Liquid Silicon is a an additive that will give your plants a boost of this important element. Silicon is one of the most abundant elements in the earths crust and is readily available to outdoor plants. When their roots sit in the soil, they have access to all of the naturally occurring silicates. When growing indoors, your plants can suffer from a lack of silicon as it isn’t usually part of nutrient bottles. Silicon is quite difficult to make behave alongside other more important elements, therefore it is left out. While silicon isn’t necessarily as important in the plants processes as, for example nitrogen, it does have a an important use.
What does Liquid Silicon do for plants?
Adding silicon to your nutrient mix will help strengthen the plants structures. Outdoor plants are constantly hit by the wind and the plant naturally stiffens to protect itself. Indoors, the plants get total protection from the wind and so have no need to toughen up. This can cause you lots of problems, especially down the line when the big fruits start developing. Ideally, you’d want your plants to be able to support its own produce, but a weak, floppy plant cannot do this. The plant uses silicon additives to strengthen cell walls which in turn makes the plant sturdier and stronger in all areas. This will go some towards supporting heavy fruits, but they may still need some extra help if you’re using potent boosters.
Another benefit of the plant structures toughening up is the protection it grants from attack. Many insects damage plants by piercing the stems and branches and sucking out the liquids within. Not only does this cause internal pressures to drop, leading to wilting, it can also be an open door for diseases. The insects can leave their waste on the plant where pathogens can grow. Liquid Silicon will help protect you plants from these issues!
Liquid Silicon is a great value option being only 0.5ml per litre and so is a popular choice! Please be aware that Liquid Silicon is alkaline and will raise the pH of your nutrient solution. Some growers actually use this as a pH up product, adjusting acidity which feeding silicon! You can find more info on this range of products on the Growth Technology Website (opens a new window).
Alternatives to Liquid Silicon
At Canterbury Hydroponics, we have a few options for adding silicon to your feed regime. Some are more expensive than others but tend to be more usable by the plant. Examples include, FloraMax Silica, Solar Green Power, and Silica Von Liebig. To see what we have, please click here!
