[Grenouille]

How vital is it to add silicon to your nute mix when growing in coco,
and what are its noticable benefits?

[humble1]

I just had this discussion with gaius a little while ago. The two best coco growers that i know of eschew any silica products. One of them told me that because it's usually a potassium silicate it gets tied up in coco's buffering ability (same reason why coco works well with unusually low doses of p and k for a hydroponic medium). He also said something about coconut husks have a phytochemical that triggers a similar defensive reaction to silica.
Personally it jacks around my pH in my veg reservoir, so i'm thinking about phasing it out and more coco in.

Peace, Love, and Coco

[Grenouille]

very interesting

[Grenouille]

was this conversation in a particular thread? i'd like to read more.
i don't want to use the silicon if it's not really necessary, especially if it could be detrimental in any way.
i've a very high hard-water ph as it is, and if the plants won't suffer without it i think i'll just not bother using it.

it'd be nice to hear more opinions however.

[Grenouille]

bump~~

roots love silica, your plant will too., it affects the tissues of the plant....i realize that silicate levels are different from everyone's tap.....but if i don't use it my stems get woody and stiff ..... they're much thicker with silica in my nutes

in my first dwc attempts (i know this doesn't apply here) my clones refused to root out into the bucket unless they were sitting in silica stone or i added pro-tekt to the nutes.....it was like magic elixir to me, i won't grow without it because i know my tap water is lacking

some crappy tap water has a lot of silicate, you can taste the difference, it's gross

i'd like to know more about silicon additives and coco seeing as i'm about to flower some plants in coco/perlite, i don't want to screw this up too bad

maybe gaius will chime in and regulate

[Grenouille]

Originally Posted by User Name

maybe gaius will chime in and regulate

that would be great
maybe bonecarver too.

[Grenouille]

[Grenouille]

How vital is it to add silicon to your nute mix when growing in coco

Not vital at all. Don't think many folks play around with it. Even though it could be the best shit on earth, something bothers me about adding more Na, k (if it even adds Na, k) to the mix.. I haven't researched it, so maybe someone will chime in and set me straight on it..