The overwhelmed oldfogey multistrain clone grow debacle

[oldfogey8]

I give my plants a tsp or so per gallon of unsulphered molasses when I feed. I have something called Bio Marine that is supposed to feed the micro herd but I think I may have over fed as my tent smells a bit like rotting squid(which is what the stuff smells like). Oops...

I’m probably going to stay away from the snow storm and purple maxx for now and see how this scrog goes compared with my usual method. That being said, I just ordered some Exreme Foliar powder from kelp4less so I can ‘speriment with foliar feeding a bit...

My plants should mutiny on me. Sometimes I feel like Joan Crawford in ‘Mommy Dearest’ and my poor plants are Christina’s...

 

[oldfogey8]

Oops and I read your post about silica, sa. I started incorporating some diatomaceous earth into my recycled soil. From what I have read it contains a lot of silica. I made the mistake one grow of putting a layer of about a quarter inch on top of my soil because I was having fungus gnats and maybe spider mites(can’t recall exactly) and the soil became almost like concrete. It was not one of my better growing experiences...

 

[umbra]

Honestly, DE not the best for silica. Not readily absorbed. I use GH 3 part, they have silica that makes it a 4 part. Much easier to use and readily absorbed

 

[stinkyattic]

You'd have to wait for it to leach if using it as a solid. I just like the liquid stuff for control and predictability.

 

[umbra]

Just like using the micro 1st when mixing GH 3 part, the silica is before the micro. It will cloud up until you add PH down. You are building a complex chain molecule, so which nutes first, matters.

 

[Lesso]

I use silica blast in veg. Ha s a ph of 11. So i add it to water first, ph down to 7, add cal mag if needed, then micro, then bloom.

 

[umbra]

the GH 3 part will not work that way. The chemical molecule will not form correctly and the plant will not be able to absorb it correctly.

 

[Lesso]

the GH 3 part will not work that way. The chemical molecule will not form correctly and the plant will not be able to absorb it correctly.

Not sure what you mean. Im Im doing the same thing you said in the other post?
Silica first, then other nutes?

 

[umbra]

I use different product Armor Si from GH. They recommend this product with the 3 part and it's part of their feed chart. When building a chain molecule having to ph it separately is not how it works. With the Armor Si the entire molecule is built before ph ing.

 

[umbra]

https://gh.growgh.com/docs/Feedcharts/GH_FloraSeries-DTW_03216am.pdf

 

[umbra]

LOLLOLLOL, silica blast is a Botanicare product and not compatable with GH at all

 

[Lesso]

I called it silica blast, its armor si. I may be wrong but im pretty sure that milky situation you described is salt precipitation. It happens when your adding a high ph salt solution to a low ph solvent.

 

[stinkyattic]

You can use silica blast foliar too. The snow you see is the solution being oversaturated at that part of its pH solubility curve, and excess falls out of solution. It can be redissolved with the addition of di water (you won't do this, info only) to reduce the concentration below saturation levels, or manipulate the pH to maximise solubility. You gotta be real careful with that for reasons I'll explain below.
But that's all just theoretical background, let's talk plants again lol. In the same way plants take up nutrients at different pH levels, metal and mineral oxides, sulfides, silicates, etc. have varying degrees of solubility With changing solution ph. With these inorganic materials, you're not so much going to form chains (That is the domain of organic hydrocarbons) as allow the salts to dissociate and go into solution as available ions. What you don't want is to mix them in the wrong order at the wrong pH for that addition, as umbra said, and risk unwanted salts forming that are fully insoluble and form precipitates unusable to plants, that simply build up in your soil as insoluble salts and change the electrochemical potential of the dirt... leading to uncontrolled ph and redox conditions and eventually lockouts and burns.
Commercial chemical fertilizers contain chelators such as edta, oxalic acid, citric acid, etc. That are intended to keep unwanted ionic bonding from occurring and forming salts. These chelators are active only in certain pH ranges as well so if the instructions give you an order of mixing, definitely take it to heart.
If you are concerned, do your silicate supplement in plain water in between scheduled feedings. I don't even pH adjust it when I do it that way, my soil tends to drift down anyway and a drench every 2-3 weeks with dilute silica blast at elevated on has never bothered them.

 

[stinkyattic]

Oh and no matter what do you use, shake the dang bottle hard before measuring out lol

 

[umbra]

I called it silica blast, its armor si. I may be wrong but im pretty sure that milky situation you described is salt precipitation. It happens when your adding a high ph salt solution to a low ph solvent.

except there is no precipitate and it dissipate when you ph. No you are building a chain molecule. Si is first, but don't ph it until you add micro and either grow or bloom. Then ph the whole molecule. GH makes it as easy as possible and their products are designed to work together. That's why using a different silica product not specific to the GH line would not work as well as their version.

 

[umbra]

much better explanation

 

[stinkyattic]

I'm gonna sum up my giant wall of text: ionic bonding will occur between positive (metals and minerals) and negative (stuff like nitrogen and phosphorus) in aqueous solutions. Some conditions make stuff stick together so plants can't use it. Others leave it in forms plants love. You are looking for the latter.

 

[Lesso]

Im having a mental affair with your words, S.A.

 

[oldfogey8]

I am flashing back to 10th grade chemistry class with Mr Ketchum waking me up with my face in a pool of saliva on the granite lab tables asking if I am ok and would I like to join the class after I went and got baked between homeroom and 2nd period. I will need to try to digest this tomorrow but this ph-ey thing hurts my brain...

 

[stinkyattic]

Tell Mr ketchup to go eat a weiner