silica blast with every watering.....

[skeeterpeep]

some of you know the problems im having with water and ph and shit and now im wondering about what the guy who owns the grow store i go to said....he told me to use up to 1 tbls per gal. of silica blast with every watering and feeding and i would have much stonger plants and that they would handle drought and stress better. i have done this religously since clones were three weeks in the dirt. theyre stong as hell and could take a golf ball wieght on the ends of almost any of the branches. could this be what is causing the lockout i seem to have right now?

 

[orpanic]

I use DE on topsoil/soil to control pests, it also doubles as silica agent for the plants, double bonus! It's OMRI.

 

[EvilTwin]

Hey Skeeterpeep,
I'm more a hydro guy but isn't silica more of a hydro additive? I mean...doesn't soil already contain silica?

I'd certainly think you could leave out the silica and see if that helps.

"One test is worth a thousand expert opinions"

ET

 

[dongle69]

he told me to use up to 1 tbls per gal. of silica blast with every watering ....could this be what is causing the lockout i seem to have right now?

Silica Blast contains a good amount of potassium and you are using 3x the suggested rate.
So yes, you could be screwing yourself with an overdose of potassium, in addition to too much silica.

 

[skeeterpeep]

well ok guys! the hydro store guy seems to have seen me comin! no more silica blast. would it be wise to just water with str8 ro water for a couple weeks? then measure the ppm of the run off before i start to feed again?and ET, i also believe in odd things!! my life is a testament to that very statement! and thanx fer all yer input!

 

[dongle69]

Silica is a good additive when used in more modest amounts.
Do you have pics of the "lockout?"
What other nutrients are you using?

 

[skeeterpeep]

im not able to post pics at this time,soon hopefully. they look just like the pic on stiches guide to sic plants that is under manganese def. yellowing with brown crispy spots and the leaves eventually die ive noticed. im using gh floranova grow. i havent given them over 600=650 ppm (and 325 of that was water) but the runoff ppm is over 1100! and im also using mexican bat guano bout every 4 weeks. the last time i used it i got this problem with the leaves and thought i gave the nute burn so i flushed them and still i had the runoff of 1100. i always adjust my ph to 6.5 after nutes wich meant ph down most allways. now im using ro water and will have to ph up cuz the ph before i add nutes is at 6.5-7. could i be in the totally wrong direction here? i did try tap water a short time bak and its ppm was at 600 or so. i was told to use ro water and either mix it 2 to 1 with tap or just add calmag to bring it to 200. havent got the calmag yet but do have ro water now. wudda ya think?

 

[guineapig]

"one test is worth a thousand opinions" - i heard that on the radio too.....quote from the rocket man werner von braun....

ok now about Silica Blast (and other Silica products like Dyna-Gro and Liquid Sand etc)....

yes it will help resist drought, build thicker cell walls, and also acts as a pH up for when your fertigation solution is too acidic......but i have seen the exact same problems that you are seeing (when you use silica blast with every watering and in medium to high amounts).....during mid to late flowering, those strange burnt out spots began to appear.....it looked like a P overdose or a P lockout, but it might have been a manganese lockout also.....this was in a mixture of coco and soil and perlite.....

As far as the RO water goes, it is a bit harder to control pH with RO water......tap water contains buffering agents, so it is probably a good idea to add a small amount of tap water to your RO water just to make the pHing easier.....maybe 10-15 percent tap water is a good zone.....

I'm trying to find this article from Maximum Yield magazine that really explained this silica lockout problem......it showed the exact way to add nutrients and pH your water so as to avoid any bad chemical interactions like nutrient lock-out......the article was written by a chemist and had pics of the cloudy water that indicates nute lock-out due to improper mixing of nutrients.....this article was so good, everyone should read it, and i'm sorry but i'll try to find it......i am too tired right now but i swear as god as my witness i will find this article....(shakes fist)....

kind regards from guineapig

 

[krunchbubble]

interesting indeed! i use pro-tekt with every watering to ward off bud rot, but at 1/2 strength. i would love to see that article. sometimes i get some weird lockout that i cant explain...

 

[skeeterpeep]

its seeming like im getting sumwhere here!!! yeeha! i just cut off all the dead and dieing leaves. lets see if its stopped! i used calmax and ppm'd it to 200 and fed. lets see what happens! just as krunchbubble there i also am interested in that artical you were talkin about there guineapig. cant wait ta read it! thanx fer all the help guys, keep it comin i aint outta the woods yet!

 

[EvilTwin]

Be Patient Skeeterpeeps...
"all things come to he who waits"

Since were into quotes on this thread.

The "odd things" in my signature is actually a quote from the late Terence McKenna...a psychedelic visionary and one of my all time heroes.

Hey thanks Guineapig for the source of that quote. I got it from an old guy...retired shop teacher who I used to work for years ago. Werner von Braun...a respectable guy to quote from.

Cheers guys,
ET

 

[habeeb]

I use DE on topsoil/soil to control pests, it also doubles as silica agent for the plants, double bonus! It's OMRI.

then it can also triple to create lung problems..

I suggest people be warned that breathing in DE dust can cause negative results.. be warned

 

[skeeterpeep]

what is DE ? " everyone has to believe in something....and i believe i will smoke another joint!" quote from some drunk guy in a bar!! lol
seriosly though.....looks like it has stopped. no new spots today!! i will be mixing my ro water with tap from now on in hopes its better for ph factor. any useful tip are indeed apreciated at this point! i should feed nutes at a rate of what, once a week? instead of every other watering?

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Skeeterpeeps...
Indeed, smoking another joint is a good idea in almost any circumstance.

DE is diatomaceaus earth. It's used in spa and swimming pool filters and is an effective pest repellant. But, like perlite, it creates dust that can harm lungs.

Hey, one watering schedule that I've heard works good goes like this...
full strength (at a strength you've determines to be safe)
1/2 strength next watering
and then ph-ed water

And keep repeating that. Plants get a little break every third watering. (from an AN newsletter)
Peace,
ET

PS Glad you're ladies are looking better...

 

[skeeterpeep]

hey ET, i like that watering schedual. im gunaa implement it as soon as i know im outta the woods with this spotting thing. im just waiting for the article that guineapig was talkin bout. hope he can find it. ya know....if i get good at this grow thing im thinkin i just might move outta this fucked up state and move to a herb freindly one. i have accute pigmentary glacoma and am loosing my sight. left eye is already gone. bet i could get a script for bud in another state! illinois sucks the big ass! oh yeah...krunchbubble, NICE NICE NICE .....JUST SAW YER VERT. GROW THING!! i can only hope to do that well !! keep it up yer an inseration to newbies like myself!! all you guys......ty ty ty! will keep ya'll posted on my results!

 

[krunchbubble]

is this the article?
http://www.maximumyield.com/article_sh_db.php?articleID=460&submit=Go

this link is all the articles maximum yield articles. interesting reads for sure!
http://www.maximumyield.com/past_issues.php


skeeterpeep - appreciate it bro!

 

[EvilTwin]

Yo Skeeterpeeps...
Bummer about your vision loss. I suffered some loss in my right eye from a bad car wreck. It's a serious handicap. I've thought about moving too. Michigan isn't too far from where I'm at. Be nice to stop worrying about the cops...
Peace,
ET

 

[skeeterpeep]

ET, the BEST thing bout goin blind is..braile t-shirts fer the chicks!!! thats why i gotta learn wut im doin before it happenz! i'll figure it out! yeah michigan is by me too! can ya grow fer med smokers? tattooin was my whole life for 40 yearz and now i got a new love!! growin. and fuck cops!! ill look at the link when i get home from work bout midnite krunchbubble and thanks a million!!

 

[guineapig]

Yes that is the maximum yield article.....

That article should be a sticky imho.....if we follow the recommendations of that article in the future, hopefully all results will be improved....

kind regards from guineapig

 

[dongle69]

Maximum Yield has been reprinting Flairform's articles:
http://www.flairform.com/growers_guide.htm
Good bits here and there but some incorrect info as well (imho).