I have 4 ivy plants, 2 watered with tap water, and 2 watered with melted snow. I want know which one is better. I would think that the melted snow would be better because it is fresh, from our earth's natural resources.
However I am unable to find any supporting research. Can you please help?
Thank you!!!
What is better for watering plants, tap water or melted snow
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ChrisG
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Hi spdy,
Have you thought about how to measure what will make one water "better" than another?
Where does your tap water originate? From a public water supply, or a private well? If it is from a public water supply, do you know whether the water originates from surface water reservoirs, or from ground water wells?
There is a lot of research dealing with the effects of certain dissolved chemicals on various plants. It might be more difficult to find information on "snow melt" versus "tap water" because the dissolved constituents can vary for either type of water. You should try to find out as much as possible about the chemistry of the two water types. For the snow melt, one place to start is the National Atmospheric Deposition Program:
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/
For the tap water, you can try to contact your local water supplier (if your water is from a public water supply company) and/ or you can post back here with more information about your tap water supply so that we can help further.
Have you thought about how to measure what will make one water "better" than another?
Where does your tap water originate? From a public water supply, or a private well? If it is from a public water supply, do you know whether the water originates from surface water reservoirs, or from ground water wells?
There is a lot of research dealing with the effects of certain dissolved chemicals on various plants. It might be more difficult to find information on "snow melt" versus "tap water" because the dissolved constituents can vary for either type of water. You should try to find out as much as possible about the chemistry of the two water types. For the snow melt, one place to start is the National Atmospheric Deposition Program:
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/
For the tap water, you can try to contact your local water supplier (if your water is from a public water supply company) and/ or you can post back here with more information about your tap water supply so that we can help further.
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Bob.Burkhart
- Former Expert
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- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:04 pm
Water Sources and Plant Growth
The fact that there is no direct reference makes your project even more interesting!
Check out general effects of water sources and effects on plant growth at the following site to start you off:
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A-140.pdf
Also, some general knowledge about caring for plants can be found on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient
Once you have the foundation, you can measure the content of the water from the two sources, or prove the hypothesis by growing plants using similar environments varying only the water source used to keep them hydrated.
Good luck.
Check out general effects of water sources and effects on plant growth at the following site to start you off:
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A-140.pdf
Also, some general knowledge about caring for plants can be found on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient
Once you have the foundation, you can measure the content of the water from the two sources, or prove the hypothesis by growing plants using similar environments varying only the water source used to keep them hydrated.
Good luck.
Hope this helps,
-Bob-
-Bob-
Re: Water Sources and Plant Growth
You might want to research acid rain. Just because it comes from the sky does not make it pure. It could be that your snow also has pollution in it. Do you have any of the water left over that you could test the pH of or do other water quality tests.Bob.Burkhart wrote:The fact that there is no direct reference makes your project even more interesting!
Check out general effects of water sources and effects on plant growth at the following site to start you off:
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A-140.pdf
Also, some general knowledge about caring for plants can be found on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient
Once you have the foundation, you can measure the content of the water from the two sources, or prove the hypothesis by growing plants using similar environments varying only the water source used to keep them hydrated.
Good luck.
Louise