Heavy Metals in Fertilizers

[BerndV]

I have recently been doing a bit of web research on the heavy metal content of the fertilizers we all use to grow our favorite plant. It concerns me because marijuana has a distinct affinity for absorbing heavy metals and they are not exactly good for the health of your body and brain. This is particularly concerning because the most common method of ingesting marijuana is through inhalation by either smoking or vaporizing it, and arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury readily enter the body in this manner. For those of us that like to enjoy good herb but also hope to preserve our mental faculties, inhaling brain toxins like lead and mercury doesn't seem like a very good idea and would ideally be minimized. Cadmium and arsenic are also highly toxic and accumulate in the body over time.

The following are links to the Washington State heavy metal content certificates for some fertilizers commonly used to grow marijuana. I haven't bothered to look them all up but the website is there to look up your favorite. It would appear that the ONLY brand with undetectable levels of the most toxic heavy metals is Canna (their synthetic lines). House & Garden, who claim to use food grade nutrients, is actually one of the worst. It took me a long time to find the H&G products, as they are listed under Allied Imports and Logistics. Botanicare's PBP Grow came out really clean as well. I am quite bummed out as I have been growing in Coco using the GH 6/9 formula with great results. Perhaps the outstanding cleanliness of the Canna synthetic base nutes helps explain what is otherwise an extraordinarily high price tag. Also, it would appear that Advanced Nutrients are not nearly as dirty as I had expected. Well, without further ado, here are the links (caveat emptor):

House & Garden
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/suppinfo.aspx?pname=2173

General Hydroponics
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/suppinfo.aspx?pname=1029

Canna
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/suppinfo.aspx?pname=1561

Advanced Nutrients
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/suppinfo.aspx?pname=1465

Botanicare
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/suppinfo.aspx?pname=1265

 

[ganjasuiteseat]

wow thats depressing but hey thats hoow the game goes.those dirty whores and population control.lmao.peace and a peacefully clean harvest

 

[Ioni Botani]

Thank you. Interesting topic. Canna, way to go...Never thought I would say it.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

Dutchmaster uses British Pharmaceutical Grade ingredients or better in all their products, thats 99% or better purity.

They also cost mush less than CANNA, I'm not knocking CANNA though, just the price.

I do wish some company would use high purity ingredients in a dry formula. Shipping liquid nutrients costs $$$. A British Pharmaceutical Grade form of Maxibloom would be perfect.

 

[BerndV]

I hadn't looked them up before, but the Dutch Master line also seems to be squeaky clean like Canna. Again, like H&G, they are hard to find, as they are listed under Transloc Technologies, but here is the link:

Dutch Master
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/suppinfo.aspx?pname=1650

 

[chefro420]

Could the higher levels of heavy metals in H@G be due to the lines concentrated mixes? Maybe they are more concentrated and the other lines are more diluted , there for lower levels of metals? I sent H@G an email asking about this. They always advertise that there ferts are clean and that no one in humboldt would use ferts with high heavy metals .

 

[Rolando Mota]

Thanks for posting this BerndV.

I am a little confused, are the results posted in the same units? H&G coco a+b comes out to:
N .4
P .3
K .9
Ca
Mg .8

and Canna coco a+b is:
N 5
P 4
K 3
Ca 4.5
Mg 1.1

H&G looks really watered down compared to Canna, strange...


I've had good results with H&G but this is making me think twice, I have enough brain damage already.

 

[ibjamming]

Before you go crazy...WHERE do the heavy metals go? If it's not part of the volatile compounds...it's most likely going to be left behind in the ash. Especially if you vape...how are you going to ingest heavy metals when nothing is burned? I'd need to see someone grow some in a toxic environment (heavy metals) test the ash compared to the whole plant before vaping or burning to see what was actually lost.

 

[BerndV]

ibjamming, you may very well be correct that some, most, or even all of the heavy metals absorbed by the plant may not be ingested through vaporization. I would certainly be more concerned about ingestion through smoking. I have yet to determine whether or not any of these substances end up in the portion of the plant that gets vaporized (I'm trying to research that now). Personally, despite my preference for GH's Flora series, this information has me switching to Canna once my current stock is depleted. I see no reason to chance it considering the fact that cleaner alternatives exist. I would also strongly consider Dutch Master if I was in hydro but it appears to have a bit too much potassium for coco growing. My goal here is simply to get this previously unknown issue out there for the growing community, not to persuade anyone to use a particular line. People can take the information and make up their own minds about whether this concerns them or not.

 

[ibjamming]

ibjamming, you may very well be correct that some, most, or even all of the heavy metals absorbed by the plant may not be ingested through vaporization. I would certainly be more concerned about ingestion through smoking. I have yet to determine whether or not any of these substances end up in the portion of the plant that gets vaporized (I'm trying to research that now). Personally, despite my preference for GH's Flora series, this information has me switching to Canna once my current stock is depleted. I see no reason to chance it considering the fact that cleaner alternatives exist. I would also strongly consider Dutch Master if I was in hydro but it appears to have a bit too much potassium for coco growing. My goal here is simply to get this previously unknown issue out there for the growing community, not to persuade anyone to use a particular line. People can take the information and make up their own minds about whether this concerns them or not.

I'd love to know what you come up with.

What made me think of it was...people have used those same things in nutes for food for ages...and nobody seems to have gotten ill from it... I'm sure that Marlboro uses those same basic nutes growing tobacco.

The REAL thing you should be worried about are radioactive elements getting into your lungs. Got any info on that? I thought I heard once they used Cannabis around Chernobyl? To pick up radioactive elements? If THAT is the case...I guess I should vape ALL the time! Don't want to smoke any fallout.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

I use dutchmaster in coco, and it works beautifully. I think you'll think twice about using CANNA when you compare the price, dutchmaster is 1/3 the price.

 

[ganjasuiteseat]

so dutch master and canna are the cleanest

 

[BerndV]

I use dutchmaster in coco, and it works beautifully. I think you'll think twice about using CANNA when you compare the price, dutchmaster is 1/3 the price.

What are the measurements you are using? I've plugged the guaranteed analyses for the Gold line into the cannastats calculator and haven't come up with good nutrient ratios for coco. The potassium in their bloom formula is very high and the magnesium is low which is not good in coco.

 

[cyat]

Good info! Anyone have any thoughts about dangers of some synthetic chelates, like eddta, etc..? BerndV can you look up Ionic?

 

[Sam the Caveman]

What are the measurements you are using? I've plugged the guaranteed analyses for the Gold line into the cannastats calculator and haven't come up with good nutrient ratios for coco. The potassium in their bloom formula is very high and the magnesium is low which is not good in coco.

dam dude, I dont' know about all that cannastats calculating, but I use the advance line with cal/mg suppliment and my plants do very well.

So, do whatever you want to do but I'm just saying that it works well for me.

 

[BerndV]

I have found an article on medscape that alludes to the accumulation of heavy metals in the body as one of the safety concerns when marijuana is used for medical reasons. This would lead me to believe that the cause is marijuana's very high affinity for absorbing heavy metals and the fact that most of it is grown with fertilizers having varying degrees of heavy metal contamination. I believe that the heavy metal issue is of much greater concern in marijuana than when growing crops with these fertilizers.

 

[mriko]

Biobizz TopMax has traces of some heavy metals as well.
Although heavy metals absorbed by cannabis are distributed in all parts of the plant, the majority of these end up in the plant's fibers. The amount of bad stuff reaching the body must be really minimal.

Irie !

 

[BerndV]

Good info! Anyone have any thoughts about dangers of some synthetic chelates, like eddta, etc..? BerndV can you look up Ionic?

I was unable to find Ionic. It is imported by Hydrodynamics International, but the Ionic products were not listed under this registrant.

 

[chefro420]

Here is the responce , makes sinse to me...

He said he will get back with more soon



H&G is the most concentrated product in the states. I feel that when I do the math on how much nutrients its takes to do a full run, that we're still going to come out with lower numbers. Many of these companies also have higher dosage numbers and metal counts then us. you take 1ml from HG compared to 1 ml from the other fertilizer companies you'll find we have lower metals. I'm going to do the math on all products to see the TRUE figures instead of someone spreading rumors because they don't like H&G. Also the way companies break down nutrients can be harmful. Food grade nutrients should go through a cleaner process of breakdown with safe chemicals. I have heard that some of your most popular nutrients still go through some pretty harsh methods.

Europe is 10 years ahead of the US in the horticulture industry and its affects on the environment. This seems strange that a country ahead of the game would choose H&G food grade nutrients as one of their leading nutrient companies. The Van De Zwann family has been doing this for 3 generations and because their relationships start with some of the cleanest nutrients available. Lets do first flower week verse Canna since their more like the H&G formula.

WEEK 1 FLOWER:

CANNA Per Gal / H&G Per Gal

Aqua Flores 10-13ml of A & B / H&G Aqua 6.5-8ml of A & B
No Product / Drip Clean 0.4ml

Rhizotonic 2ml / Roots Excelurator 1.1ml

Canna Zyme 10ml / Multi Zen 3.8ml

Canna Boost 8-15ml / No Product this week

Total low ml of Canna = 30ml 910ppm /Total low ml of H&G = 11.8 ml 350ppm

THESE TOTAL AMOUNTS ARE DOING THE SAME JOB!!!!!!!!

I'll have to study which minerals are better then others for human consuption and then look at metal levels on charts. We do have the lowest amounts of Arsenic which is one of the most dangerous minerals.

Hope to figure this out soon! I'm am not a scientist but I'll do my best.

 

[ganjasuiteseat]

keep on buying me