Lowering the PH of silica/water solution with fulvic acid

[Cormoran]

@OldUncleBen

Since I have not and will never support the cheesy cannabis nutrient industry, it’s not an issue.

Fighting the cannabis nutrient industry by going after everyone using what you think are “the wrong products” probably won’t be that effective, but if that’s what you want to do I can’t stop you. I do think you’d be better served by just saying what you mean, rather than sarcasm - I can say from experience that it’s not all that effective, and less so when you’re a hypocrite about it.

That said, I have no argument as far as most products in flashy bottles promising mega yields being snake oil. I’ve found the same, and I’ve been using standard nutrients in a very unexciting black plastic bag for some time now. If what you mean to say is that adding fulvic acid and silica is useless, you may be right and you may be wrong. I don’t use them and I’ve never tried. If you mean to say that adding paclo is purely beneficial and there’s no downside to using it on cannabis… well, you may be right and you may be wrong. As far as I can tell it’s banned for environmental concerns, not toxicity, but there doesn’t seem to be any information about whether it’s dangerous to smoke. That’s why I said I didn’t want to get into it, since there appears to be no right answer. I prefer to err on the side of safety, since I don’t need improved yield and don’t mind stretch.

[Jango]

I use Dyna Gro ProTeKt along with their nutrient line. Using the complete line buffers ph and the silicon in ProTeKt makes the plant structure physically strong. If it made no difference I’d use ph up instead.

[OldUncleBen]

Not fighting any industry. Cons will be cons and suckers will be suckers Am just stating some facts.

Been doing this too long (55 years) and know better.

Grow hard,
UB

[shag]

@Jango

I use Dyna Gro ProTeKt

Did you see the post where I give directions for making your own ProTekt?

Do plants need silicon? How is it used by plants? Can we make our own silicon products at home?

I use silica as a alternative to Ph up, I’ve tried it in higher concentrations but I couldn’t see any benefits. https://www.potsil.com/ I use this silica, it’s only a half litre but it’s 4-5x more concentrated than growth technology with a few other ingredients added. https://www.potsil.com/technical

[GMan]

Outside it’s not as important with the Silica, as it’s abundant in many places. I think it’s beneficial when growing indoors because it’s not in any other nutrient products. It’s not a magic bullet, but if your soil mix is without it, it can help.

[Jango]

Thanks for the link shag, I took a look and yeah thats the stuff, I’ll have a search to see if I can get it here.

[shag]

Any type of potassium silicate will work.
This should be a big agricultural product, like a regular fertilizer store.
Name brand should not matter, just pay attention to percentage/strength.
Good luck!

[OldUncleBen]

@Cormoran

As far as I can tell it’s banned for environmental concerns,

At a rate of 2-4 PPM, I don’t think so.

You breathe in more pollutants driving thru many cities than any valid confirmation would yield using certain chemicals in a nursery setting, big or small.

There, I said what I meant with a correction to one member’s feelings, not a fact LOL.

Still standing after all these years,
Uncle Ben

[OldUncleBen]

If aint silica it’s another must have. Let’s see, in all my decades of posting to cannabis forums I’ve about seen it all from the “experts” - first there’s Mg. If there’s a problem with your plant, kinda looks sick this fine mornin’, then it definately could use a hit of epsom salts.

Then there’s gypsum. Gots to have me some gypsum, “cause we all want one”. robert earl keen merry christmas from the family lyrics - Hledat Googlem

Fulvic and humic acids. Cause it’s natural ya know.

Then there’s the ol forum paradigms that will certainly improve yer plants and make da big blooms - Bloom Foods, “leafing”, flushing…etc. etc. etc.

For you soil growers, all you need from start to finish is a slow release food, or a high quality soluble food like Peters or Dyna-Gro. Dyna-Gro’s Foliage Pro is an excellent choice, a 9-3-6 with an exceptional micro package.

My choice for no maintenance feeding, a high value, is Osmocote Indoor-Outdoor Plus. It’s a 15-9-12 with secondaries and a good micros “package”. I stir into the top inch of soil when sowing seeds in a 20 oz Styro-cup and when I upcan to a final pot. I water with rainwater…walla, done. Sometimes I water with my well water which is very high in carbonates and bicarbs of Mg and Ca.

I mix about a 50/50 inorganic/organics bulk load at a time, what ever I have stockpiled at the time, no big deal. I gave up the perlite in lieu of coarse vermiculite which I order in bulk from A.M. Leonard when they offer their free shipping promo.

I “play with” alfalfa nuggets which I make into a wetting agent slop for the triacontanol, horse nuggets from a local feed store and am innoculating my plant material with mychorzzae, a practice I’ve been following commercially with field grown, vineyards, etc.

I applied/drenched the germ pots with Myco-Apply Endo yesterday. I used a rate of 3 TB/gallon in rainwater. Drenched baby indicas, maters in the greenhouse, etc. Do not mix in chlorinated water.

Still have this one too. No need to bother unless your faves will be grown in a container for at least 3 months, germ to finish. It takes that long for a good colony to become established.

Grow hard,
UB

[OldUncleBen]

@shag

This should be a big agricultural product, like a regular fertilizer store.

Studies have shown that very few plants respond favorably to silica inputs. If you have links to studies on cannabis I’d like to see them please. Silica is considered a “beneficial” element, not an essential one.

If you really want to play games, then try Keyplex 350. The micros package alone is worth it if you have those problems. Read the research on this one, and how it supposedly strengthens the plants’ natural defense mechanisms. One such (huge) nursery, Pine Island Nursery in Fl. applies it on a regular basis to their acres of grafted tropical fruit trees.

KeyPlex 350 - KeyPlex Plant Nutrition

“KeyPlex 350 will elicit production of defensive proteins in certain plants. KeyPlex 350 will aid in the prevention of certain plant diseases such as post-bloom fruit drop and greasy spot diseases of citrus, and bacterial leaf spot of tomatoes. For disease control, apply foliar sprays of KeyPlex 350 in sufficient water to obtain adequate coverage.”

^ Sent a care package with some Dalat vietnam seeds to a guy in Santa Cruz. Those pure sativas grew so big in his greenhouse he had to remove the roof!

Bonzi (paclo) for plant control and for excellent mite control - Forbid 4F, 1/8 tsp./gallon as a foliar spray. (And no, it isn’t a “poison”)

Uncle Ben

[Cormoran]

Sorry for responding to him in the first place, it seems to just give him energy… if you actually want an answer to your question you might need to start a new thread. This one is apparently now @OldUncleBen’s soapbox to explain to everyone in great length how everything they’re doing is stupid and he knows best. It doesn’t actually matter what they’re doing, just that he knows best.

[OldUncleBen]

@Cormoran

This one is apparently now @OldUncleBen’s soapbox to explain to everyone in great length how everything they’re doing is stupid and he knows best. It doesn’t actually matter what they’re doing, just that he knows best.

“Pearls before swine”.

[Cormoran]

@OldUncleBen

Lots of haters back in the day. I had dozens of trolls, haters, that just were un-relentless in their pursuit to destroy me, while not knowing squat when it comes to what makes a plant tick. I never let those bullies define who or what I was as a person or a very seasoned horticulturist. I did chat with a few nice folks at OG, CW (Cannabis World) and Planet Ganja that let the internet punks get to them.

@OldUncleBen

“Pearls before swine”.

Hmm. I wonder if maybe this holier-than-thou attitude, that we’re all “swine” who desperately need you to give us your “pearls of wisdom,” asked-for or not, contributed at all to the great number of trolls and haters you had back in the day. Anyway, I’m gonna let you get the last word now if you have any - I’m sure it’ll be devastating - and then sit back and watch in amusement as you slowly continue having this fight in every other thread you visit.

[OldUncleBen]

Just for kicks, I did a Google search on silica and the “benefits”. As usual, most of the results came from the dozens of vendors that hype it for monetary gain. The cannabis industry with it’s multitudes of inexperienced growers, many who have never grown a plant before, get targeted. does silica make plants stronger - Hledat Googlem

Then there’s Advanced Nutrients LOL.

The question remains in my cynical mind, “is cannabis a silicon accumulating plant species?” I still maintain it’s beneficial vs essential to such crops as rice. Do commercial growers (those with acres of cannabis under glass) apply silica as part of their productions routine?

There is research on Japanese studies of rice. Rice is a monocot, cannabis is a dicot. Not that it may or may not matter, just seems to be apple and oranges.

Some plants have high accumulation of Si in their body, e.g., rice, sugar cane, and bamboo, and, for these plants, Si is quite beneficial. All these findings point at the fact that Si has to be counted as an essential plant nutrient and not only beneficial.

^ monocots

Plants

There are no miracles for growing cannabis. What’s important is understanding what makes a plant tick and mimicking, providing, the soil profile, temps, photoperiods and other cultural requirements your faves are indigenous to. DO THE BASICS. Oh, and let’s not forget patience and a bit of luck. One hit of mites like I had recently and your plants are toast regarding top production. Luckily, for this Cannacopia Lapiz Mtn. indica, it was just packed with leaves. I got the mites under control with blasts of water and an application of Forbid 4F. By removing handfuls of damaged leaves recently I think I still have enough healthy leaves for good photosynthesis.

I think this lady has about 2 weeks or so to go. All it gets is rainwater. Is being fed with Osmocote 15-9-12 I applied back in December.

[Pannonian]

@Cormoran
Do not worry
I actually got answers through this thread.

And some very valuable information. In the @shag thread there is a picture with instructions on how to get a certain ppm with agsil25. And this product of mine has identical proportions

[OldUncleBen]

@Cormoran

Anyway, I’m gonna let you get the last word now if you have any -

Sure do, you need some help, or may I say" re-programming". Corm's Grow Show: The Underground (or, How I Killed my Valley Ghash x Cake Fighter) - #191 by Cormoran

If you want to learn rather than troll, feel free to look up and read the dozens of “papers” I have written over the years or ask for some advice. I’m hear for my fellow gardeners, have always been. I’ve grown about every kind of plant material you can imagine both on a personal and commercial basis. Where is uncle ben? | Rollitup

Where is uncle ben?

Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to Get 2 or 4 Main Colas

Jorge aka George Patton gifted me his new book before it’s release from Barcelona back in 2006.

Grow hard,
UB

[shag]

Hey @OldUncleBen

Have you seen this?
This is some good science, some of it is a compilation of what I have found and the intellectual part was written by a friend of mine.
Hydroponics growers seem to benefit the most from added silica.
Check it out if you have the time.

Do plants need silicon? How is it used by plants? Can we make our own silicon products at home?

Agsil 16 H (Potassium Silicate) Now you can make your own DynaGro ProTekt or silica product for pennies on the gallon! Mixing 560 grams of Agsil 16 in 1 gallon will give you 7.6% silicon (SiO2), which is the % in Dynagro ProTekt. ProteKt @ 2.5 ml per gallon: K = 18 Si = 56 total PPM = 74 For foliar application use a good spreader/stickier. If you use neem you can mix AgSil 16H with Neem Oil. Mix 1.5 grams AgSil 16H with 1 ounce Neem Oil to emulsify the oil. Then mix this emulsified oil …

[OldUncleBen]

Thanks for sharing and the same thing I have used. I trust Dyna-Gro, and have used their products for decades. Their silica product is in a form that can be taken into the cells via the leaf or a soil drench too. Sure silica (sand) is pretty abundant in nature but is it in a salt form the plant can use?

My go to surfactant is NIS aka “non-ionic surfactant”. What the cons are rebottling NIS and charging big bucks for I buy by the gallon for about $13 USD from a farm and ranch supply. Another good sticker is Hy-Yield Spreader-Sticker. Like roses cannabis has a tough leaf surface tension to deal with. Sprays that do not contain a surfactant are useless. You’re just wasting your time and money.

[OldUncleBen]

Few notes and myth busters added to my diary just now. Doing the root pruning thing again, this time with MicroKote - #68 by OldUncleBen

[Ottafish]

Always add silica last is what I’ve always known. I think it’s to prevent locking out other nutrients. Also buy Agisil16 and you can make your own Protekt for a fraction of the cost. You can google the recipe. I just put it in dry a small amount at a time.