Would anyone be willing to do these sprout test/comparisons?

[raweater]

I've been meaning to test this for a while but haven't yet had time and was wondering if anyone would be willing to do these tests which require 2 identical sprouting devices, 1 microwave, and one reverse osmosis filter.

I'd like to test RO water VS. microwaved RO water which was allowed to cool. Apparently microwaved water kills plants, I'd like to see if it's really true.

Then I'd like to test RO water VS tap water to see if all the chemicals in tap water have any effect in 5 days on the sprouts compared to RO watered sprouts.

If no one has the equipment or time to do it I'll try to find time in the next few weeks to do these tests and will report the results.

If anyone does them please take daily photos of the sprout progress.

Thanks

[MysticTree]

I'll be interested in the results but I have neither a microwave nor a RO filter.

I always use unfiltered water for sprouting and everything grows fine.

[raweater]

I found this interesting video, distilled water seems the worst, RO might be the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-iqB6w_x2o&feature=related

Another video was done on plants grown on soil with filtered water, microwaved filtered water, and stove top boiled water, in that case the unheated water did best, perhaps because it had good bacteria or something that the heating killed.

[GreginND]

I liKe experiments. Maybe I'll try this. What do you suggest I try to sprout? Would it matter?

[MysticTree]

I liKe experiments. Maybe I'll try this. What do you suggest I try to sprout? Would it matter?
I would suggest something that already has a good germination rate like radish.

[DebB]

I don't have a microwave, but I do have an RO filter. I use RO water exclusively during the sprouting process and everything I sprout does great. I've never once had a mold problem.

The only time I use tap water for rinsing is when I sprout buckwheat because it takes a lot of water to rinse off all that slimey stuff and would run my RO tank empty in no time.

Here's a picture of alfalfa sprouts and sunflower greens (which were soaked and watered with RO water).

[raweater]

I'm not sure if the type of sprout would matter, but sprouts have the benefit that you can grow hundreds of plants at once which give more reliable results than just 1 plant in each test group.

I'll try to test this after the new year.

BTW my RO tank "exploded internally" a few years ago so I replaced it with a huge tank that can fill a 20 liter water cooler bottle in one go! In case you aren't aware those pressure tanks for RO filters are split in 2 sections inside by a rubber bladder, one half is filled with compressed air and the other half fills with water. The compressed air causes the tank to always be pressurized which is what allows the water to flow out of the tank without requiring a pump. What happened is that my rubber membrane must have ruptured, causing the compressed air and water to end up together. Nothing noticeable happens when it ruptures (other than maybe a sound if you're there when it happens), but once you open the tap you clearly see there's a problem as you how have a stream of compressed air coming out your faucet instead of water!

So if one day you have compressed air coming out of your filtered water faucet, it means your tank exploded inside, and you have the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger model like I did, though it took experimentation to calibrate the air pressure with a bicycle pump, as too little pressure and the tank won't eject all its water, and too much and the tank won't fill completely, I did it by trial and error.

[MysticTree]

I'm not sure if the type of sprout would matter

The type of sprout would make a difference. Some seeds have a much higher germination rate than others. For this experiment you'd want to be sure that any loss of germination was down to the growing methods rather than the unreliability of the seeds.

[RawDad]

I use my own home distilled water to soak, rinse, and sprout nuts and seeds, and it works great. I don't want any chemicals in my sprouts, nuts, and seeds! I'm a huge advocate of distilling besides the electrical cost of about .50-.75 cents a gallon.

[MysticTree]

I don't want any chemicals in my sprouts, nuts, and seeds!

Everything in the world is made up of chemicals!

[raweater]

Everything in the world is made up of chemicals!

There's a huge difference between natural chemicals and chemicals synthesized from petroleum. One proof is that synthetic vitamins are toxic and cause disease while providing no benefits while natural vitamins, even though identical under a microscope, have the absolute opposite effect on the body.

[MysticTree]

There's a huge difference between natural chemicals and chemicals synthesized from petroleum. One proof is that synthetic vitamins are toxic and cause disease while providing no benefits while natural vitamins, even though identical under a microscope, have the absolute opposite effect on the body.

so you need to be specific!

[raweater]

I use my own home distilled water to soak, rinse, and sprout nuts and seeds, and it works great. I don't want any chemicals in my sprouts, nuts, and seeds! I'm a huge advocate of distilling besides the electrical cost of about .50-.75 cents a gallon.

I'd highly recommend a reverse osmosis filter instead which is only $100-150 on eBay, you end up with as pure or purer water at a faster rate and without astronomical electrical bills while also being environmentally friendly. It takes absolutely huge amounts of electricity to distill when reverse osmosis does the same while consuming no power at all (it runs on the pressure of the incoming water), and saves you lots of trouble.

But in either case, you should add a bit of salt to the water you drink because minerals travel from highest concentration to lowest, and the pure water these 2 technologies produce has no minerals at all, meaning they can cause minerals to be removed from your body, so they essentially have a negative nutritional value. I add about 1/2 tsp of Himalayan salt or 1 tbsp of brine to a 20 liter water bottle, this brings it up from 0 ppm to about 150-250 ppm total dissolved minerals.

[PunkRotten]

I've done my sprouts a few times with filtered water. But majority I do it with tap water and everything sprouts fine. I also water my garden from the hose, which is tap and plants still thrive.

[raweater]

I'd recommend filtered water even for sprouts (but definitely for drinking), don't forget sprouts end up being 90% the water you feed them, and tap water is loaded with toxic chemicals and endless studies proven beyond a doubt that drinking tap water dramatically increases cancer and heart disease risk, and if your water is also fluoridated, it caused many other diseases as well as increasing cancer risk even more.

[MysticTree]

I'd recommend filtered water even for sprouts (but definitely for drinking), don't forget sprouts end up being 90% the water you feed them, and tap water is loaded with toxic chemicals and endless studies proven beyond a doubt that drinking tap water dramatically increases cancer and heart disease risk, and if your water is also fluoridated, it caused many other diseases as well as increasing cancer risk even more.

A list of these studies and the areas in which they were carried out would be helpful.