rain water - Page 4

 


I use rain water for the garden at our other farm.  That farm has no
electricity, so the water is gravity fed from a header tank on a hill (we
pump the water up to the header tank using a petrol driven fire fighting
pump from the rainwater tank connected to the guttering of the house).  I
don't use a lot of it given that it isn't our primary residence.

I agree with David about the size of the water recepticles you plan to use.
Our tanks hold 5,000 gallons and that sort of tank is the very minimum I'd
want to be of any use.  However, having said that, I do have a friend who
uses small containers in a village near me.  She uses it because of severe
water restrictions and it keeps her garden alive during +40 degree C days
over summer.

 



Rain water has nitrogen in it. City water does not. Plants love nitrogen.

Depends where you live and the size of your garden. I have five 55
gallon rain barrels and works just fine for me. It rains often enough in
Michigan were I do not need that much extra water. Just enough to get
through those slightly drier August summers. If it really gets dry, I
put an inline hose filter and the water the garden. I am on a well
system and chlorine is not a problem for me.

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

 



Explain how you have nitrogen in your rain water, and no chlorine in
your well, please.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

 

In article


The atmosphere contains about 80 percent nitrogen. Lightning storms
pulls some of that nitrogen out of the atmosphere in the rain. Page 42
in your book "Omnivores Dilemma Book by Pollan". Thank darwin he has an
index in his book. My understanding even without lightning there is
still some small amounts of nitrogen in rain. Nitrogen is short lived in
water.

Many cities adds chlorine to their water to kill off the biologicals. I
do not think chlorine is a natural product in natures water supply.

Your chemistry is probably a lot better than mine. Lets say I have no
added chlorine to my well water. The softener does contain salt, sodium
chloride a natural product, which I do not believe is the same as
chlorine.

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

 



Electrical discharges (lightning) in Earth's early atmosphere, which
contained no oxygen and a great deal of methane created some of the
amino acids (the building blocks of protein).

Maybe it's not required for private dwellings, just public consumption,
but, yeah, it kills off the nasty enteric bacteria (E. coli 0157:H7,
salmonella, Clostridium, usw.)

You are correct, sir (sodium+ & chloride-, not Cl2).
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html