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  • From: Hans Brinkmann <hans-brinkmann@t-online.de>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Fwd: Tip for Greenhouse Growers: Add Silicon + others
  • Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 13:29:32 +0200

Hallo Mark,
very nice to read you - thank you Mark!
Spring is always the nicest time with the least time...
Hundreds of rootstocks, graftings and wonderful seednuts from USA and Canada and...
8 Miniature-Bull-Terrier puppies making the spring to the spring in it's real meaning and - keeping busy.

Let me just explain one European view:
*"*Primitive Rock Flour*"* (Rock powder from basalt) is used since many, many years in organic farming AND more and more in conventional farming.
Now-a-days it is becoming a fashion for gardeners. Very cheap and very effective. No bad side effects.
We call it an earth-improving-substance because of its physical structure (large surface).
But it contains approx. 50% SiO2!!! AND many different "Rare Elements" like e.g. *boron*! and many others!

*"*Bentoite*"* (not the wonderful Benitoite from your San Benito) or Montmorillonite is also a nice earth-improver (if less clay content), but less universal improving.

*"*Diatomaceous Earth*"* is mostly SiO2 and has the largest surface (used for filters, dynamite, toothpaste...)
And now-a-days it is used more and more as an *insecticide. Non poisonous*, but it should be probably not too much inside lungs.
Especially in greenhouses it is used more and more as a none poisonous insecticide. But they try it also for animals, human beings and even for bees.
It is working only physically ( soaking the lipid from the insect skins). Because of the higher price it is used only in special earth-improvers. Especially if the soil or the water is poisoned.

*"*Limestone powder*"* (much more coarse!) is used worldwide for most agricultural soils, because most soils are becoming more acidic during agriculture!
Anyhow MOST trees do prefer neutral to little acidic soils!! Agricultural plants prefer more neutral soils (general speaking) Now-a-days farmers are using mostly simple limestone powder but less "burned limestone without water". But farmers learned much and they are avoiding too much limestone, because limestone powder is reducing the organic substances indirectly. Many years it has been propagated from scientists (Germany and Europe) to add regularly limestone powder even to the forests (by helicopters) to work against the acidic rain. Probably billions of tons... Now-a-days it is out of "fashion", because the positive effect is overlapped from the "organic-substance-reducing effect". Done from the more active microorganisms.
Even in former days intelligent farmers have had a wisdom: "To add (too much) limestone powder to the soil is making the father rich -
and the son poor"!
Now-a-days farmers are using fertilizer only after exact analysis - even for rare elements!
And educated farmers are trying to increase the organic level at their field soils.
A living soil is a very, very, very complex "organism" not like the typical "Dutch Rockwool and ferilizers"...
Anyhow most Dutch are not using this method and not buying those products...

ciao
hans Germany





Mark & Helen Angermayer schrieb:

Hallo Hans,

Interesting reading. Lately, I'm hearing more and more of the benefits of
"Si" in the soil. When we had our soil checked last fall, the lab did not
check for silicon. I doubt our soil has much since it's a clay based loam.
Maybe it would do our soil some good.

Ciao,
Mark



Hallo Mr. X,
yes, plants can take silicon from sand because it is (very) little
soluble in water!
A very fast source is the so called (at Europe) "Stone-flour" which
is a very fine stone powder made from Basalt only!
Organic farmers are using it for many other benefits and to strengthen
plants. Bamboo gardeners as a source for silicon.

ciao
Hans

mIEKAL aND schrieb:
I know almost nothing about plant biology, but I wonder if a plant
can uptake silicon from sand?

On May 2, 2007, at 9:03 AM, Lucky Pittman wrote:


At 08:50 AM 5/2/2007, you wrote:

Anyone know of an organic source of silicon? I know biodynamic
gardeners use equisetum for a source of silicon. Anything else?

How about....SAND.
It's not organic, since it's not a carbon-based molecule, but it is
'natural'. SiO2.

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