Silicon - Effects Of On Cannabis

[safeman]

There is soild scientific basis for using "silicon" with marijuana cultivation - subpost to boost yields, ect. ----anyone ever use this ? from what I understand it helps plants produce strong trichomes when given silicon plants transport sisicon given to the roots from roots to trichomes making them stronger and tough. any information will be appreciated - best silicon is ?

 

[Vegan4life]

Yes, "Agsil16H Potassium Silicate" from buildasoil check it out on their website.

 

[BarnacleBill]

From what I've read researching this in the past your looking for a supplement of silca dioxide at least 8% in order for proper uptake by the plant. A lot are in the 2%-4% range and are believed inadequate. In addition you are going to have to pay close attention to your pH level as it will lower your pH levels being acidic in nature. I had thought about using it in the past but never followed through since I am in a continual battle with highly acidic soils and water where I live. I believe Royal Queen Seeds had some info on using silica and some links to various studies. If you use it good luck and let me know how you fare.

 

[safeman]

From what I've read researching this in the past your looking for a supplement of silca dioxide at least 8% in order for proper uptake by the plant. A lot are in the 2%-4% range and are believed inadequate. In addition you are going to have to pay close attention to your pH level as it will lower your pH levels being acidic in nature. I had thought about using it in the past but never followed through since I am in a continual battle with highly acidic soils and water where I live. I believe Royal Queen Seeds had some info on using silica and some links to various studies. If you use it good luck and let me know how you fare.

Thanks for the information !! might be too much for me to use because I don't really check PH . See were many companies have a "silica" product --- if you were to use one - what product/company would you use ? Isn't there some addmendent one can use to bring down tha acidic amounts ?

 

[Vegan4life]

There is soild scientific basis for using "silicon" with marijuana cultivation - subpost to boost yields, ect. ----anyone ever use this ? from what I understand it helps plants produce strong trichomes when given silicon plants transport sisicon given to the roots from roots to trichomes making them stronger and tough. any information will be appreciated - best silicon is ?

This is from Buildasoil website

Silica - The Hidden Cost of ChemicalsA major mineral is missing in many soils and most soil tests do not even monitor its presence. This mineral can increase stress resistance, boost photosynthesis and chlorophyll content, improve drought resistance, salt tolerance and soil fertility and prevent lodging. lt can also reduce insect pressure, frost damage and destructive disease while lowering irrigation rates, neutralizing heavy metal toxicity and countering the negative effects of excess sodium. If I were to tell you that this same missing mineral can increase root growth, boost yield and enhance crop quality, you could well ask, “how could we have overlooked something so important?” and you would be correct. It has been a serious oversight. The mineral in question is silicon, and science is rapidly revealing the scope and scale of our silicon neglect.
Poverty in a Sea of AbundanceSilicon is not classed as an essential nutrient, but, in response to a wealth of new findings highlighting the importance of this nutrient, that status may soon change. Silicon is the second most abundant mineral on the planet. It is everywhere. Clays are alumina silicates and sand is largely silicon, so how could there be a shortage of silicon? The answer lies in the form of silicon that enters the plant. Plants uptake silicon as silicicacid and this is what is missing in the soil. Something we have done in conventional agriculture appears to have compromised the conversion of insoluble silicon into the plant available form. It may reflect a mineral imbalance or we may have knocked out some of the soil microbe species that solubilise this mineral. It is not yet understood what drove the widespread deficiency but we do know that a healthy, disease suppressive soil should contain 100 ppm of monosilicic acid (as measured in a soil analysis) and very few soils come anywhere near that mark!Little was known about the multiple roles of silicon until recently. It was known to be present in every soil but it was only when it became less plant available that it was realized that there may be a link between this loss and a host of growing problems. During the last decade, silicon seems to have become “flavor of the month” in the soil science community. Researchers have delved more deeply and hundreds of papers have been presented at the International Silicon Conferences in Brazil and South Africa. This neglected mineral is now emerging as a key player in proactive pest and disease management and the production of nutrient dense food. If you are not yet aware of the silicon story then this article should serve to fill some gaps.
In ConclusionProactivity is the essence of the biological approach. If you understand how plants protect themselves, then you provide the necessary components to maximise that process and minimize the need for chemical intervention. In this context, silicon is an essential pre-requisite for proactive pest and stress management and should be an integral part of every good nutrition program.

 

[safeman]

This is from Buildasoil website

Silica - The Hidden Cost of ChemicalsA major mineral is missing in many soils and most soil tests do not even monitor its presence. This mineral can increase stress resistance, boost photosynthesis and chlorophyll content, improve drought resistance, salt tolerance and soil fertility and prevent lodging. lt can also reduce insect pressure, frost damage and destructive disease while lowering irrigation rates, neutralizing heavy metal toxicity and countering the negative effects of excess sodium. If I were to tell you that this same missing mineral can increase root growth, boost yield and enhance crop quality, you could well ask, “how could we have overlooked something so important?” and you would be correct. It has been a serious oversight. The mineral in question is silicon, and science is rapidly revealing the scope and scale of our silicon neglect.
Poverty in a Sea of AbundanceSilicon is not classed as an essential nutrient, but, in response to a wealth of new findings highlighting the importance of this nutrient, that status may soon change. Silicon is the second most abundant mineral on the planet. It is everywhere. Clays are alumina silicates and sand is largely silicon, so how could there be a shortage of silicon? The answer lies in the form of silicon that enters the plant. Plants uptake silicon as silicicacid and this is what is missing in the soil. Something we have done in conventional agriculture appears to have compromised the conversion of insoluble silicon into the plant available form. It may reflect a mineral imbalance or we may have knocked out some of the soil microbe species that solubilise this mineral. It is not yet understood what drove the widespread deficiency but we do know that a healthy, disease suppressive soil should contain 100 ppm of monosilicic acid (as measured in a soil analysis) and very few soils come anywhere near that mark!Little was known about the multiple roles of silicon until recently. It was known to be present in every soil but it was only when it became less plant available that it was realized that there may be a link between this loss and a host of growing problems. During the last decade, silicon seems to have become “flavor of the month” in the soil science community. Researchers have delved more deeply and hundreds of papers have been presented at the International Silicon Conferences in Brazil and South Africa. This neglected mineral is now emerging as a key player in proactive pest and disease management and the production of nutrient dense food. If you are not yet aware of the silicon story then this article should serve to fill some gaps.
In ConclusionProactivity is the essence of the biological approach. If you understand how plants protect themselves, then you provide the necessary components to maximise that process and minimize the need for chemical intervention. In this context, silicon is an essential pre-requisite for proactive pest and stress management and should be an integral part of every good nutrition program.

Understand now ---Thanks !

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Any silica that I have used has raised the Ph dramatically.
This thread states that it lowers the Ph... help me I'm confused here. We must be talking about different things.

 

[Vegan4life]

Any silica that I have used has raised the Ph dramatically.
This thread states that it lowers the Ph... help me I'm confused here. We must be talking about different things.

Some growers foliar feed with it

 

[Bob Loblaw]

When my RO filter gets weak I too foliar feed with it. The reason I switch to foliar feed is because it raises the Ph too much.

Again this thread states that it is somekind acid and that it lowers the Ph. Can both these be true? In my case I use like .8ml to 3 gallons of clean RO water any more than that & i would need to add Ph down when I'm done mixing.

Mine is Growtech pro-silicate 0-0-4. It raises the Ph dramatically and I have to be very careful with it.

Last thing I want to do is argue something I know very little about, I'm just scratching my head as to how we are claiming opposites.

 

[UrbanGardner]

I have read but not tried rice hulls are a good silica source. Also Wollastonite 1g/l. VANSIL W-10 is a brand name.

Edit: Wollastonite is also a good source of calcium

 

[Vegan4life]

When my RO filter gets weak I too foliar feed with it. The reason I switch to foliar feed is because it raises the Ph too much.

Again this thread states that it is somekind acid and that it lowers the Ph. Can both these be true? In my case I use like .8ml to 3 gallons of clean RO water any more than that & i would need to add Ph down when I'm done mixing.

Mine is Growtech pro-silicate 0-0-4. It raises the Ph dramatically and I have to be very careful with it.

Last thing I want to do is argue something I know very little about, I'm just scratching my head as to how we are claiming opposites.

Looks like the Grotek is for Hydro/ soilless mediums, I grow in LOS, PH not really a issue for me…

 

[Roy Growin]

Any silica that I have used has raised the Ph dramatically.
This thread states that it lowers the Ph... help me I'm confused here. We must be talking about different things.

Hey Bob - I think some are talking about Potassium Silicate (pH 9.0) and Salicylic Acid (pH 4.0)

 

[Manchester2020]

Thanks for the information !! might be too much for me to use because I don't really check PH . See were many companies have a "silica" product --- if you were to use one - what product/company would you use ? Isn't there some addmendent one can use to bring down tha acidic amounts ?

I use canna a+b monkey silicone monster bloom and boost and my ph is 6.0 so only needs bringing down a touch

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Hey Bob - I think some are talking about Potassium Silicate (pH 9.0) and Salicylic Acid (pH 4.0)

Yes it seems we are talking about 2 completely different things. I thank you and my hair thanks you.

 

[Hafta]

I use Stout MSA, monosilicic acid (H2SiO4). It is easily absorbed by the plant and since it is added first before other nutrients, a single pH adjustment is all that is required (not very much adjustment). It is made by Alchemist and can be found on Amazon.

 

[AdaminCO]

From what I understand it needs to sit before use in order to bond properly.
I heard 2 hours and all the way up to 24 hours. Lol

@farside05
What did you end up with on sitting time for Si?

 

[TorturedSoul]

Any silica that I have used has raised the Ph dramatically.

Same here, went up like a rocket. If you mean silicon. I was once just a wee bit heavy-handed with General Hydroponics' Rare Earth (dry) product one day, and didn't bother checking the resulting pH in that reservoir because I was going to do a nutrient solution the next morning. Which I ended up not having to do, lol, because I returned to find all that plant's leaves on the floor . pH of the solution ended up being somewhere north of 11.0.

 

[farside05]

From what I understand it needs to sit before use in order to bond properly.
I heard 2 hours and all the way up to 24 hours. Lol

@farside05
What did you end up with on sitting time for Si?

I use the liquid Potassium Silicate type products. Actually make my own from powder. The pH of those products is usually 11.5.

IMG_20191208_073744.jpg

• farside05
• Dec 8, 2019
• 5

I've never heard of any wait or sitting time for Silicon. Never seen it as a direction on any manufacturers bottle either. Same goes for Cal-Mag. I see people saying you must wait 15 minutes after adding it too. I bet those people believed their momma when she said "you have to wait 30 minutes after eating before you can go swimming or you'll get the cramps." Nothing is "bonding". You're not making a new substance. You're taking a solid (potassium silicate) that's been diluted in water, and further diluting it with more water.

 

[Southerncough]

It's my understanding that it helps strengthen the cell walls of the plants, hence the added benefits of strength, pest resistance, etc. Some plants like bamboo use more than others which makes sense. Hemp/cannabis has very strong fibers in her stems, etc. so I see the value of reinforcing them to help support the weight of the flowers.
I've been using Dyna Gro's ProTekt for a while.
Biggest lesson I've learned is to add it to the water first and make sure it's thoroughly blended and dissolved before adding anything else to your reservoir or else it'll settle to the bottom as a solid.
Also, I use a separate shot glass for measuring it because it forms a white crust all over it pretty quickly

 

[Rexer]

I see people saying you must wait 15 minutes after adding it too. I bet those people believed their momma when she said "you have to wait 30 minutes after eating before you can go swimming or you'll get the cramps."

Bet taken, and beaten.

Thanks brother. I've touted that line. Why? I read it, and don't have the smarts to dispute it. Instead I relied on more experienced grower(s), and there was never harm in the waiting, vs potentially causing precipitate to form.