Silica – The Hidden Cost of Chemicals

 
I don't have specific references to DE specifically causing aluminum toxicity in plants, but bear in mind, I thought you were using DE as 1/3 of your mix by volume- that would certainly be an extraordinary amount of DE lol.  
 
Here is a statement from Dr. Faust at BioAg on the alumina-silicates in Azomite, and the effect humic/fulvic acids can have on them: "Typically, aluminum constitutes about 10-20% of these clays. The claim made by sellers is that the aluminum is bound in the silicate structure and is therefore not biologically active. This may be true from a chemistry standpoint, when only examining the clay itself, but is not the case when it is reacted with fulvic acid. So the caveat here is that fulvic acid is well documented to dissolve silicates as well as mono, di, and polyvalent cations (positively charged ions). This means that fulvic acid binds and retains these minerals in a bio-available form for cell penetration or uptake. Now the aluminum has a very high biological significance, unfortunately a toxic one."
 
DE is only 3-4% aluminum, but the science is the same.  Regarding that DE only has 800 ppm of Aluminum, here is a website which discusses soil aluminum and toxicity (http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/support/library/ff/Soil_Aluminum_and_test_interpretation.htm).  
 
Here is an excerpt: Very little Al+++ in the soil solution is required to cause damage to most plants. Few, if any plants grown for commercial purposes in this country will tolerate more than 1.0 ppm of soluble Al+++, and most will have some problems at levels greater than 0.5 ppm. Since Al is the most abundant element in the soil, but the soluble Al+++ is the toxic form, we need to know how much Al+++ is present in the soil and what controls its availability to plants. The availability of Al+++ is not completely understood, but certain soil factors are known to have a significant effect.
• The total amount of Al present in a particular soil type
• The soil pH
• The types and amounts of clay in the soil
• Soil organic matter
 
The last one, soil organic matter, is important because organic matter produces humic and fulvic acids... which are chelating agents that break apart the alumina-silicate bond.  If you start adding more humic/fulvic (which is normally good), you are going to drastically increase the soluble Al+++, which is the toxic form.
 
And you may not even recognize it as an Aluminum toxicity problem... Here's another excerpt:
Excess soluble/available aluminum (Al+++) is toxic to plants and causes multiple other problems. Some of the more important problems include...
• Direct toxicity, primarily seen as stunted roots
• Reduces the availability of phosphorus (P), through the formation of Al-P compounds
• Reduces the availability of sulfur (S), through the formation of Al-S compounds
• Reduces the availability of other nutrient cations through competitive interaction
 
So it may appear to be a Phosphorus deficiency, when it is actually aluminum toxicity interfering with P uptake.
 
Finally... let us pay respects to LD and his wisdom lol
 
ForbinsAscent said

The only reason that I don't use DE is because of the alumina-silicate deal.

If you're doing a 'once and toss' grow and are not 're-cycling' your potting soil this isn't much of an issue. It's in the long term that soil amendments which contain high levels of this compound begin to 'chelate' in a living soil. Chelation doesn't make distinctions between 'good stuff' and 'bad stuff' - it chelates with impunity.

Once the aluminum and silica molecular bonds are broken then the aluminum is a primary cation and it WILL be adsorbed by the plant's roots.

In and of itself this isn't generally an issue for the typical cannabis grow dynamic - but start adding the other 'dank' ingredients usually suggested like Azomite (another alumina-silicate volcanic rock dust), along with other colloidal mineral sources coupled with fulvic and humic acids and you're on a course for disaster, i.e. the mythical 'Cal-Mag Lockout' will look like a walk in the park.

HTH

LD

 

Back from the yearly physical?  

 

 
Not near as brutal as what comes after the surgeon's little *chat*.
 
You know, I love BioAg products and use them. But, every time I see the name 'Dr.Faust', one eyebrow goes up and bells go off in my head.
 
Guess it's just me. 
 
Wet

 

what's going on here?


and where is my DeLorean ?!

 

I forgot about this one! LOL!

I did post another from that era - "What's in a neem?" or at least I linked to it on the Spider Mites thread which was turned to crap by another troll - Iron-Eyes.

 

I'm going to look for wild horsetail this spring near the river. And or lake michigan

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Grasscity Forum mobile app

 

Ditches are another good spot to look. They thrive in disturbed ground. They are super invasive, so be careful with what ya bring home.
Cheers
Os

 

My patch was in an aspen/ash forest, by some damp areas. Was because I think the lumbered that area off this fall. Hopefully my patch survide. I'll find out his spring I guess.

Yep, I have a few horsetails popping up in my cage.

 

A little lumber jacking isn't even going to put a dent in that horsetail patch, guaranteed. It will probably help it prosper. It loves disturbed ground. I'm not even sure if anything Monsanto brews up can get rid of that stuff.
cheers
os

 

Oh man, that's great news. Thanks, OS