Is melted snow good for watering?

[Reiss]

Well, it's snowing like crazy in London and I'm sure my flowering WW would benefit from some good nitrogen rich rain water, so, if I gather up some snow from my garden and leave it in a bucket in the house to melt, is this good for the lady?

Cheers & happy new year

 

[Acuity]

It will contain dissolved pollutants more than it will any beneficial nitrogen. Use tap/RO water, plants don't need melted snow lol.

 

[Reiss]

Thanks,
I've just read an article that snow forms around anything in the atmosphere, be it dust or bacteria!
As London has the worst air quality in Europe, think I'll give the snow idea a miss.

 

[That 5hit]

well milt some snow and test it ph/ec/ppm
there is nothing wrong with snow water

 

[Reiss]

well milt some snow and test it ph/ec/ppm
there is nothing wrong with snow water

If I had that kind of kit, I would!
I only have PH paper test strips which suck if you're a little colour blind.
From what I've read, it's recommended that you boil snow before using it for plants

 

[lozac123]

wtf? tap water is supposed to be pretty bad in the uk for plants cos of the high chlorine amounts in the water, i use it tho. i cant see how snow would be worse than tap water.

 

[Reiss]

wtf? tap water is supposed to be pretty bad in the uk for plants cos of the high chlorine amounts in the water, i use it tho. i cant see how snow would be worse than tap water.

I always let my tap water sit for 24 hours before using it. The chlorine will mostly evaporate.
Snow forms around particles in the atmosphere, tap water is supplied filtered and safe to drink. I think tap water may have the edge if snow is not boiled first to kill off bacteria. As I mentioned, this is London snow.

 

[lozac123]

mmm, true, but still, all plants outside get the snow water, and theyre pretty healthy. when theyre not in -5 temperatures that is.

 

[dura72]

i dont know what the snow in london tastes like but the water is foul i wouldnt brush my teeth with it, dont get me wrong glasgow water isnt much better. im lucky, where i live is sum of the best water in the country if not the world and i'm only a couple of miles from the main resevoir ( where i go fishing, if theres fish in it thats gotta be a good sign). id give the snow a chance but i'd definetly boil it first mate

 

[Reiss]

I agree, brita filtered London tap water is fine but unfiltered ain't too good, the lime scale gets on everything!
My only reason for wanting to use snow is to give my plants a good source of nitrogen. Will boiling deplete any nitrogen? I'm not too up on my chemicals.

 

[SatansGift]

i dont know what the snow in london tastes like but the water is foul i wouldnt brush my teeth with it, dont get me wrong glasgow water isnt much better. im lucky, where i live is sum of the best water in the country if not the world and i'm only a couple of miles from the main resevoir ( where i go fishing, if theres fish in it thats gotta be a good sign). id give the snow a chance but i'd definetly boil it first mate

Fish being in it doesn't always mean a good sign. Onondaga lake, which is located in NY is considered the most polluted lake in North America, yet fish thrive in it. The lake is so polluted that swimming in it is highly dangerous. So just cuz there's fish thriving in the environment you can't say it's a good sign. Since what you're talking about is a reservoir you have no worries.

 

[DST]

Most cleaned and filtered tap water has already been through a humans body at least once....from what I understand. A lot of the worlds infrastructure is quite old and water still needs to be piped to your house. ON the West Coast of Scotland I believe they could loose 50% of the water supply before it reached Glasgow (I think from Loch Kathrine - long time ago) Our water is heavy with calcium, but not bad. I also use rain water...just test it and you should be fine. I can't say if it will provide additional nitrogen. Perhaps if it was yellow snow?

 

[epixbud]

You can use snow/Rain water, NO Problem!
It is good to let it sit for a day After it is all melted tho,
settles All heavy minerals,
so try not to use the bottom 2"...(in otherwords, don't pour it")

BUT, always check the PH and PPM before you add to plants....
Adjust the ph First as needed, then check PPM...
If the PPM is over 300, Get Ride of it and go tap water!
If it's under 250, then it's better then most City water supplies!
if it's 150-, then your dealing with a Half dead RO system....

You got a lawn? tree's around? how bout a feild? did you say you lived in the desert?
They All thrive when it rain's.... and snow is just frozen rain...

Old Northerner Rule......
If the Snow Ain't Yellow, you Can Eat It!


(PS... i think Yellow snow would just Kill them..)
He he he he he

 

[Lil Czr]

... it just takes a hell of a lot of snow to make a little bit of water.

 

[Woomeister]

There really are some wierd threads, use your friggin tap water...grown for 2 decades and always used water straight from the tap, all this nonsense about chlorine and this and that is a waste of breath. Get real, if you want to add extra nitrogen to your FLOWERING plants there is something wrong. Buy some nutes, some correct ones at that. A flowering plant needs only a small amount of N.

 

[Reiss]

There really are some wierd threads, use your friggin tap water...grown for 2 decades and always used water straight from the tap, all this nonsense about chlorine and this and that is a waste of breath. Get real, if you want to add extra nitrogen to your FLOWERING plants there is something wrong. Buy some nutes, some correct ones at that. A flowering plant needs only a small amount of N.

There is something wrong with my plant that I'm attempting to correct, I just thought that snow may be an improvement on tap water that I might as well tale advantage of, so no, not a weird thread.

Tap water is different from city to city, just because you have never had to worry about chlorine, doesn't mean others dont.

 

[Woomeister]

chlorine in the amount added to uk water has no effects on plant life...if yours does then your water should not be piped to your house as it contains illegal amounts. How does your water smell? Yes asking about using snow is wierd bro, why not buy some nitrogen from a b&q for £2.99, if you are convinced thats whats wrong?

 

[smitty420420]

luv having my own well

 

[dura72]

Most cleaned and filtered tap water has already been through a humans body at least once....from what I understand. A lot of the worlds infrastructure is quite old and water still needs to be piped to your house. ON the West Coast of Scotland I believe they could loose 50% of the water supply before it reached Glasgow (I think from Loch Kathrine - long time ago) Our water is heavy with calcium, but not bad. I also use rain water...just test it and you should be fine. I can't say if it will provide additional nitrogen. Perhaps if it was yellow snow?

its the afton resevoir i'm talking about, straight off the hills. no farm burns running in so no chemicals feeding it. its got a water treatment plant further down but the water is a golden colour due to a lotta peat deposits on the surrounding hills. and i suppose the closer u r to it the less pipe its travelling. thats gotta help.

 

[Eternal]

chlorine in the amount added to uk water has no effects on plant life...if yours does then your water should not be piped to your house as it contains illegal amounts. How does your water smell? Yes asking about using snow is wierd bro, why not buy some nitrogen from a b&q for £2.99, if you are convinced thats whats wrong?

chlorine will kill helpful bacteria and also harmful bacteria. sort of a 50/50.

i don't see why the idea to use snow or rain water is weird at all, in fact i think you are weird for thinking that way. it's free and has no chlorine or chloramine added (although there will be a small amount of PPM from the atmosphere). Chloramine, from what i understand does not evaporate and most municipalities are now using it to keep chlorine levels from swinging. one good point is that you need alot of snow to fill a 5gal bucket as water expands alot when it freezes.

besides, maybe you didnt realize but the plants outside seem to be doing fine with rain water lol.

that being said nothing beats R/O if you really want pure water. plants will thank you for it just be sure to use ca-mg+