Rainwater – ideal for watering purposes

Water is a valuable resource. And it is slightly wasteful – and much too expensive – to water your garden using drinking water from the tap. In addition, calcareous tap water can even damage sensitive plants. Rain, on the other hand, falls down from the sky for free. Modern rainwater containers collect this precious resource and store it ready for use.

Valuable and expensive, but also beneficial?

Water is just water, isn’t it? However, it does make a difference whether we use tap water or rainwater for garden irrigation. Depending on the region and the water source, tap water can for example contain dissolved substances incorporated from the local soil. These can be minerals such as calcium and magnesium, but also lime.
Many plants such as ferns, rhododendrons or blueberries are sensitive to a high lime content in soil. Therefore, before using tap water to water your plants, you should be aware of its hardness.
In addition, a high carbonate hardness in irrigation water can increase the pH value, i.e. the degree of acidity of the soil. Most of the nutrients are slow to dissolve. This has an adverse effect on plants which prefer an acidic soil. Cold tap water can even put plants into shock on hot days. This additionally weakens them in the heat.

Free and environmentally friendly

Rainwater, on the other hand, is the ideal irrigation water. It is neither too cold nor too calcareous for sensitive plants. Rainwater does not additives which might damage plants, such as chlorine or fluorine. It is also an inexpensive and environmentally friendly solution. It reduces the consumption of our precious drinking water resources. On average, Germany has approximately 800 litres per square metre of rainfall per year, which can be collected for garden irrigation.
In small gardens, a simple rainwater tank placed under the downpipe suffices as a collection container for watering flowers. A cover protects against contamination and stops mosquitoes using the water on which to lay their eggs.
During irrigation using sprinklers, sprayers or an economical drip system, pumps for example help to transport the water out of rainwater tanks, wells or cisterns. This is even possible using a battery pump should no power connection be available. Those who are uncertain which pump might be the correct one for their respective application can find assistance in the pump advisor.