dyna-gro protekt?

So my girls are having some trouble with this heat and are transpiring way too fast. I literally have to water daily and if i dont it wilts and some older leaves get sunburned. I also stopped using neem oil as i am starting to flower, so im afraid pests will make a move.

From my research it seems potassium silicate is my best option and i can get the dyna-gro protekt for cheap. Anyone have good/bad results? Also will it raise my soil pH significantly?

Thanks guys

I would get them some protection from the light before trying anything else. 'Worry about the environment, the plants will take care of themselves.' Always worked out for me. Lower temps, less light, more humidity.

I do use protekt though, both in soil and hydro. I'm just not sure that it will do anything for you. I know of several benefits, none of which includes heat protection or reducing transpiration. It may lessen the immediate damage, but youre only putting a band-aid on the problem IMO. I could be missing something though. Yes, it raises pH. How much will depend on how much you use.

Also, just because you started flowering doesnt necessarily mean you need to stop treating for pests. I alternate neem, pyrethrins, rosemary oil, and azamax treatments through about week 4. Pyrethrins and azamax are both approved for use 'up to and including day of harvest'.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CFoQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dyna-gro.com%2FWebsite%2520pdf%2520Files%2FDG%2520Pro-TeKt%2520Sht%25202010.pdf&ei=KBctUNy5POTIyQHV7oH4Ag&usg=AFQjCNFWHwjeQ9NKxmPk8RrU3k0i-eUDQQ

This is a pdf link. It explains the heat resistance and lower transpiration rate provided by the product.

Thanks for your help tho man, im just moving them out of sun btwn 1-4pm when the uv index is highest. Can you tell me other benefits you know of for silica? Im really interested in this product...ill also continue the neem based off your response...week 4 or 5 stop then? thanks again!

Pro-Tekt also provides a level of insect resistance.I use .5ml per gal of my nute mix for indoor,and makes my ph stable in my desired range.Pro-Tekt is a permanent suppliment in my garden.

Dalek Supreme said:

Pro-Tekt also provides a level of insect resistance.I use .5ml per gal of my nute mix for indoor,and makes my ph stable in my desired range.Pro-Tekt is a permanent suppliment in my garden.

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Nice definitely a plus. Imma pick it up fuck it haha so can you confirm it helps with heat/cold stress and regulates transpiration?

i used it yesterday..it's a solid product imo...

Theres a thread in the advanced section that has some decent info. I just posted a few links there that cover the majority of what I know about it.

btw, the link you posted is broken. Is it to something from DG? I know DG claims increased heat resistance as a benefit, but I've just never seen anything specific from a non-biased source. I guess in the sense that a healthier plant is more resistant to any type of stress, it would help. I just don't know how silicon would reduce transpiration. It might take longer for the wilting to show since cell walls are stronger, but like I mentioned that doesnt alleviate the problem, just makes it less visible, and a little less severe.

For some reason I cant edit my post...But I just found what you were trying to link to I think.

"Silicon, deposited in the cell walls, forms a protective layer reducing transpiration through the outer cells. Silicon deposits in the cell walls of xylem vessels prevent compression of the vessels under conditions of high transpiration caused by drought or heat stress."


While protekt may fix the problem of collapsed xylem vessels, excess transpiration is still going to happen because of the VPD. Your stomata will be completely open, so no matter how strong or protected the cells are, they're still going to transpire more than you wanted. So without closing those, there's no completely fixing the issue. Guess its better than nothing, though you're still going to want to take care of the open stomata. Read up on VPD to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

mike91sr said:

For some reason I cant edit my post...But I just found what you were trying to link to I think.

"Silicon, deposited in the cell walls, forms a protective layer reducing transpiration through the outer cells. Silicon deposits in the cell walls of xylem vessels prevent compression of the vessels under conditions of high transpiration caused by drought or heat stress."


While protekt may fix the problem of collapsed xylem vessels, excess transpiration is still going to happen because of the VPD. Your stomata will be completely open, so no matter how strong or protected the cells are, they're still going to transpire more than you wanted. So without closing those, there's no completely fixing the issue. Guess its better than nothing, though you're still going to want to take care of the open stomata. Read up on VPD to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

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Nah man i get what your talking about and i really appreciate you taking some extra time to research the topic for me. +rep. One of my questions was how to slow transpiration and you answered it. I dont think it will slow transpiration either from what you have told me and thats why i am still going to keep them in the shade from 1-4p and then they will go back into full sun from 4 to sundown. I bought the protekt today and some jamaican bat guano to boost flower so im giving it a shot. I am not always home to tend to them in extreme weather (i work 45+ hours a week and go to school full time) and i am hoping the protekt can give me a helping hand until i or my girlfriend can get to them. It seems like it should do this for me, only time will tell; giving them a little today so we will see what happens.

How often do all of you guys use it outdoors? It says 1/4 - 1/2 tsp per gallon every time i water and i give 1.5 gallons of water each every watering. I have been ahving to water daily recently though so i dont know if that is a good idea. Maybe 1/2 tsp with nute feedings twice a week? Thanks again everyone

Had some freebie peppers outside that were sprouted and grown without protekt before I transferred them to coco hempies, and the protekt made a noticeable difference in the texture and resiliency of both leaf and stem. Toughened em' up quite a bit, which helped immensely when the damn wind would kick up.

Harvested a few peppers already, and they are quite tasty with no noticeable negative impact from either nutes or protekt.

I've used it on my AK's from the start, and they aren't doing to shabby despite my high temps indoors.

Good stuff IMO.

I toss in 1/2 tsp per gallon every time I water/feed, which is about every 2 days in my coco hempies.

Hey no worries man, I learned another use and benefit for it too.

Seems like you got it figured out. I put shade up for anything I have outside for 11-4ish. Desert weather...At least now I know protekt will help.

I use it at 5ml/gal in hydro and 3ml/gal in soil(indoors) with every feeding, water once in between. I've used it on my outdoor plants too(not marijuana plants), but only maybe .5ml/gal every other feeding because I've never been as worried about those crops. Wish I could grow outside.

Hey Indy, I started using this product about 2 weeks ago. One thing I have noticed is that it makes the stems/stalks stronger, I know that once plants transition to flower, they get stronger/hard, but I can see the difference Pro tekt is making. Highly recommend doing any LST before using this product. I am still having to water once a day, but I think a lot of that has to do with 90+ temps and evaporation. Plants are nice and healthy, and thats all that matters. I use 1/4 t-spoon per gallon with every watering/feeding. Good luck bro!

St1cky1cky said:

Hey Indy, I started using this product about 2 weeks ago. One thing I have noticed is that it makes the stems/stalks stronger, I know that once plants transition to flower, they get stronger/hard, but I can see the difference Pro tekt is making. Highly recommend doing any LST before using this product. I am still having to water once a day, but I think a lot of that has to do with 90+ temps and evaporation. Plants are nice and healthy, and thats all that matters. I use 1/4 t-spoon per gallon with every watering/feeding. Good luck bro!

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Wussup StickyIcky, glad to hear the product is working well for others, im pretty happy with my choice to pick it up in this case. I also just bought some jamaican bat guano i am using as a slow release top dress along with my FF trio and molasses. One of my girls is pretty unhappy with me right now bc of the heat and im hoping this strengthens her up a bit. My other girl and the one clone i have are loving me though but nothing like a little reassurance that theyre gonna be strong girls through flower. haha i think ill work my way up to giving the silica every watering eventually but i am giving heavy feedings right now and i dont wanna overdo anything.

Thanks again brotha and here is to a great crop for everyone! cheers!

Wilksey said:

Had some freebie peppers outside that were sprouted and grown without protekt before I transferred them to coco hempies, and the protekt made a noticeable difference in the texture and resiliency of both leaf and stem. Toughened em' up quite a bit, which helped immensely when the damn wind would kick up.

Harvested a few peppers already, and they are quite tasty with no noticeable negative impact from either nutes or protekt.

I've used it on my AK's from the start, and they aren't doing to shabby despite my high temps indoors.

Good stuff IMO.

I toss in 1/2 tsp per gallon every time I water/feed, which is about every 2 days in my coco hempies.

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How are those hempies working out for you? Im thinking about growing some autos in some hempie buckets indoors over the winter with my cfl lamps.

Came across this doin some reading and figured I'd pass it along since its relevant here.

"Potassium regulates the opening & closing of the stomata by a potassium ion pump. Since stomata are important in water regulation, potassium reduces water loss from the leaves & increases drought tolerance. "

mike91sr said:

Came across this doin some reading and figured I'd pass it along since its relevant here.

"Potassium regulates the opening & closing of the stomata by a potassium ion pump. Since stomata are important in water regulation, potassium reduces water loss from the leaves & increases drought tolerance. "

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Hell yea its relevant, nice find
...the protekt is 3% potassium, should help me out

indcolts77 said:

How are those hempies working out for you? Im thinking about growing some autos in some hempie buckets indoors over the winter with my cfl lamps.

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I find the hempies to be relatively user / n00b friendly so far, and, to my surprise, I haven't had much difficulty using this approach. My goal was to go hydro for my first run (DWC or a hydro-farm), but after doing some research and being honest with myself, I realized that I wouldn't be able to provide the right environment for hydro given my current circumstances. While some say start with soil, after research, I found that it too has it's share of issues, and when I found out about the hempies, it seemed like a good compromise between soil and hydro.

I have found hempies to be a very forgiving and low maintenance approach to cultivation, and that's exactly what I was looking for in my first grow. I've got 2 AK's and 4 pepper plants all growing in coco hempies, and while my plants won't win any ribbons at the state fair, they are ALIVE, growing, and bearing fruit, DESPITE my complete lack of knowledge and experience. But I'm learning as I go...

One of the ladies at day 35 flower.....



Coco hempy, dyna gro nutes, under a 600 HPS.

Best to you.

When I mix my nutes without Protekt in Ph 7.0 water it comes to about 6.0 using CNS17. Then when adding Protekt at 3ml for 5 gallons it raises that Ph to 12.0. Which is insane.

The amount of Ph down I need to use when using Protekt does not make me happy. I'm going to give a new dry nute powder a try that has the Silicon in it and see how that goes.

Hello everyone, I am using Mel's Mix -

1/3 Peet Moss
1/3 Vermiculite
1/3 Compost (Cotton Bur, Cow Manure, Worm Castings, Mushroom)

Does anyone have a suggestion what fertilizer to use during flowering, I can't really find a straight answer to what to classify Mel's mix as, a soil or a composted hydro?

Thank you!

jixan said:

Hello everyone, I am using Mel's Mix -

1/3 Peet Moss
1/3 Vermiculite
1/3 Compost (Cotton Bur, Cow Manure, Worm Castings, Mushroom)

Does anyone have a suggestion what fertilizer to use during flowering, I can't really find a straight answer to what to classify Mel's mix as, a soil or a composted hydro?

Thank you!

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I believe that would be considered soil. From my understanding, hydro is only when your medium is completely inert, and with your compost, I believe it would be classified as a soil; therefore it would use soil nutrients and amendments.