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Silicon Dosing Questions
BC_Greenstarted grow question 16 days ago
I have two plants in a soilless potting mix that will be transitioned outdoors. What is a good dosing schedule/rate for silicon and do you deliver it with other nutrients or do you dose them separately to avoid precipitation? Are there any downsides/concerns about adding silicon?
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m0useanswered grow question 16 days ago
If you transitioning them outdoors and will be transplanting them in soil/earth. I would just amend the soil where its going to grow.
Good amendments for Si are DE aka diatomaceous earth is high in Si, its not very available but it makes it way into the plant. Same with rice hulls.
Their is also a great mineral additive called Wollastonite, if you can get your hands on some of that its the best option IMO
If you plan on keeping them in pots and not in the soil feed as you normally would, adding Si in at the very beginning and waiting for it to dissolve fully as it can react with other nutrients. If it snows or gets cloudy it was done wrong. Some like to give it on its own, or at the end of mixing the feeds. follow the directions on the label. normally 1ml/l type thing.
Some form of Si have a very high PH, others are more neutral and much more expensive. but these ones are very plant available and a great prduct.
Green_clawsanswered grow question 16 days ago
For me its a must I only use in tiny amounts on its own with a watering every couple of weeks otherwise it can make hard work of lst if you have that in mind, only use it in veg, maybe once in flower, depending on how she looks... gives a good bark effect on the stem and can manage big buds without the need for support...
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Scrubbyjimbobanswered grow question 16 days ago
Silica is a popular supplement that I've personally never felt the need to incorporate.
It's main purpose is strengthening weak branches, which isn't really a problem I've ever needed to address. In excess it can make branches too ridged, so it can make LST harder potentially
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00110001001001111Oanswered grow question 16 days ago
Silica, but we get ya. Silicone is used in computer chips and circuit boards.
At any common sense application, precipitate will not be a problem. Only the concentrated forms of some options are something you have to becareful of.
as with anything too much is a bad thing...plant issues will happen before it gets to a concentration that would cause a precipitate.
I've googled and read a wide ranging amount of suggestions. 5lbs per 10 cubic feet was one... that was using diatomaceous earth (DE). DE will slowly release silica over time as it breaks down.
You can also use vermiculite instead of perlite for drainage amendment and that too will contribute some available silica over time. Tthe concentrated bottles of silia (potassium silicate? whatever it is it's often a very stong acid so that has to be balanced too) just need to be mixed to instructions and should be fine. That's probably highest risk of over-doing it or causing a precipitate. The precipitate should be easy enough to avoid.
if planting outside, i'd wager there's plenty of silica in the earth.
I meant to add 3-4lbs per 12 cu ft of sbustrate this year but i forgot, lol. I did go back to using vermiculite, though. Ttehre's no way to tell with your eyes what exactly changed when doing this. There's no way to know with such a small sample and the limitations of a variable environment that what you see was caused by "this or that". Only good research and empirical data would shed light on the benefit and give a good suggestion for a goldilocks concentration.
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