Wollastonite (CaSiO3) as a silicon supplementation in coconut?

[Piecho]

Hello,
I get 1kg of grounded wollastonite for 3e - Wollastonite - Wikipedia
I read, that it can be used as silica supplementation:
- "Bioavailable Silicon: Release Rate from Additives & Substrates" by Mackenzie G. Dey, Jennifer Boldt et al. (usu.edu) - Paper suggest, that in ~45-90 days release amount from medium is about half. Suggested to use ~1g/l medium
- R&D Cannabis - Vertical Exploration Inc. (vertxinc.com) - these researches suggest to use 10-15g/l medium

I was wondering about the amount and way to use it. Maybe ~5g/l during the transplant to 11l coco/perlite fabric pots, then top feeding in flower ~5g/l medium twice? Or feeding with nuts, not top feeding?

 

[GenghisKush]

I just mix it in with my media (coco) at 10g/L, after I've "buffered" (ie soaked the coco for 24 hrs in a solution with plenty of calcium and magnesium). I top feed with drip irrigation. Diatomaceous earth can be used in the same way (are they not the same thing?). Top-watering through a mulch of rice hulls is another way to get more silicon ions to the roots.

 

[Knothead]

Don't know about the coco but wollastonite is/can be used as a liming agent. I am familiar with the first article you mention and used it as the basis for some of my experimentation. I specifically started using peat as a component of my media so that I could incorporate silicon(wollastonite). I would suggest making 1 L of your media with the wollastonite, make sure it is fully wetted(with distilled water) and then check the media ph after 24-48 hours. I initially used the 2 to 1 method for checking media ph which involves putting 1 part media to 2 parts distilled water then checking ph after a couple of hours. Checking it this way initially started with ph of 5.8 but left me with runoff ph in the high 6's after a couple weeks even though I was getting 5.8 after the 2 hour soak in distilled water. This article helped me better understand the relationship between peat and lime and started me fully wetting and waiting 24 hours (or more) before checking ph.
https://www.sungro.com/issue-33-april-2005-harmonizing-peat-and-lime/
Getting kinda long but starting with peat that had a ph of about 4, I added 3 grams of wallastonite per liter of dry screened peat. my mix consists of 50% peat, 35% perlite and 15% vermiculite. After the 24 hour soak , which more closely approximates how media would react after being in a pot and repeatedly watered, my ph is 5.8. Vermiculite and perlite are neutral ph and that has to be factored in because my mix is 50% perlite/vermiculite. Again not sure about ph of coco but that is where I would have to start.
Incidentally wollastonite and diatomaceous earth are quite different.

 

[Knothead]

Excerpt from article...
Sun Gro formulates growing media
products to fall within a targeted pH
range after being “wet out”, which
means the mix has been moistened
sufficiently to assure that the lime
reaction will proceed efficiently.
Even after “wet out” the medium pH
typically takes at least two days to
stabilize from the limestone addition
alone and may take up to 2 weeks to
be fully reacted. But why is that?
For dolomitic limestone to “react”
and adjust growing medium pH, three
criteria need to be met: proper moisture, time and temperature.
• Moisture content—Mixes are
produced at 35-50% moisturemoisture does affect solubility of
lime. Limestone must be solubilized in order to “react”. The
moisture content of unused growing media is usually not high
enough for the liming reaction to
come to full stabilization.
• Time of delivery—It takes a period of 2-3 weeks after production for pH to completely stabilize under typical greenhouse
growing conditions. Delivery of
products in relation to time of
production vary, therefore it is
difficult to predict pH levels at
time of delivery.
• Temperature—Product may be
exposed to freezing temperatures
in transit which will affect the
lime reactivity and it’s ability to
increase pH.
This means that growers who make
decisions on the pH of unused growing medium are making decisions on
media where the liming reaction in
many cases has not come to
“reasonable completion”.

 

[Piecho]

Excerpt from article...
Sun Gro formulates growing media
products to fall within a targeted pH
range after being “wet out”, which
means the mix has been moistened
sufficiently to assure that the lime
reaction will proceed efficiently.
Even after “wet out” the medium pH
typically takes at least two days to
stabilize from the limestone addition
alone and may take up to 2 weeks to
be fully reacted. But why is that?
For dolomitic limestone to “react”
and adjust growing medium pH, three
criteria need to be met: proper moisture, time and temperature.
• Moisture content—Mixes are
produced at 35-50% moisturemoisture does affect solubility of
lime. Limestone must be solubilized in order to “react”. The
moisture content of unused growing media is usually not high
enough for the liming reaction to
come to full stabilization.
• Time of delivery—It takes a period of 2-3 weeks after production for pH to completely stabilize under typical greenhouse
growing conditions. Delivery of
products in relation to time of
production vary, therefore it is
difficult to predict pH levels at
time of delivery.
• Temperature—Product may be
exposed to freezing temperatures
in transit which will affect the
lime reactivity and it’s ability to
increase pH.
This means that growers who make
decisions on the pH of unused growing medium are making decisions on
media where the liming reaction in
many cases has not come to
“reasonable completion”.

Thanks, I see that it is another rabbit hole to fall into : )
I want to give a try next run with 30% perlite, 10% wollastonite and 60% coconut. I will be reusing perlite and some of the coconut from the current grow and adding some fresh one.

Thanks for the tip how to measure the PH, I will check that before planting.

 

[troutman]

I got some too. But only use it a few times per grow.

Can help with PM.

Applying Wollastonite to Soil to Adjust pH and Suppress Powdery Mildew on Pumpkin

Although not considered an essential nutrient, silicon (Si) can be beneficial to plants. Si accumulator species such as pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo var. pepo) can absorb Si from soil. Si uptake may reduce plant susceptibility to fungal diseases such as cucurbit powdery mildew (Podosphaera xanthii...

journals.ashs.org

 

[420PyRoS]

Gosh I have tried to make bread but all I get is a semi fluffy dense loaf that tastes like yeast. Idk what I am doing wrong, but I'm guessing the yeast I use is bs.

Oops, wrong thread wtf I'm high

 

[gmanwho]

Thanks, I see that it is another rabbit hole to fall into : )
I want to give a try next run with 30% perlite, 10% wollastonite and 60% coconut. I will be reusing perlite and some of the coconut from the current grow and adding some fresh one.

Thanks for the tip how to measure the PH, I will check that before planting.

hey Piecho, just some food for thought, im not saying you have any issues with pathogens, but some of the facts you may want to consider when reusing media is the condition of you plants or the plants in the prior runs. Or its even the level of how much you are aware about your plants.

Pathogens can hitch a ride in your last soil or medium and move to your next by simple unsuspecting actions. In this case they could hitch a ride in the reused perlite.

never mind that pathogens jump from cut to cut. but it is possible to infect new plants from reusing old media, a dirty ph/nutrient probe and or containers, scissors , stakes etc etc. Or even a fungus knat as it jumps from plant to plant. A spore catches a ride in the wind of a fan.

Somethings you can control better. others you cannot.

Knowing all possibilities is the key here. the unknowns are often limitless and the deepest of rabbit holes.

So if you KNOW you seen molds, cankers, wilting, wet or dripping plant stalks, duding, black spots, red/pink/ light brown bark an patterns near the base of you plants, or poor clone production before even if on 1 particular mom / cut. i would not ever reuse medium.

Disease can be looked at on 2 levels, 1 u have it or you dont, then the 2nd would be how strong of a presence or "load" it puts on the host. disease is everywhere, every breath we take something is trying to set up and live inside us. Healthy plants and people will fight most things off, but some will over take eventually.

but sounds like the mix would be good. i would do a test soak of 1:2, 1 part media, 2 parts ro or low ppm water. test the ph of the water first and note, fill a container with the 1:2 mix, 24hrs later test the the run off or pushed out water. an then test again 2 or 3 days later. Just to get an idea how much the ph has changed. this way you can change ph of your feeds knowing there will be an offest.

let us know how the 10% does. Just be aware is all, cause later you may think this experiment failed from " X " change, when it was some other pathogen that may have hitched a ride.

bwell man!!

 

[Piecho]

hey Piecho, just some food for thought, im not saying you have any issues with pathogens, but some of the facts you may want to consider when reusing media is the condition of you plants or the plants in the prior runs. Or its even the level of how much you are aware about your plants.

Pathogens can hitch a ride in your last soil or medium and move to your next by simple unsuspecting actions. In this case they could hitch a ride in the reused perlite.

never mind that pathogens jump from cut to cut. but it is possible to infect new plants from reusing old media, a dirty ph/nutrient probe and or containers, scissors , stakes etc etc. Or even a fungus knat as it jumps from plant to plant. A spore catches a ride in the wind of a fan.

Somethings you can control better. others you cannot.

Knowing all possibilities is the key here. the unknowns are often limitless and the deepest of rabbit holes.

So if you KNOW you seen molds, cankers, wilting, wet or dripping plant stalks, duding, black spots, red/pink/ light brown bark an patterns near the base of you plants, or poor clone production before even if on 1 particular mom / cut. i would not ever reuse medium.

Disease can be looked at on 2 levels, 1 u have it or you dont, then the 2nd would be how strong of a presence or "load" it puts on the host. disease is everywhere, every breath we take something is trying to set up and live inside us. Healthy plants and people will fight most things off, but some will over take eventually.

but sounds like the mix would be good. i would do a test soak of 1:2, 1 part media, 2 parts ro or low ppm water. test the ph of the water first and note, fill a container with the 1:2 mix, 24hrs later test the the run off or pushed out water. an then test again 2 or 3 days later. Just to get an idea how much the ph has changed. this way you can change ph of your feeds knowing there will be an offest.

let us know how the 10% does. Just be aware is all, cause later you may think this experiment failed from " X " change, when it was some other pathogen that may have hitched a ride.

bwell man!!

Thanks!
I am preparing medium before next grow. I will be using about 33l of medium, how much wollastonite should I put in? ~300g?