I have a Clathea plant and I live in very hard water area, when I first brought the plant I was watering with normal tap water and it didn't like it one little bit. I have now started to collect rain water in a bucket and today its been lashing down here and the gutter on my block of flats was overflowing so I stuck a bucket under there and collected 6 litres of the stuff. Is it ok to bottle it up in old plastic drinks bottles and store it in those, I am wondering if I should stick them in the fridge or even freeze them to keep it fresh. Many Thanks Jakk
Maybe, maybe not. First things first: Rainwater from a gutter draining off a roof will have a lot more pollutants in it than rain water falling from the sky. You might want to be aware of that. I personally use rainwater from the gutters to divert to trees, but I wouldn't put it in my aquaria or my baby's bottle, right? Area with a lot of air pollution would have a lot of particulates washing off the roof down the gutter. Second, a lot of plastic bottles will leach into the water. Some things could harm your plants, or you, in enough quantity. I store small amounts of rain water in a watering jug, but I also use it up frequently. Freezing might slow down the leaching, and it would prevent mosquito larvae and other things growing in it.
