On 5/07/2015 9:02 PM, Emery Davis wrote:
Was wondering about this as I watched a very welcome rain shower this
morning, but couldn't find much information. Hoping one of our resident
chemists might know something about it.

We all know that root oxygenation is super important for our plants

I didn't know that and this post is the first I've ever heard of it.

and
in pots can be difficult if soil becomes compacted and/or water logged.
One remedy I've found is using hydrogen peroxide to super-saturate water
for pots, where the plants seem to really appreciate it.

Watching the rain I imagined that rainfall has a high dissolved oxygen
saturation point. But then I wondered, since raindrops form at fairly
high altitudes, maybe this is not so? But anyway rolling across the roof
and down a pipe should oxygenate the rainwater, so that upon filling the
water butt should have healthy saturation levels. After sitting around
for a month though, perhaps not... it does get a bit of a stink to it.

Would this water be essentially anoxic and so problematic to water with?
Or does pouring it into buckets and shaking it around oxygenate
sufficiently?

Enquiring minds, and all that... TIA for any insights.

Indeed. Now I'm going to have to find out about "root oxygenation".
I'd always been told that rainwater was good for plants because it
contained nitrogen.