Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1998 11:55:32 -0700 (PDT) From: David Falk <dave@sparrowarts.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2258$foo@default> Subject: Re: Water
On Mon, 6 Jul 1998, John Green wrote:
> One very interesting point he made was that using distilled water was
> bad for plants. He said it is similar to people drinking sea water, and the
> water in our tissues being drawn out by the high salt content in sea
> water. Because distilled water has no minerals or solids in it, it may
> draw the minerals out of the plant tissues. I explained that most of the
> plants are left sitting in the water rather than flushing the water through
> the soil, and he said that might be okay, but he still didn't think it was a
> good idea. He said RO water should be fine, but still recommended
> watching the plants closely when using either. He suggested that I get a
> test kit from a local science supply store and check the water after
> boiling it, and maybe compare that with my collected rain water.
Water does not leech minerals out of tissues, rather water has a tendancy
to travel across cellular membrane walls in such a way that the water
travels across the membrane towards the most concentrated solution.
If the water-solution outside the cell is more concentrated with
soluable ions, then the cell will leech water from its own cytoplasm
to balance the concentration. This is why concentrated salt solutions
destroy plant tissue. If the outside solution is less concentrated
than the cell cytoplasm, then the cell will absorb water.
The reason why distilled water is not the best for a lot of plants is
because pure water has a tendancy to leech the soil of minerals. Yet,
for CPs this is a good thing. In most CPs native habitat, nutrients
are scarce. CPs have adapted to these kinds of surroundings. In bogs
there is little decomposition and the rain leeches away what little
nutrients there are.
Hope it helps...
Dave.
-- David Falk URL http://www.SparrowArts.com (dave@sparrowarts.com) Sparrow Arts Gallery of Jewelry and Fine Arts. Featuring original paintings, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, and carvings.
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