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Rain water

Steveo h

Steveo h

New member
Just a thought. If I were to use clean rain water in my bucket... aside from Cal Mag , is there enough nitrogen in it that I should back off the nitrogen containing nutes ??
 
Where is the rain water collected? If it's from a roof that has asphalt shingles you will be collecting oil petroleum in it besides bird poo and that type of contaminants. Just a heads up rain water sounds great but there are pitfalls you should be aware of. Just trying to give you a heads up not discourage. If you have a pond or water source like that it would be leaps above rain water collected off asphalt shingles.
 
I believe most rain water contains a high amount of nitrogen. During veg cycle the plants need a lot of nitrogen, so adding it through a nutrient may be okay. Once in bloom cycle, where a lower nitrogen level is desired, the rainwater may be too high. I don't know of a way to test the amount of nitrogen in your rain water, but I'm sure there must be a way.
 
Horace Kemp said:
Where is the rain water collected? If it's from a roof that has asphalt shingles you will be collecting oil petroleum in it besides bird poo and that type of contaminants. Just a heads up rain water sounds great but there are pitfalls you should be aware of. Just trying to give you a heads up not discourage. If you have a pond or water source like that it would be leaps above rain water collected off asphalt shingles.
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That's a very good point. Most rain water collection systems are collecting the water from downspout, so it is running off the roof.
 
Here in the Southwest our roof is all tile. Under tile is plastic liner. Some cement but No glues or adhesives or tar used weight of tile holds everything in place.
 

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We have a good old fashioned tar and asphalt shingles roof. Not the cleanest to say the least, but my house plants love it. If I know we are going to have a nice steady rain, I take off the bottom piece of downspout and put a 5 gallon bucket there to catch it. Maybe 4 or 5 times a year is all I do it. Would love to have a rain barrel with purifier system.
 
The key is keep the water from getting stagnant, Unless you can use it as fast as you catch it. Sitting water round this neck of the woods breeds mosquitos. Nasty critters.
 
I'd just take precaution of use of rainwater not trying to discourage just a heads up on the risk of use. I thought the same thing rainwater would be great if I could collect it without all the extra contamination. So I just use filtered water from the tap. It's not the best thing just all I got right now. Good luck with it barrels around here go for about ten each sometimes fifteen. Get food grade type at least they don't leach plastics into water. Or a clean metal one.
 
If you are growing in good healthy soil, the rain water should be good for your plants. One would still need to be watchful for the signs of nutrient deficiencies and adjust or augment the feeding schedule appropriately. I would not recommend using rain water in a hydro set up because the air contains almost every known bacteria, mold spores, funguses, pollen, small insects, and all sorts of things (not to be mentioned in good company (lol)). Using rain water in a hydroponic set up could give you more problems than benefits.
 
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