Silica: Yes or No?

[Robert Paulson]

I have not ever used silica but have been reading of the benefits and it seams like i should be. Everything I read was positive, therefore i was wondering if there is any down side to it at all. Is it really all it is cracked up to be? What makes it so special?

 

[racerboy71]

what on earth are you going on about m8?? what use do you have for silica in growing?? the only thing i use silica for is to keep the moisture out of my bean collections..

 

[max316420]

wrong silica lol i think he is talking about something like rhino skin hehe, just be careful with it, it will raise hell with your ph. I used it and didn't see much difference except for a drop in my soils ph

 

[a mongo frog]

id say yes use it. couldnt hurt. cheap too. great for cuttings to in veg.

 

[Robert Paulson]

what on earth are you going on about m8?? what use do you have for silica in growing?? the only thing i use silica for is to keep the moisture out of my bean collections..

here check it out.

http://growersbook.com/marijuana-encyclopedia/nutrients-boosters/silica-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-use-it-on-your-marijuana-plants.html

there is also chatter on here about it.

 

[Robert Paulson]

wrong silica lol i think he is talking about something like rhino skin hehe, just be careful with it, it will raise hell with your ph. I used it and didn't see much difference except for a drop in my soils ph

thanks for your inptu. raise hell as in it will go up or just be erratic?

 

[max316420]

thanks for your inptu. raise hell as in it will go up or just be erratic?

I'm guessing it played a sig roll in dropping the ph of my promix to lockout levels, wasn't the only factor but it added to the headache

 

[Wetdog]

I'm guessing it played a sig roll in dropping the ph of my promix to lockout levels, wasn't the only factor but it added to the headache

Sorry, but some use it as a pH UP. It for sure wouldn't be dropping your pH.

I use it and it's good stuff and cheap. The only downside is if you get too happy with it and use too much, too often.

I use ~1/2tsp/gallon of water every couple weeks or so. Actually, since I'm lazy, it's 1tbl/5 gallon bucket of water. I use ProTekt from Dyna-Gro.

Wet

 

[mouthmeetsoap]

I used Rhino Skin for a run and didn't notice a difference. Now I'm using Botanicare silica rocks like perlite and still not seeing much of a difference. I'm sure it's beneficial, just not sure how beneficial. I don't think it's hurting anybody to not be using it.

 

[Dr. Bigbud]

I use it and i think its good for helping the plant build up a tolerance for heat and stressful conditions, keeps it lush and growing.

 

[ClamDigger]

i use Potassium Silicate and it definitely raises the PH (its actually our PH up)
Miracle Gro 24-8-16 at 1 TBSP per Gallon, lowers the PH from tap 6.6 to 3.5!
1ML of Potassium Silicate and its in the 6 range.
not sure if the Silicate itself helps, but having PH balanced nutes sure does

 

[Cali.Grown>408]

we have silica in Tap water..i've never used any silica booster but was thinking about buying silica blast for my outdoor crop this year

 

[Wolverine97]

Sorry, but some use it as a pH UP. It for sure wouldn't be dropping your pH.

I use it and it's good stuff and cheap. The only downside is if you get too happy with it and use too much, too often.

I use ~1/2tsp/gallon of water every couple weeks or so. Actually, since I'm lazy, it's 1tbl/5 gallon bucket of water. I use ProTekt from Dyna-Gro.

Wet

Wet. Get out of my head. Kthx.
Seriously man, almost every damn time I'm about to reply to correct something you've beat me to it. Stop it.

Also guys, I've found that it really helps my plants resistance to PM. *knocks on wood because RH has been a wee bit too high*

 

[malignant]

it also helps with heat tolorances and reducing heat stress.

 

[Robert Paulson]

Well I went ahead and got some dynagrow pro-tekt. i figures i will give her a try and see what happens. thanks for everybody's input.

 

[Total Head]

i've been using silica for the past couple grows and it definately helps with heat tolerance and strengthening the stems. it makes an awesome ph up also. i stop using it around flower time. my only beef with the stuff is that it can make lst difficult if the plant isn't already bent, so if you lst a lot you might want to go easy with it.

 

[Robert Paulson]

but if you were to get her all bent where you wanted and then added it to the line up it would probably make 'em tougher right? i ScrOG and with some strains the nugs get too heavy and topple, maybe this will help a bit.

 

[Mort Fink]

Diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, but but only a little bit is soluble. I just added some to the soil mix I made today, it kills off unwanted soil creatures also. It a great thing to add to soil and it acts like perlite as well by keep the soil un-waterlogged. It does other things too, check the link.

http://www.diatomitecanada.com/why-use-diatomaceous-earth.htm

 

[Wetdog]

Well I went ahead and got some dynagrow pro-tekt. i figures i will give her a try and see what happens. thanks for everybody's input.

Just don't get happy with it. An OD makes your plants look like they were dosed with salt water. So, if you get that, you'll know what it's from.

*I* do just a bit over 1/2tsp/gallon of water. I add 1TBL/5 Gallon bucket, which =6-1/2tsp in the bucket. Never over once/week, and usually more like every 2 weeks.

Wet

 

[Mort Fink]

I use it in my soil and on top of it, never tried in the water.