FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello,

I am trying to understand if my 68ppm rain water stored in rain barrels is safe to use on my VFT and other CPs. It has run off a gravel roof, a metal patio cover and down the gutter. The barrel has a little algae growing because the lid was ajar. The area is covered by a Pecan tree with leaf litter present on the metal roof. As you can see in the photo below, the water is a brownish color coming out of the rain barrels. I live in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

What are thoughts on this? Worth a shot?

The PPM problem could be, all or in part, from the gravel roof. In my area, the gravel all contains limestone, which is a no-no for most carnivorous plants. If I were you I would give it a try on a test plant or two and see what happens. Give it a few months and if the test plants are ok then try a couple of others and so on until you are confident its safe.

Yes, that is a very good point about the alkaline gravel on the roof. Better safe than sorry!

The brown indicates dirt or organic matter from the detritus on the roof or in the gutter or that gets into the barrels, (I assume they are plastic?) which is why the TDS is high. A good clean up may help, or only collecting water after it has rained for 10 mins or so to wash the dirtier stuff away.
Cheers
Steve