Free water

[jackb]

Miss Ava and I are now into growing carnivorous plants, lots of them. We tried previously, but we did not realize that tap water is deadly to carnivorous plants. This time we started out using distilled water, but buying it and lugging it home is a chore. We decided to collect rain water, which is ideal of this type of plant. As the greenhouse was recently pressure washed we decided to use it to collect rainwater. Rain is not going to be a problem where we live, it rained every day last week. Also, I cut and placed pressure treated wood around the base of the greenhouse to protect the panels when I weed whack.
jackb

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Sundews, love those things! That one must be Drosera rotundifolia? So far I've only grown some of the Sarracenia pitchter plants and a few different varieties of venus fly-trap (dark red variety, saw-toothed variety, and a variety with extra large traps. I haven't been able to find anything but the American pitchers and flytraps offered for sale.

What other bug-eating plants are you growing? Good luck!

 

[jackb]

We have several varieties of Drosera, several unique pitcher plants and the standard fly trap. Try eBay for seeds, there are loads of them for sale. One seller has hybrid pitcher plants he crosses himself, unique, for about two dollars plus shipping. The plants in the photo came from a package of 100 mixed seeds. She wrote that you must try to identify the plant after you grow it.
jackb

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Thanks!

 

[so lucky]

That is great, Jack! You have a lot of patience. Hey, soon you will be having to grow some insects to feed to your plants. Kinda sounds like gardeners' revenge, don't you think?

 

[jackb]

I am NOT a bug person. We got that covered though, as they can be fed betta pellets, crushed and mixed in a small amount of water administered with a pipette. That I can deal with easily.
jackb

 

[digitS']

I collect water off the carport roof. It is a metal roof and covers one-half of a small garage. I put the thing there but forget how long that is.

There is no gutter but that roof slope collects an amazing amount of rain or snow. Two or three 5-gallon buckets set at the dripline will be completely filled after a little 1/4" storm.

Since the greenhouse door is just a step away, it is easy to fill the watering basin in there during the early days of its operation. Now, that is all finished.

Not a single cookie box with tiny seedlings in there. Flats of 4-packs must take a gallon at a time. Pots of 3 1/2" size must take 2 gallons! Oh well, at their most vulnerable time, it was rainwater. The good stuff.

Steve

 

[jackb]

This is Drosera indica, which looks like it belongs on another planet. Some day I am going to do a time lapse of one of them eating a bug.
jackb

 

[Jared77]

Too cool! Good to know about the betta pellets & a pipette. Can you show us the set up? Are they growing in open air in the greenhouse?

 

[jackb]

I put them outside during the day so they can hunt and put them in the greenhouse at night. If it is raining hard I leave them in the greenhouse.



jackb