Rainwater is the best type of water to use on houseplants. In the summer, I use the water from my rain barrels and my houseplants love it. Unfortunately, during the winter the water in my rain barrels would be frozen solid if I left them outside.
Collect Snow To Water Indoor Plants
Using Snow To Water Houseplants
So, as an alternative to using rainwater, I melt snow during the winter to use for watering my houseplants – which is just as good as using rainwater. Sounds like a brilliant idea, right? Well, it is but (there’s always a “but”, right)… not all snow is created equal. Keep reading to see what I mean.
Using Snow To Water Plants
How To Melt Snow To Water Houseplants
Supplies Needed:
-
- Large buckets (I recommend using 5 gallon sized buckets)
- Shovel
- Strainer
- Large Funnel
- Watering cans (or other containers to store the water, I use milk jugs)
First, grab your buckets and a shovel and head outside. Make sure you collect the cleanest snow you can, I go out into my backyard where the snow is pretty much undisturbed (steer clear of rabbit and other animal turds). Also, don’t collect snow that is located near the street, a driveway or sidewalk where salt or ice melt was used. These chemicals will harm your houseplants.
Related Post: 10 Garden-Safe Snow Removal Tips To Prevent Salt Damage To Plants
Collecting Snow To Water Houseplants
As you fill the buckets, pack the snow in as tightly as you can. Once the buckets are full, bring them into the house to let the snow melt. It takes longer than you would expect for the snow to melt, so plan ahead. For a 5 gallon bucket of snow, it takes about two days to melt completely.
Related Post: How To Keep Indoor Plants Alive In Winter
After the snow has melted, it’s time to transfer the water into your watering can or milk jugs. This part is a little tricky to do by yourself, so you might need someone to help until you get the hang of it. Make sure to lay down some old towels, or do this in the bathtub juuuust in case you end up spilling water all over the floor (speaking from experience here… ehem). As you pour the melted snow into the watering cans, run the water through a strainer to remove any debris.
Melted Snow For Plants
How Much Water Do You Get From Melting Snow?
Weeeeeellll, that depends. Remember earlier when I said that not all snow is created equal? Now I get to explain what I mean… When I fill my 5 gallon buckets with light, fluffy snow I get less water than I do when I fill them with heavy, wet snow. That makes sense right, since heavy snow holds more water. So, if you want to get the maximum amount of water for your efforts, then collect snow to water houseplants after a heavy snowfall.
To give you an idea of yield… with lighter snow, these three 5 gallon buckets of snow yielded almost six gallons of water, not too bad. After a heavy, slushy snowfall these same three buckets yielded eleven and a half gallons of water. That’s much better!
Straining Melted Snow To Water Houseplants
Storing Melted Snow To Water Houseplants
Before you can use the melted snow to water your houseplants, it must be warmed to room temperature first. Icy water can be harmful to houseplants. As I mentioned before, I store the water I get from melting snow in milk jugs, but you can use any type of watering can you would use to store rainwater. I try to keep my watering jugs full at all times. So, after I water my houseplants, I collect more snow to fill the jugs again. That way, I always have room temperature water for my houseplants on hand when I need it.
Related Post: Houseplants Don’t Like Drafts
Melting snow is more work than simply using tap water. But, it’s really not that much more work – and it’s SO much better for the plants! It takes me less than ten minutes to collect the snow, and then another 5-10 minutes to pour it into my watering jugs. Although, this is another one of those things I do where I’m pretty sure my neighbors are rolling their eyes and laughing at me. But it’s worth it; I have extremely healthy houseplants!
Have you ever tried to collect and melt snow to water your houseplants? Tell me about your experiences in the comments below.
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Julie says
Okay Amy, this is one of those "why didn't I think of that!" moments! Lord knows I have enough cat litter bins around my place too! I'm so good about giving my plants rainwater all summer but then winter comes and the houseplants get our tap water which is quite high in iron and who knows what else. Thanks for sharing!
Amy - Get Busy Gardening says
LOL Julie! I used to always use tap water during the winter too. I can tell a difference in the health of my plants now that I use melted snow. Glad I could give you a new idea. 🙂
Amy
PlantPostings says
Hmmm, I wish it yielded more water. But, still, a good idea!
Amy - Get Busy Gardening says
I agree. But once I knew how much water to expect, it wasn't so bad. I only use about 10 gallons each time I water my plants… and in the winter, I don't water very often.
Amy
Stephanie says
Great idea! I wonder how long you could keep this water. “Harvest” snow in winter and store it to water the garden during a dry stretch in the summer. I was recently lamenting the mountains of snow in the backyard and thinking, come August, when it’s hot and dry I will be wishing for some of this water that’s just sitting there!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You should consider getting a couple of rain barrels. That way, you could fill them up with snow, and capture rainwater too.
Amy
corners says
You can use the same 5 gallon buckets to collect rain water in the summer also. Now, if its a heavy rain i wait 10 minutes before putting them out. That way a lot of the pollen and dirt debris on your roof will have been washed away already. You can tell when its good water, its very clear.
If you get a lot of snow, id take the first few inches off the top, and use whats in-between. Try to avoid snowbank snow, it usually has so much mystery debris its not worth the trouble.
corners says
Oh, i trap rain water because i grow mostly carnivorous plants, and using tap water for my other plants causes magnesium deficiency issues after a while of use.I never get that problem with rain water
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome! My houseplants all grow much happier since I started using rain water/snow year round. 🙂
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great tip! I have a couple of rain barrels that I use to collect water, love them!
Rebecca says
I use rainwater and melt snow too. The plants are way healthier. My neighbors probably think I am a kook but my houseplants love me! The last few years I have been trading out my tropicals for edibles. Now I nibble on my houseplants.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Haha!! I know what you mean, I’m sure my neighbors have stopped wondering what the heck I’m doing long ago! 🙂
Lee MacArthur says
When temps warm up, I shovel a ton of snow into my 32 gallon trash bins so it can melt in there to use over the summer. This means that if the year is a bit dryer, I still have a good supply of water to use.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great idea!
Chelc | Inside the Fox Den says
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday, hope to see you again next week!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂