Organic source of silica?

moose eater · Apr 14, 2018

I recently started using rice hulls. Haven't researched the % of content or rate of release for silica, just know from reading it's in there.

What I received (50 lb. bag) was definitely NOT steamed or par-boiled, and I have rice growing sparsely in one of my left-over soil bins.

The member who turned me onto rice hulls indicated recently that his hulls have been par-boiled or steamed (can't recall which); not sure if by the source, but I suspect so.

Some folks have complained about hulls 'floating' in their mixes, and separating. I haven't had that experience yet.

I've also used a fair bit of perlite, buying it in 4-cu. ft. bags, as it's fairly cheap here. But its rate of decomposition is a negative in my book, and there are now other sources in my mix that reduce the amount of perlite I use.

I also use some Pro-tekt.

kin_dawg · Apr 16, 2018

Rice hulls for me are a great aeration component in soil, the friablity and consistency is excellent ime. I also mulch the top of my pots with the hulls, so in that way there are new hulls being introduced into the mix constantly. I also use potassium silicate at every watering and as a foliar with aloe and neem oil ala clackamas coot.

calisun · Apr 18, 2018

kin_dawg said:
Rice hulls for me are a great aeration component in soil, the friablity and consistency is excellent ime. I also mulch the top of my pots with the hulls, so in that way there are new hulls being introduced into the mix constantly. I also use potassium silicate at every watering and as a foliar with aloe and neem oil ala clackamas coot.

I use 2mil per gal of potassium silicate every other watering but thinking I should up it. How much do you use.

h.h. · Apr 18, 2018

Check your stems. They should be strong yet bendable. Adjust your silica accordingly.

Using PBH Par boiled rice hulls from A.M. Leonard. No problems with sprouting. Cheap but shipping will kill you. A compacted 7 cubic feet, you get quite a bit for around 50 bucks.

Trying out a 20x horsetail extract. See how it does.

jidoka · Apr 18, 2018

Soft rock phosphate

moose eater · Apr 18, 2018

Doesn't SRP need to be used in small amounts due to the P content & other?

Or does it deliver sufficient silica without putting in too much P?

Reduction in other P sources to compensate for the SRP?

I scored some SRP for a top-dressing recipe I found, but am more or less new to its use, though in the past there was a specific brand of worm castings (*I no longer use) that claimed to have it as an added amendment in the castings.

jidoka · Apr 19, 2018

Define too much P. 3% soluble P and another 17% insoluble, requiring microbes to become available

ion · Apr 19, 2018

hh......horsetail extract? whats yer carrier? i put dried horsetail from the bog, cut up to fit in a coffee grinder, powdered, and water it in....maybe a tea?

PaulieWaulie · Apr 20, 2018

Looked at getting some horsetail seeds but they were expensive and not sure how well they do in canadian prairies. Did find that Comfrey has 50-80% of the silica of horsetail, and I have comfrey growing already so I will just use a bunch of that. I might get DM earth just cause. Its $20 for 25 pound bag at the Farm/Feed Store so cheap enough. Additionally it is present in Perlite, and at 40% of my mix. I am assuming with lots of microbes in your mix, they are making it available in plenty amounts.

h.h. · Apr 21, 2018

ion said:
hh......horsetail extract? whats yer carrier? i put dried horsetail from the bog, cut up to fit in a coffee grinder, powdered, and water it in....maybe a tea?

I sprinkled it on top and just watered it in.

Not making any claims. I used the tea mixed in my last batch of soil and noticed my plant stems were good and strong like when I was using a commercial product.
It was a new mix, so it may have been something else providing silica. I've used horsetail from the garden before and have noticed the effects.
I'm starting to think that there is something to it.
First time trying 20x extract. I'll see, but wont make any claims.

St. Phatty · Apr 21, 2018

Beach sand ?

paradoxlost · Apr 21, 2018

beach sand and hydrochloric acid

jidoka · Apr 22, 2018

Beach sand is immune to hcl. To do what you are suggesting would require hfl. Do not try that at home...or anywhere else. Jesus christ

Natural high · Apr 22, 2018

Silica is a non-essential element and most species of plants do not benefit in any significant way from it's supplementation. Use some perlite and the plants will have enough. I have found buds grown from plants supplemented with soluble silicon aren't as nice anyway.. they can get coarse and harsh. :2cents:

G.O. Joe · Apr 22, 2018

It's not acids with sand it's potassium carbonate and a cement kiln. W10 Wollastonite sounds more organic, has calcium, and has less extreme effect on pH. DE would be best for pH but it has to be a very fine dust to release significant PAS.

Noonin NorCal · Apr 22, 2018

I use Dyna-Protekt and feed 1 tspn per 5 gallons.

SoulAnnoyed · Apr 23, 2018

Natural high said:
Silica is a non-essential element and most species of plants do not benefit in any significant way from it's supplementation. Use some perlite and the plants will have enough. I have found buds grown from plants supplemented with soluble silicon aren't as nice anyway.. they can get coarse and harsh.

People use it so they can grow oil-less emaciated hydro and not get "the dry" powder weed the schwagg smoking masses hate so much. They'd rather smoke reggie soaked in silica than oily natural, cured buds that hold together like they were actually grown in the last century. Fuckin decoupage weed. Belongs in a paperweight not in peoples lungs.

PaulieWaulie · Apr 23, 2018

Noonin NorCal said:
I use Dyna-Protekt and feed 1 tspn per 5 gallons.

Im in organic soil, and am trying to find a natural source from my local environment, as opposed to buying bottles from the hydro store.

Having said that there have been plenty of good suggestions in this thread, and I'm starting to realize that with it being 70% of earth matter or crust or whatever, that it's essentially in everything to some degree. And if you are growing organics with many varieties of inputs you are good to go in the silica department.

Correct me if I'm wrong guys but that's my takeaway LOL

Sibbeli · May 2, 2018

Here in EU we have different products that supply silica. I use 2 products supplied by Agriton, their Bentonite clay product called Edasil which is really cheap if ordered in larger amounts directly from Agriton or a Importer, if you have a company.

They also have Vulkamin which is zeolite mined from basalt, so it is more or less a very zeolite rich basalt rock dust, very fine meal, dusty.
Zeolite has their advantages but when it comes to silica it contains quite a bit of potassium silicate and many other good mineral amendments.

They also have a product called Mest Best or Grow Best in UK, that is 60% mealworm frass, 20% rape seed meal, 9% vulkamin, 9% Edasil, 2% seaweed meal and the rest are biodynamic preparates and also EM.

I have tried every possible dry organic fertilizers available in EU, and not a single one comes near Mest Best. No slaughter by products, totally natural and everything grows really well with just MB as it contains zeolite rich basalt meal and also bentonite, there's really no need using separate rock dusts.

I grow totally organic, non slaughter by products, veganic might it be called, only things from animals I use are mealworm frass and when a P deficiency pop up, some P guano. Nothing else from animals.

Now these days I do not grow cannabis, but these products have done pretty good in that type of growing to. I sow and raise edible and exotic plants for sale and grow lettuce, herbs and spices for sale, in stores.

But I still have to thank icmag and CB, as if it wasn't for this forum and that special plant, I would never have noticed how fun organic growing is and organic growing is now my life and income. Couldn't have a better job!

Only downside is I can't grow CB anymore :/ Too much to loose with our laws. Don't need another prison sentence for growing a plant.

moose eater · May 2, 2018

Currently using zeolite very sparingly, but in a discussion that incorporated supporting literature, both zeolite and perlite contain notable levels of aluminum, and therefore both, in my mind, come with a cautionary statement.

Add to that the break-down/decomposition factor of perlite, and I have switched to a 1/3 pumice, 1/3 rice hulls (next time I'll try to obtain par boiled/steamed to avoid the very limited rice crop), and 1/3 perlite, with (as prescribed in caution by a knowledgeable grower in that thread) "a third of a third" in zeolite.

Going to run with that ratio for a while, although increasing porosity-related components from past levels/ratios in the overall mix, and see what's up.

Organic source of silica?

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