Water temps for watering and foliar applications.

[Ne Obliviscaris]

Does anyone cool or heat the water they use? I often heat the solution I use as a foliar spray in order to better get the neem oil into solution, but I try and bring it down to room temp before spraying. For normal watering with or wthout nutes I use the coldest water I can get out of the tap (filtered, but that doesnt seem to adjust temp)

Has anyone actually looked at absorption rates for different temps for root and foliar watering?

BTW I run soil in 5 gallon roots pots.

 

[hiboy]

Use a wetting agent for ur neem to mix right , or a couple drops of dishwashing soap.
Not sure about the temps for foilar, but i know that ph ing is not required .
h

 

[Ne Obliviscaris]

^^^I use a drop of soap to help emulsify the neem, but i still find heating it up helps it get in solution.

But regardless, my question is what is the ideal temp for both watering and foliar applications, or does it not matter unless at the extremes?

 

[dankworth]

Watering like irrigation, according to Janus's treatise on growing(look it up on this site, full of good stuff) says best for nute uptake is 7-9 degrees below ambient. I try for 70-71 degrees. My room runs around 79-80 degrees.

I will try foliar at same temp.

 

[blackcat]

You can also manipulate water temps to push your plant.. I.e. Colder res temp in flowering to stimulate reproduction. Sorry to throw centigrade at you but the region I work in is 18 celsius at lowest, 24 celsius at highest. Remember lower temp means more oxygen so I shoot for 20 celsius at most times. My thermos are all broken and I'm broke so I just go by hand feel. You learn to get a grip of it after awhile. As for foliar I have always used room temp.... Not sure how good of an idea is to spray anything warmer on your plants. Or colder, for that matter.

 

[Ne Obliviscaris]

Blackcat, I assume you're running a hydro set up, I'm in soil, so it might be different since the soil temp is going to mediate the temperature of the roots.

In terms of foliar applications my thinking was that temperature might affect absorption rates. If you're just using something protective like neem its not an issue, but if you're actually doing foliar feeds, where the plant is absorbing nutes through its leaves, then temperature very well might affect the rate of absorption. Sorry if I wasn't clear in my original post about what I was referring to.