Please Stop Using Silicon/silica During Flower! Thank You :)

  • Thread starter Douglas.C
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Douglas.C

Douglas.C

312
63
Hello,

I've noticed a growing problem with cannabis the last few years and it's reaching a peak I really don't care for. Growers are using liquid silicon and silica during flower. This is so, so wrong, seriously decreasing end quality of the flowers.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE silicon for cannabis. I use it extensively in veg and during stretch for massively strong branches and a superior vascular tissue system for transpiration. Awesome benefits for cannabis plants, just before flower.

During flower? Please don't do this. Cannabis has zero need for silica, when producing flowers. It adds toughness (Ever *Have* to reach for a grinder or scissors to break up flowers?) and heat (smoke a microchip some day) and diverts plant resources that should be producing terpenes and cannabinoids.

Don't believe me? Flower out one plant with zero silica/silicon during flower, vs your regular silica/silicon fed plants. You'll be surprised at how easily the flowers break up and how much smoother/cooler the smoke is.

Cannabis is frangible. Highly frangible. You should be able to *gently* press a bud against the side of your bowl and have it break into a crumbled pile of frosty bits. You'll then be able to easily pull out a single main stem (no branches) and push the pile into your bowl. This is how clean cannabis performs. :)

Cannabis is truly a unique and amazing plant...
Twista-in-a-bowl-almost-cached.jpg

Almost dusted *tightly* packed bowl of Twista. Notice how nice and fluffy the ash is?

Douglas
 
Paul Simon

Paul Simon

397
93
You realize that the plant never takes up silica right? Microbes provide it to the roots at the request of the plant producing exudates... While I agree cannabis quality continues to decline as the green rush sees no end, but this post seems to lack any facts based in science. Most of the growers I know cut silica just after the half-wy point through flower. Growers using pure organics may use things like rice hulls/carbonized rice hulls/biochar as their silica source and certainly don't sift it out of the soil before the flip.

Aptus: "
It is important to understand that plants have a defined biological sequence of nutrient
uptake. This starts with Boron, which stimulates the root system to leach sugars into
the medium. These sugars feed the microbes, which transform silicates (Si) into silicic
acid through a process called silicification. Silicic acid enhances Calcium uptake, fol-
lowed by Organic Nitrogen (from L-Amino Acids), Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potas-
sium.
These elements should be present in a bioavailable form to plants. If one nutrient in
this sequence is not available (or less available), the uptake of all other elements in the
sequence is more difficult or missed. It is very important to respect this sequence in
order to avoid mineral deficiencies and/or nutrient uptake problems.
A common nutrient problem in indoor gardening is Calcium deficiency. This is because
Calcium is immobile, meaning it doesnโ€™t naturally move into and throughout plant
tissue. Also, Calcium is pushed away by other minerals that are often added in large
quantities, such as Nitrogen (as Nitrates) and Potassium.
Looking at the chart above we can see that Calcium is near the beginning of the se
-
quence. And if Calcium uptake is limited in any way then all other nutrients uptake and
availability will be affected. There are many other problems with Calcium deficiency
that will be discussed later.
One of the best ways to increase Calcium availability and uptake (other than chelating
with amino acids) is to optimize Silicon levels in the form of Silicic Acid. This is the
beginning part of the biochemical sequence. In most indoor applications, silicic acid is
rarely available because of the time it takes soil micro-life to naturally convert silicon
into silicic acid. Even if a grower is adding a silica supplement (not in silicic acid form),
virtually all of the silica remains in the growing medium until it is converted, which can
take many weeks to months for any meaningful conversion.
Adding bioavailable silicic acid, as in FaSilitor, helps to increase the uptake and avail-
ability of Calcium and thus, all other nutrients. This is the natural mechanism and is
far more efficient than any synthetic method." Source: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0923/6556/files/Aptus-Bible.pdf?1422367918238403486

I would recomend building a soil that has rich enough microbial life to always have exactly as much available silicic acid, not using bottles as this is where too much of a good thing can be true.
 
Paul Simon

Paul Simon

397
93
Also the volatile aeromatic compounds(terpenes, thiols and flavinoids) that make up the smells of cannabis are 90%+ synthesized from atmospheric gases, not plants sugars or nutrients. Overall plant health and enviroment quality is effecting the lack of zing more than the silica ever could...
 
Douglas.C

Douglas.C

312
63
You realize that the plant never takes up silica right?
No offense, but... Have you actually tried cannabis with zero silica/silicon in flower? It doesn't sound like it.

Like I said before, run one plant without it. Low levels like Savage runs may be fine, have never tried it that low. I just know that when I use silica during flower, my flowers turn out tough and harsh and hot. Completely the opposite of when I don't.

For the record, I grow significantly cleaner than most people, so detecting the heat and harsh from *just* silicon can be a problem. I find most growers are inadvertently overfeeding either one or more elements throughout the flowering period.

Douglas
 
Savage Henry

Savage Henry

960
143
I find most growers are inadvertently overfeeding either one or more elements throughout the flowering period.

That's true, and I used to (and occasionally still am) be one of em. One thing I dig about growing in coir and treating it like hydro is it's fairly simple to keep an eye on how much the plants are eating and adjust fertigation accordingly by monitoring the ec of the medium. Just recently started getting into testing sap ph as a means to keep an eye on the presence of elements in the plants.
 
G

Growsmythe

1
1
When considering silica inputs I agree with above comments regarding soil/media biology if one utilizing specific strains of silica solubilizing bacteria. Silica solubilzing bacteria will help with both silica and potassium uptake key to toning done N release especially in high organic matter growing media both in regard to balanced nutrient uptake and microbially toning down N uptake.

In regards to foliar use during bloom and silicates one might consider a Silicate material with beneficial microbial strains for the benefits of reducing pest and disease incidence.
 
sosincere

sosincere

Supporter
8
3
Everyone please disregard the OPs suggestion. Silica is an important and necessary element in every phase of the plants life. It protects the plant leaves from pest and disease by making them thicker/stronger, and protects the roots from rot if you have about 50 ppm in your soil or 100 ppm in nutrient solution. Simply taper down as you get closer to harvest. When I don't use silica in bloom, I get worst results every time, it isn't optional for me. What a lot of people don't seem to understand is that we all have different setups: lights, enclosures, fans, air quality, nutrients, temp, RH etc...and they all will affect nutrient requirements. For instance, I believe a plant under a 1000w hps will need more calcium, magnesium, silica and iron than a plant under a 600w light intensity, and that doesn't account for the many other variables...
 
THEit

THEit

7
3
Im currently doing a big(for me) grow in a 14 x 6 meter room partially divided (the dividing wall is 3 meters) in the middle of the 14mtr. The right side running 12x 1000hps and left side 24x 400hps. Same cuttings. Same coco mix. Same reservoir. Its my first time with 1000watts and this this grow is nearing its end.. Sort of.. having the two areas side by side , one "high powered" and one not, ive noticed some interesting differences between the two "rooms". One of these is that many of the 1000 watt plants started showed calcium deficiencies while right next to them the 400watt plants had none of the symptoms.... They however showed the nitrogen claw here and there. And the 1000s do not.
Everyone please disregard the OPs suggestion. Silica is an important and necessary element in every phase of the plants life. It protects the plant leaves from pest and disease by making them thicker/stronger, and protects the roots from rot if you have about 50 ppm in your soil or 100 ppm in nutrient solution. Simply taper down as you get closer to harvest. When I don't use silica in bloom, I get worst results every time, it isn't optional for me. What a lot of people don't seem to understand is that we all have different setups: lights, enclosures, fans, air quality, nutrients, temp, RH etc...and they all will affect nutrient requirements. For instance, I believe a plant under a 1000w hps will need more calcium, magnesium, silica and iron than a plant under a 600w light intensity, and that doesn't account for the many other variables...
 
happynessistheway

happynessistheway

46
18
Thanks for that Good Information too all of you.
i am gonna look into the Regulator Si/ Bor/Molybdenium as i want to have thicker stems and branches as well as higher uptake but one liter of ths is pretty much gold lol.
250 bucks.
Yep definetly not the gold miners where the winners of the gold rush but those who sold em the tools and jeans xD
 
GDub51

GDub51

133
43
Hello,

I've noticed a growing problem with cannabis the last few years and it's reaching a peak I really don't care for. Growers are using liquid silicon and silica during flower. This is so, so wrong, seriously decreasing end quality of the flowers.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE silicon for cannabis. I use it extensively in veg and during stretch for massively strong branches and a superior vascular tissue system for transpiration. Awesome benefits for cannabis plants, just before flower.

During flower? Please don't do this. Cannabis has zero need for silica, when producing flowers. It adds toughness (Ever *Have* to reach for a grinder or scissors to break up flowers?) and heat (smoke a microchip some day) and diverts plant resources that should be producing terpenes and cannabinoids.

Don't believe me? Flower out one plant with zero silica/silicon during flower, vs your regular silica/silicon fed plants. You'll be surprised at how easily the flowers break up and how much smoother/cooler the smoke is.

Cannabis is frangible. Highly frangible. You should be able to *gently* press a bud against the side of your bowl and have it break into a crumbled pile of frosty bits. You'll then be able to easily pull out a single main stem (no branches) and push the pile into your bowl. This is how clean cannabis performs. :)

Cannabis is truly a unique and amazing plant...
Twista-in-a-bowl-almost-cached.jpg

Almost dusted *tightly* packed bowl of Twista. Notice how nice and fluffy the ash is?

Douglas
I had a problem with heat last year and anticipate the same this year. It came in FLOWER so I was looking for protection during the "fall" when it is the hottest here. (SoCal) Yet you warn not to use it? Will it's use during veg. make it heat resistant for the fall?
 
RichRon

RichRon

15
3
Also the volatile aeromatic compounds(terpenes, thiols and flavinoids) that make up the smells of cannabis are 90%+ synthesized from atmospheric gases, not plants sugars or nutrients. Overall plant health and enviroment quality is effecting the lack of zing more than the silica ever could...
Can I ask what you mean by atmospheric gasses?
 
Wolf6an6

Wolf6an6

40
18
This thread is already quite old, still i hope, I'll find some useful information.
I've tried PowerSi, I've tried Aptus, now i watched a YouTube video on AgSil 16H, in soluble Powder Form.
I guess i learned that the ratio K20 : SiO2 is of importance but not every producer presents this data.
And another thing .....should you really use Silicate acid in veg?? Either Aptus or PowerSi write you shouldn't use it in veg?!? In another forum i saw pictures of burned clones/small plants. This grower blamed the too early use of Silicate?!?
My question: which is the best SiO2 supplement on the market??
Btw, I'm using an indoor aeroponic system by GHE, now T.A. (Growstream)
Thanks in advance, my fellow growers! May your harvests be gigantic, the smell of your plants like perfume๐Ÿ˜› And good luck to all of you๐Ÿ™๐ŸŒฑ๐ŸŒˆ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ•‰๏ธ
๐Ÿบ
 
Wolf6an6

Wolf6an6

40
18
I get good results with TPS Gold Silica. Used for the entire grow. OP is spouting nonsense. Using silica during bloom isn't detrimental. It's beneficial. TPS is reasonably priced. Much less expensive than PowerSi. Worth a try.
Thanks PeatPhreak๐Ÿ™
Actually, I'm a bit disappointed with PowerSi after having tried other silicates๐Ÿ˜”
 

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