i did not know rain water was ppm of 3-5 basically ro water..

[freddyyola]

i hear its full of nitrogen but did not know its ppm was so low, for now im catching rain for all my feedings..

[LosTweed]

Whats ppm?

[freddyyola]

parts per million

[LosTweed]

Whats high

[LosTweed]

Me.....me..me

[DrPhoton]

This was my initial reaction after being told rain contained high levels of nitrogen due to atmospheric contamination. Im sure some places might have high levels, but for the most part i believe rain water is quite pure.

[hycheese]

@Campesino
The Day of the Triffids

[hycheese]

The Day of the Triffids is definitely worth watching, you will not be disappointed.

[Chefbjy]

Think it's a hybrid movie maybe 60/40 😆

[LosTweed]

Rain water is drinkable

[DrPhoton]

Facepalm 🤦♂️

[hycheese]

This was my initial reaction after being told rain contained high levels of nitrogen due to atmospheric contamination. Im sure some places might have high levels, but for the most part i believe rain water is quite pure.

Campesino commented
"Yes, it takes bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen. They convert N2 (Atmospheric nitrogen) into NH4+ (Ammonium). Other bacteria convert NH4+ into nitrites and then nitrates (NO3-) which are taken up by the plant. With chemical fertilizers we add nitrates which are ready to be absorbed."

Camp, You got me beat on nitrogen fixation but to be fair I changed my major after 2 years of chemistry to electronics in 1982 then 10 years later couldn't figure out why an electronic level sensor didn't work with rainwater, duh.

[DrPhoton]

Beats me, i leave the soil/hydroponics to Campesino now. All i know is that EC measures electrical conductivity, which is any impurity in a solution. Regardless what state it is. So it is a low concentration of whatever form it is.

[Flockshot]

I no longer agree that RO, or rain, water is better than tap water. My water contains a host of trace minerals plus things like calcium in it's EC 0.2. I works just fine and is a lot less trouble. Just say'n

[freddyyola]

yeah not everyone has the same water that comes out the faucet some has well water some has city water and they differ by location so that would make it different for growers in different areas, you might be able to get by with using your tap water but others might not.. some peoples water dont have calcium or not enough and rather have stuff you dont want to be drinking or feeding to your plants..

again this is all up to the grower and the choices they choose to make! free will baby! lol

[freddyyola]

i have well water and its around 200 ppm i dont drink it but its prob fine to do so, the ph is too low ill double check but i think its like 5 and rain water is closer to 6 and already has a low ppm with a little bit of nitrogen and mostly because its the most natural way plants get their water.. ill use either the rain or well water no i dont care enough to go buy a ro filter or anything fancy..

[starramus]

au naturale....the only way to go.

[9fingerleafs]

Just be ware destiled water aka rain will fuck up ph pens. My well tap water is 700ppm totally unacceptable. I mix with my drinking bottled water 15ppm to a base 350ppm and then add nutrients

[LosTweed]

Distilled verse rain water... can’t be comparable

[9fingerleafs]

Why not? It is the same evaporation - condensation cycle