Hey everybody hope you all enjoyed your holidays. I have a quick question today regarding some silica my girlfriend received at her last meeting. I understand that a lot of the organic folks enjoy using the Pro-Tekt brand Silica in their gardens and I have been interested in using some as well in my garden, however, expenses have not allowed it and when I had the money the grow shops I checked did not have it in. Anyways, last tuesday my girlfriend got the following brands of silica: http://hydrodynamicsintl.com/europonic-silicate.html this is europonic and http://www.dutchmaster.com.au/?language=english&page=product&product=SILICA this is dutch master. I was wondering if these were safe to apply in a foliar spray in my organic garden? If not I will be purchasing the Pro-Tekt ASAP otherwise I wil use these and then purchase the Pro-Tekt. Thanks for any and all help regarding this! Have a great day!!
Is it consindered Organic by OMRI I bet not, would it be useful in the garden, yes. It's all a personal call, if you don't like using a bottle then Rice Hulls in your soil mix will supply the same thing.
Is there anywhere in RI that I can source rice hulls or do I have to go to MA for that? I remember there being a couple places up there with them, I think. Would have used them on first mix but didn't want to drive up there just for that.
Here's the skinny on potassium silicates for use in organic crop production as described by USDA. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5057629
Yes, Potassium Silicate is approved for use in organic food production. We were discussing this somewhere else here on another thread a few days ago - "This is the ruling by USDA NOP (National Organic Program) and it's important that it be read in its entirety. The bottom line is that under specific manufacturing process, Potassium Silicate is approved for organic food production if the requirements of 205.206(e) On a broader note it is important to understand that no mineral material can be 'organic' - the very definition of organic precludes that. What a mineral or mineral compound can be is 'approved for organic food production' and so on. If you'll read the paper I provided at the link you'll have a better understanding how this process works at USDA NOP as the paper provides arguments from experts in soil biology. Well worth your time, IMHO. HTH LD" The link Chunk provided is the same link LD was referring to above. J
Yes I know this was discussed I just was not sure if all Potassium Silicate was alright or if it was just the Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt brand that was acceptable to use. Glad that it was cleared up for me as I cannot wait to start using this in my garden! I will give that link a check as well thanks for posting it for me Chunk.
Kahgknow, this is what LD had said (above) " Program) and it's important that it be read in its entirety. The bottom line is that under specific manufacturing process, Potassium Silicate is approved for organic food production if the requirements of 205.206(e)" I think it's important to note the "under specific manufacturing process" part. This is the only thing that would make me leery, and tbh this is where my knowledge ends. I (and I should) haven't taken the time to read the USDA NOP ruling in its entirety and believe that not every process for manufacturing the Potassium Silicate is approved - maybe some companies go about this differently, perhaps with different chemicals if they're not worried about or simply don't care about the organic part. I think the key words here are "under specific manufacturing process". I believe that Dyna-Gro adheres to this process but I'm simply not sure what it is or if the 2 other manufacturers do or not. It appears that there are some lines in the sand here. J
On the subject of potassium silicate, Agsil16H is a great deal. For $29.00 + shipping you get enough potassium silicate powder to make over 3 gallons of a 7.8% concentrate that is the same as Pro-Tekt. 1 gallon of Pro-Tekt runs about $30.00 +/-. There is a chart at the link that instructs you with mixing ratios as well as dosages of the concentrate.