Water is essential for plants: yes, but what water?
Tap water seems much easier to use, but could rainwater be more beneficial for plants?
Our answers.
To discover
February: what vegetables and fruits are in season?
Is the composition of rainwater softer?
To water rose bushes, the lawn or the vegetable garden, rainwater is both a natural and economical solution for outdoor and indoor plants.
Untreated, it has the advantage of being free of limescale, unlike tap water.
In addition, it is poor in minerals, chlorine and fluorine.
Its pH is slightly acidic, but it is rich in nutrients necessary for plant survival.
It is also composed in greater or lesser quantities depending on the location, of sulfates, sodium, calcium, ammonium, as well as nitrates.
The temperature of the rain, close to the ambient climate, helps to avoid a possible thermal shock to the roots which receive it during watering.
On the other hand, it is advisable not to use rainwater too frequently if your home is in a coastal area.
In fact, it may contain sea salt, an element that most plants cannot tolerate.
Thus, in general, it has a less aggressive composition for the health of plants and their development in optimal conditions.
However, according to the Water Information Center,
“during its formation and during its fall, rainwater is loaded with different mineral elements and
pollutants
which make it less pure and sometimes even very polluted in the case of acid rain.
Rainwater cannot be equated with drinking water.”
Also readGarden: 5 tips for collecting rainwater
Oxygen in rainwater
Generally, warm waters contain less oxygen than cold waters.
Rainwater, at room temperature (when it is collected) is average.
On the other hand, rainwater that falls directly from the sky on plants is rich in oxygen.
This helps prevent asphyxiation of plants.
To know
According to a study conducted by scientists at Stockholm University and published in 2022, rainwater on earth is unfit for consumption due to the presence of toxic chemicals exceeding recommended thresholds.