Boron: The secret to getting more flowers

[sproutco]

what about the effects on microbes? What are the symtoms of a boron deficiency? What are the symptoms of a boron overdose? Thanks.

I am giving the rate as being 2.8 mg per liter. You can see this is very little and nothing happens to soil organism or other life.

Type of organism Type of effect(s) reported Boron concentration in the water
Bacteria Mixture of acute and chronic effects, for several types of bacteria 8 - 340 mg/litre (mainly above 18 mg/litre)
Protozoa First very small effects, for 2 types of protozoa 0.3 - 18 mg/litre
Freshwater green algae Highest concentration with no effect (NOEC), for several types of algae 10 - 24 mg/litre
Blue-green algae First very small effect for 1 type of blue-green algae 20 mg/litre
Invertebrates Acute effects for several types of invertebrates 95 to 1376 mg/litre (mainly 100-200 mg/litre)
Water flea (Daphnia magna) Highest concentration with no effect (NOEC), found in many chronic tests for this one invertebrate type 6 - 10 mg/litre
Fish Acute effects in several types of fish 10 to nearly 300 mg/litre
Rainbow trout Chronic tests with standard laboratory water (NOEC) 0.009 - 0.103 mg/litre
Rainbow trout Chronic tests in several natural waters (NOEC) 0.75 - > 18 mg/litre

Boron deficiency = loss of growing point in extreme cases

Toxicity of boron = burned lower leaf tips that slowly spreads its way back till the leaf falls off; as metioned before excess boron can be easily leached from the soil

 

[kokua]

I wasn't clear earlier...boron and borax are different products. I wasn't asking about the effects of boron on microbes...I was asking the effects of borax on microbes...

Type of organism Type of effect(s) reported Boron concentration in the water
Bacteria Mixture of acute and chronic effects, for several types of bacteria 8 - 340 mg/litre (mainly above 18 mg/litre)
Protozoa First very small effects, for 2 types of protozoa 0.3 - 18 mg/litre
Freshwater green algae Highest concentration with no effect (NOEC), for several types of algae 10 - 24 mg/litre
Blue-green algae First very small effect for 1 type of blue-green algae 20 mg/litre
Invertebrates Acute effects for several types of invertebrates 95 to 1376 mg/litre (mainly 100-200 mg/litre)
Water flea (Daphnia magna) Highest concentration with no effect (NOEC), found in many chronic tests for this one invertebrate type 6 - 10 mg/litre
Fish Acute effects in several types of fish 10 to nearly 300 mg/litre
Rainbow trout Chronic tests with standard laboratory water (NOEC) 0.009 - 0.103 mg/litre
Rainbow trout Chronic tests in several natural waters (NOEC) 0.75 - > 18 mg/litre

 

[kokua]

Boron deficiency = loss of growing point in extreme cases

so would you consider a boron deficiency to be rare?

 

[sproutco]

I wasn't clear earlier...boron and borax are different products. I wasn't asking about the effects of boron on microbes...I was asking the effects of borax on microbes...

It is sodium decahydrate (Na 2B4O7 · 10 H20). So your adding sodium, boron, oxygen and water. This won't harm things. Hidden hunger is a term for plants that show no symptoms readily of deficiency but still lack a nutrient. I would say boron is one of these nutrients that improves your crop but may not show symptoms.

 

[kokua]

thank you for all of your resonses

 

[kokua]

one more...

one more...

There is a small range between deficiency and excess uptake (toxicity) in plants. Did you ever notice a toxicity when using?

 

[sproutco]

At 10 ppm bottom leaves got burned. I flushed with water. Use the 2.8 ppm rate and you should not have a problem. Plants go bonkers for boron.

 

[kokua]

thanks again.

 

[Guest]

interesting sproutco..your just a wealth of knowledge..truly blessed...peace

 

[imnotcrazy]

I've been told,by a welder/brazer, borax is a mined mineral, naturally occuring...

 

[Guest]

How much if adding to soil? I used to use 1tblsp per 16 gallons soil, saw no harm or benefit. I will try one water application to see what I can see. I use PBP - I wonder what its content level is...

 

[southpaw]

Just read in the sick plants guide that there's boron in bone meal, so if you've already amended your soil with fair amounts of organics, you might be a little leery of dropping a bunch of Borax in there also. Anyone know roughly what ppm concentration of boron you'd have in soil with a teaspoon or more of bone meal per gallon?

 

[sproutco]

How much if adding to soil? I used to use 1tblsp per 16 gallons soil, saw no harm or benefit. I will try one water application to see what I can see. I use PBP - I wonder what its content level is...

Just only drench the soil once with the rate I gave you. This stuff is considered "hot".

 

[sproutco]

Just read in the sick plants guide that there's boron in bone meal, so if you've already amended your soil with fair amounts of organics, you might be a little leery of dropping a bunch of Borax in there also. Anyone know roughly what ppm concentration of boron you'd have in soil with a teaspoon or more of bone meal per gallon?

Organics may contain boron. What is important is the quantity of hot water soluble boron in your soil. This is what a borax application would be.

 

[Relik]

Boron is one of the least needed micronutrients, you should never see a B def indoors (if using new soil for each grow). Such deficiencies can appear in outdoor plots that are intensively used all year-long without ferts, but are extremely rare.

Unless you're growing in sterile lab conditions and feeding your plants pure NPK, you should never see a B deficiency. Advertising Boron as "the secret to get more flowering" seems like an invitation for nute burn to me...

Peace

 

[muddy waters]

cabbage has a good amount of boron, highest among leafy vegetables, if you're looking for an organic source. it seems bone meal's already got plenty though.

 

[Litz_C]

so can i use this on hydro? or only good for soils?

 

[inflorescence]

I'm sure most of you know this already, but just to give a conceptual idea to those that don't, we are talking parts per million here. The difference between 2 ppm of boron (good for you plants) and 6 ppm boron (bad for your plants) could easily be the same +- margin of error in your ppm meter.

Apparantly boron is one hell of a powerful micronute considerng the concentration it is useful in and making sure your plant is receiving this exact amount without going over seems risky.

Just a little too much boron in your tap water or build up in your soil from unflushed nutes plus this addational boron might be enough to go from deficient to toxic real quick.

I mean, compare these ppm amounts to other flower boosters like pk boosters
that use 100's of ppms and it seems the pk bosters seem to have a much greater margin for error.

 

[kokua]

I'm sure most of you know this already, but just to give a conceptual idea to those that don't, we are talking parts per million here. The difference between 2 ppm of boron (good for you plants) and 6 ppm boron (bad for your plants) could easily be the same +- margin of error in your ppm meter.

Apparantly boron is one hell of a powerful micronute considerng the concentration it is useful in and making sure your plant is receiving this exact amount without going over seems risky.

Just a little too much boron in your tap water or build up in your soil from unflushed nutes plus this addational boron might be enough to go from deficient to toxic real quick.

I mean, compare these ppm amounts to other flower boosters like pk boosters
that use 100's of ppms and it seems the pk bosters seem to have a much greater margin for error.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to inflorescence again.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

-Here is a interesting link from a farmers website concerning boron-

A quote from that page-
Boron soil nutrition is influenced by many factors. The most important are soil texture, organic matter content, and pH. Available boron is readily leached out of the soil by excessive rainfall or irrigation. This is especially true of course-textured (sandy) soils. Because less leaching occurs in fine-textured soils, silt and clay soils are not usually as boron deficient as are sandy soils.

But, boron deficiencies occur over a much wider range of soils and crops than do deficiencies of any other micronutrient element and, with some crops, there can be a close range of boron deficiency and boron toxicity (with over-application of boron leading to toxicity).

Here are the best ways to ensure more boron without overdoing it:

Soil organic matter: The borate ion bonds to organic matter in the soil. Organic matter is a major storehouse for boron and it provides one of the primary sources of available boron for crop use. Boron is released from organic matter by microbial action. Crops grown in soils low in organic matter content usually need more frequent boron application.

Manures: Manures are a source of the plant needed micronutrients including zinc, boron, iron and copper. But boron in manure is usually very low, ranging from 0.02 to 0.12 pounds per ton. At the highest concentration, a rate of 20 tons per acre would just barely meet the boron needs where boron deficiencies are known.

Compost is a great source of organic matter and, depending on the feedstocks in the compost, it can be a source of boron. Municipal leaves are also a source of these micronutrients, including boron. A compost mix of animal manures and leaf litter is an excellent soil amendment and source of both macro and micronutrients. Compost application and subsequent build-up of the soil organic matter is the "long-term" approach to remedy boron deficiencies in the soil. The increased organic matter level will help "tie-up" and retain applied boron and keep it from leaching from the soil as easily.

Cover crops for nutrient recycling: Growing cover crops in the vegetable beds over winter will help to capture and recycle some of the soluble boron that otherwise would be leached away with the fall, winter and early spring rains and snow melt. The boron will be tied up in the plant tissue of the cover crop, conserved over winter and made available again in spring when the cover crop is turned under and soil microbes breakdown the material.

Kelp Meal (dehydrated chopped seaweed) is another source of micronutrients including Boron. Liquid fish and liquid kelp are also sources of soluble nutrients, including boron, that can be used as a foliar supplemental spray. The boron concentration in these products varies and would have to be verified.

Compost tea is another source of soluble boron. In 2004, we had our compost tea analyzed for macro and micro nutrients: It contained 0.36 ppm of boron. Since plants can be fed through their leaves, this can be another source of boron through foliar application of compost tea. The concentration of boron in compost tea will depend upon the feedstock's used in the compost and the other recipe ingredients used to make the compost tea. The compost tea can also be fortified with liquid boron if a boron deficiency is present. Typically, foliar applied nutrients have the benefit of being anywhere from 4 to 30 times more efficient than soil applications.