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Organic source of silica?

beejium

Member
since you posted your mix in my thread CC, I've been interested in trying your method - just need the azomite and the glacier dust

incidentally, the soil here is glacial till since i incorporate the soil in my compost, i tend to think i already introduce this sort of amendment

at whatever rate, our approaches are very similar



oh! beat me to it i guess - lol



DE (concern) is my current approach to silica introduction (along w/ greensand)


i would go with fresh water DE. Concern is saltwater DE. it will work, but it may have more salt than you wish. if you need a link let me know.
 

xmobotx

ecks moe baw teeks
ICMag Donor
Veteran
all i can say is "wow"

:blowbubbles:

edit: oh ummm how's sand as a silica source?

for containers?
 

uglybunny

Member
Bamboo leaves are high in silica. I use them in my compost. You can also use the leaves as mulch and reap the same benefits, if you're a mulcher.
 
Y

Yankee Grower

soft rock phosphate
While never having worked with it myself I've heard that Tennessee Brown phosphate is superior to soft rock phosphate.

As for green sand knew it was a solid K source but was not familiar with it being good for iron or even silicon. Guess I never looked at it close enough.
 
Y

Yankee Grower

xmobotx

These folks might have some good input for you on your research about minerals in agriculture and hoticulture applications.................

CC
That stuff works great but people keep glossing over good seawater concentrates...adds something no mineral rock powder can.
 
if you are using dwc I found that if you drop a rock of clear quarts (which is mostly silica) into the bottom of the rez the bacteria and acidity of your nutes will eat it away and slowly release it into the solution. It was an accidental discovery lol I dropped a good size peice in there and when the cycle was complete it was 1/10 the size and smoothed down like it had been sanded.
 

xmobotx

ecks moe baw teeks
ICMag Donor
Veteran
if you are using dwc I found that if you drop a rock of clear quarts (which is mostly silica) into the bottom of the rez the bacteria and acidity of your nutes will eat it away and slowly release it into the solution. It was an accidental discovery lol I dropped a good size peice in there and when the cycle was complete it was 1/10 the size and smoothed down like it had been sanded.

that sounds like some valuable information there - maybe toss a chunk of quartz in the compost tea? re-use the quartz? (since tea is a 2 - 3 day thing)

for now, i think greensand in the mix then DE top dressed sounds like a good approach w/ peat-based
 

chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
I had a run that was superior to my norm awhile back & the only variable was some DE mixed in the bottom few inches of soil. I was nuking fungus gnats & did it to stop the lil fuckers from entering my pot drain holes.
Well, it stopped the fg AND ended up being one of my best yielding runs to date?

I'm about ready to re-run & see what's up? With & W/O DE added...
 

xmobotx

ecks moe baw teeks
ICMag Donor
Veteran
yeah, DE is a 2 pronged assault

the sharp edge/pesticide effect

and healthier plants have fewer pest problems (the silica "secret")
 

BerndV

Member
Higromite instead of or in addition to perlite will provide silicon. I use it along with hydroton as a mulch on the top of my soil to encourage root growth near the surface.
 

B. Friendly

"IBIUBU" Sayeith the Dude
Veteran
dnyagro's Pro tekt is only $35 a gallon and i use 90ml in my tank so this stuff will last some time.
 

hades

Member
Heath uses the big chunky DE (also called Silica Stone) in his hydro pots.....that's really all that needs to be said =)

(I could be wrong, but I'm fairly sure I read this recently and should be able to source it if pressed)
 

VerdantGreen

Genetics Facilitator
Boutique Breeder
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
silica is the 4th most common element on the planet.... do we really need to worry about it??

i guess it is unavailable in many forms, but im sure if you use some real mineral soil in your mix then you wont have a problem with it...

VG
 

ClackamasCootz

Expired
Veteran
Nitrogen is 78% of the air - same analogy. It's about availability of these elements.

If we were talking about a true soil there may be a set of arguments either way - but most cannabis growers use the most artificial of soils possible.

CC
 

Weird

3rd-Eye Jedi
Veteran
white paper on Silica: Uses in Organic Farming

gives an overview of silica relative to agriculture and even discusses self sustaining techniques

very interesting, I would like to see how the rest of the organics crew feels about the validity of the information within

seems decent

http://plantibalism.com/downloads/SilicaFarming.pdf

the site is plantibalism.com, I found it now, but it seems pretty cool, here is their tag line

Plantibalism means plant cannibalism, or using plants as food for other plants. It symbolizes the efforts of organic farmers to work in a cyclical nature without needing outside resources to sustain a farm
 
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