I have an aquaintance with alot of experience growing in a variety of mediums and he has told me more than once that silicates are NECCESSARY for strong cell wall development and resistance to environmental factors like heat, however I also have come to understand that silicates cannot be flushed from plants and are harmful to smoke in excess quantities. A product I use, Rhino Skin, which is potassium silicate was recently changed from a 0-0-13 I believe(?) to a 0-0-0.4 because people were finding that such high levels of potassium silicate were causing whitelung in smokers... I started growing organically and never thought that silicates were part of my soil composition but I could be wrong... Does anyone with experience and knowledge on this subject have an answer to my querry? Are silicates really neccesary? or can I breath easier by removing them from my regiment?
The earth itself is something like 80%+ silica, you know, sand, rocks and so on. I use Pro-Tekt, same thing, different company (Dyna-Gro), and probably cheaper. I use it on everything, my mj, container plants and in the garden and yes, it's all organic. I also use it very lightly, like 1/4tsp/gallon. Light doses work just fine. Wet
Yeah I guess I'm just paranoid about the idea especially after hearing horror stories of grit weed though I understand that that's because of people actually doctoring the outside of the finished buds. But thanks for your input, it sounds like I have nothing to worry about.
Some organizations actually consider silica a primary nutrient. You'd have to research if you wanted to find out more in depth information, as I can't recall off the top of my head who it was. Anyway, I can tell you this I use silica in EVERY grow from start to finish. I use Silica Blast by Botainicare. As Wetdog said you don't need to go overboard--my standard dose is 5ml./gallon nutrient water (which = ~35 ppm). I've found silica to impart a stress resistance and hardiness to my plants. Silica strengthens stems and branches and gives the plant greater resistance to enviornmental stress, including insects/predators. I've NEVER had ANY problem with pests in my indoor garden. Bud