Wow, Power SI's expensive.... Cut it with Armor SI?

I already use Armor Si but have heard great things about Power SI. Power SI's a lot more expensive than Armor SI. Plus, there's a Power SI Bloom. Damn....

Look, I've observed plant health/flexibility with and without SI. Some strains can't be helped, they're rigid. I've selecting against rigid strains, except for 5 Alive. It hardens more than I'd like; consequently, it's more susceptible to broken branches.... So, I'd be happy with an incremental improvement. My gut tells me the difference between 1) Armor SI and 2) Power SI Original + Power SI Bloom isn't worth the price disparity.

But I do want to improve on Armor SI. To me, it makes sense to buy all 3 but make the mix 2/3 Armor SI. Of course, I'd confirm each product's concentration before mixing them. Does cutting Power SI make sense to you? Or perhaps there's an SI product that's better than Armor SI but not as expensive as Power SI?

[After an SI improvement, my next add will by Myco Jordan ... got at least the bases covered on nutes/nectars, focusing on improving roots, thicker stems, and, consequently, nutrient uptake and distribution.]

I think the ingredient you were looking for is silicic acid.

Tracker said:

I think the ingredient you were looking for is silicic acid.

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Yes, silica/silicic acid. I guess I'll skim an earlier thread for product suggestions, https://www.rollitup.org/t/silicic-acid-and-other-silica-sources.924327/

I don't think Armor SI is the worst silica product out there ... the gallon size and price are fine for my purposes and the 2.5 gallon size isn't out of reach. If I replace it with something, I'd want there to be some visually measurable improvement. Otherwise, I'll stick with Armor SI.

Although I'm confident Power SI and Power SI Bloom are great, my friends (really, anyone who knows what's up) will only pay so much for a pound; so, at some point, it makes sense to cap costs. I'd buy both Power SI Original (veg) and Power SI Bloom (bloom), but I'd want to cut them with Armor SI to keep my cost reasonable. Silica's not a nutrient, so I'm thinking I'm less likely to conflict with proprietary blend concentrations by mixing them, showing up as sick leaves/plants. A 1:2 Power SI to Armor SI ratio is about what I'd start with (if that makes sense).

Apostatize said:

Yes, silica/silicic acid. I guess I'll skim an earlier thread for product suggestions, https://www.rollitup.org/t/silicic-acid-and-other-silica-sources.924327/

I don't think Armor SI is the worst silica product out there ... the gallon size and price are fine for my purposes and the 2.5 gallon size isn't out of reach. If I replace it with something, I'd want there to be some visually measurable improvement. Otherwise, I'll stick with Armor SI.

Although I'm confident Power SI and Power SI Bloom are great, my friends will only pay so much for a pound; so, at some point, it makes sense to cap costs. I'd buy both Power SI Original (veg) and Power SI Bloom (bloom), but I'd want to cut it with Armor SI to keep my cost reasonable. Silica's not a nutrient, so I'm thinking I'm less likely to conflict with proprietary blend concentrations by mixing them, showing up as sick leaves/plants. A 1:2 Power SI to Armor SI ratio is about what I'd start with (if that makes sense).

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I bet you can find some scientific studies that demonstrate the rate of uptake of Si with various chemical compounds (ie silicic acid, silicon dioxide, potassium silicate, etc...) and rates/methods of application.

I've read, what's special about silicic acid is that it's more immediately available for uptake, and a larger proportion of the Si in the mix is available as compared to the other compounds used to supplement Si.

I use Dynagro Protect potassium Silicate and RAW silicon dioxide because I'm too cheap to buy the silicic acid supplements, but I have some friends that swear by them.

Once upon a time I searched around to see if I could buy straight silicic acid from a laboratory or chemical supplier that would make it significantly less expensive to use, but no dice!

Tracker said:

Once upon a time I searched around to see if I could buy straight silicic acid from a laboratory or chemical supplier that would make it significantly less expensive to use, but no dice!

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Let me know when you have a plan!

Well...this thread got me investigating yesterday. I made a few contacts to chemical suppliers. The minimum order I could make is way more than would be needed, and there are some special chemical processes involved to making a stable aqueous solution (otherwise you just get silica gel). But I also found this article which is super interesting:

Tracker said:

Well...this thread got me investigating yesterday. I made a few contacts to chemical suppliers. The minimum order I could make is way more than would be needed, and there are some special chemical processes involved to making a stable aqueous solution (otherwise you just get silica gel). But I also found this article which is super interesting:

https://scienceinhydroponics.com/2021/03/how-to-make-your-own-stabilized-mono-silicic-acid-for-use-in-hydroponics.html

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Nice, includes a recipe. Thanks! Good for future use.

a note for my personal clarification that I can refer back to later:

How to make your own stabilized mono-silicic acid for use in hydroponics