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Post by RuBisCO on Apr 16, 2016 17:54:39 GMT -5
Well I am getting ready for outdoor sarracenia growing this season. I am getting an irrigation system ready and I can do one of two things. I can hook the drip system to a rain barrel and get a special low pressure water timer for the gravity feed, or use my outdoor sprinkler water that I measured at 80-85ppm TDS. On some online resources it indicates that as long as the water is <100 ppm it should be ok to use for this application. I gather that with the rain that will fall it will further dilute the 85ppm or so that comes out of the tap and I should be ok? It will make it really easy to do with the system I have with a normal water timer and drip system into a series of mini bog pots. Does this sound like a viable system for sarracenia growth? Don't want to stress the plants too much. Input appreciated....
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Post by lloyd on Apr 16, 2016 19:44:04 GMT -5
85 PPM might be OK. I always go with water with < 25 PPM and most of the time it's ~ 0 PPM from rain water. Maybe you should try a control with < 25 PPM water and one with the 85 PPM and keep a close eye on them. Any loss of vigour of the 85 PPM pot and you do a vigorous rinse with 0 PPM and switch to the < 25 PPM.
You can build up a pretty good store of rainwater with a little ingenuity and work. I did it just with trays, bins & pots and used orange juice containers.
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Post by stevebooth on Apr 18, 2016 7:17:09 GMT -5
You could use it (I would use it as an emergency supply) but as LLoyd suggests you would be better off with a much lower ppm level if at all possible, not least because if it is in a closed system, i.e. a bog with no drain or limited drainage or a tray drain under pots, the ppm level, unless flushed thoroughly and frequently, will get greater, due to evaporation and will quickly surpass safe levels.
Cheers Steve
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Post by RuBisCO on Apr 19, 2016 22:32:28 GMT -5
I am planning on doing a minibog setup like that described in the ICPS website where there will be a 'flow through' of water from rain/irrigation above with a vented drain up to an adjustable level at the side of the pot. This way there will be no concentration effect from evaporation. Effectively the 84ppm from the irrigation will be constantly diluted from rainwater that falls on the plants. I will post pictures when I get to the setup but I think it will be ok. I have acquired all the bits and pieces so far from the irrigation system to the venting drains with bulkhead fittings. I have large potters that are square and tall and of light coloured plastic. 84ppm should be the most concentrated the plants see as long as the irrigation is set to an adequate flow to compensat evaporation. Will be easier explained by pictures I think.
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Post by RuBisCO on Apr 21, 2016 22:59:19 GMT -5
To better elaborate on why the 84ppm water should hopefully be ok... The following shows what I did to get ready for my sarracenia that will be outdoor in a south facing area quite open with ++ sun. I got a nice pale coloured bucket to not get too hot in the sun inside view drilled a half inch hole using a 1/2 inch bulkhead-type fitting for electrical conduit (water tight) available at hardware shops Lowes/Rona/Home Depot installed with basic thread tape and the supplied washer then a vent is brought up the side to desired water level in the pot So there will be the irrigation dripper flowing into the top (not shown as I don't have the lines run yet) on a timer depending on the demand and the water will trickle down through and flow out the bottom through the above venting system to a t-connection out to runoff. This will maintain a pool of water inside that is adjustable based on where the top of the drain vent sits. So no concentration effect should occur as a result of evaporation, and any rainwater that falls naturally on the pots outside would effectively dilute the 84 ppm or so that comes out of the taps at home. There will be a weed block internal filtration baggy to prevent loss of media. This setup is taken from(and described better) here ICPS www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/GrowingEnvirons/SarraceniaDeck.php
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Post by amanitovirosa on Apr 21, 2016 23:10:34 GMT -5
...this setup will work for you no problem. Haha, I use the same electrical fittings for some of my water hook ups. The water I use for all of my plants is collected from my greenhouse roof, it then goes through a sophisticated filtration system (dollar store sponge, only to filter out debris that would otherwise clog sprayers). I have never measured the PPM, my plants do just fine. Nice work man, good luck with the rest of your setup. Cheers.
AV.
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Post by danyoh on Apr 21, 2016 23:23:18 GMT -5
Great ideas! I plan to do the same but still looking for the best method that suits me...
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Post by RuBisCO on May 3, 2016 22:34:44 GMT -5
Minibogs are all plumbed, media mixed and filled. and voila! Next is to finalize position in the yard and set up the irrigation and let the sun do the work!
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