracenia. I'll just call.

 

[endparenthesis]

Build a rain barrel... I was going to try that soon.

I'm probably going to let mine collect the rain directly though... not from runoff (I have no idea how washing down the roof affects the TDS). It'll fill a lot slower but I don't need much.

 

[BobZ]

Quote[/b] (endparenthesis @ May 10 2006,11:09)]Build a rain barrel... I have no idea how washing down the roof affects the TDS

Usually runoff from the roof is just fine if you discard the initial several minutes. Once the water becomes clear, most of the contaminants have been washed from the roof and subsequent runoff is OK.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Well, I am using hose water this summer. Another drought is on us here and I am out of water. I will use the hose water until the rains hit, then will let the rain pour through the pots, empty and clean the pools and start fresh with good rain water. I grew S. purpurea for 3 seasons using nothing but hose water although the containers did leach out with the rains, so I should be ok. Your water board can answer the question with a phone call as to what PPM your water reads out as. Good luck!

 

[wolf9striker]

I use multiple garbage cans linked together to collect rain. I have one can under the downspout and then it is connected through tubing to another can and so on. I have 5 hooked together, it is amazing the amount of rain that can be collected with one good rain. I was just completly dry and we have been getting rain all day, all 5 are completly filled and they are over flowing. You can by 35 gallon garbage cans for 10 dollars.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

I was going through 3 of those a week, and couldn't have maintained the collection without my garbage cans of rainwater. Remember to keep the lids on so they don't get scummy, and periodically dump the gunk out of the bottom and scrub them out with an old mop when you know a biggie rain is coming.

 

[Mannex17]

Quote[/b] (wolf9striker @ May 10 2006,7:12)]I use multiple garbage cans linked together to collect rain.  I have one can under the downspout and then it is connected through tubing to another can and so on.

How the heck do you "link" the garbage cans together through tubing?

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

I bet the answer has to do with plumbing and PVC pipe......

 

[herenorthere]

Capturing water from a roof is a great idea for people in wetter climates who need a lot of water.  Even if you don't collect the first water from a storm, 1" of rain on 500 sq ft of roof can yield 250 gallons of water.  Since my dehumidifier yields 10 or more gallons per week and that's all I need in the summer, so I've never bothered with anything beyond that.

 

[WildBill]

I have three 55 gallon rain barrels and two 33 gallon barrels. All were FREE from a carwash. They need a real good rinsing out, as they were used to store soap/carwax/simoniz products.

I built a wooden stand from 2x4s to raise the barrel that catches the most water. It's 3 feet off the ground and with the help of gravity, I use 1/2 inch aquarium tubing to siphon water out of it and into gallon containers or the other barrels. Some people put faucet spigots into the bottoms of the barrels, but I didn't want to risk any leaks. You can also get something called a "downspout diverter". There are 'smart' ones that don't let the initial flush of rainwater from the roof go into the barrel, then let the barrel fill, then switch off once the barrel is filled.

Here's an informative website:
Rainbarrel Info

 

[wolf9striker]

Quote[/b] (Mannex17 @ May 10 2006,8:22)]

Quote[/b] (wolf9striker @ May 10 2006,7:12)]I use multiple garbage cans linked together to collect rain. I have one can under the downspout and then it is connected through tubing to another can and so on.

How the heck do you "link" the garbage cans together through tubing?

To link them just buy a length of 3/4" tubing ( I use the clear flexable sort) and drill a hole in the side of two garbage cans with a 5/8" bit. Then just jam the tubing in to connect the two. Beings the tubing is wider then the hole it makes a water tight seal. Then as the garbage can that is under the downspout fills up it starts to fill the next and so on.