BlueGold® Calcium Silicate (Wollastonite) (OMRI Listed)

Silica continues to be an under-appreciated and unrecognized nutrient despite decades of studies proving otherwise. In certain plant species, Silica is absorbed in large amounts than higher than of “essential micronutrients.” For example, the uptake of Silica is twice that of Nitrogen in rice. Silica can benefit plant growth and can be very useful, especially with plants under toxicity or biotic stress. Silica may also enhance soil fertility, improve disease and pest resistance, and increase tolerance to excesses of Iron or Manganese. Plants high in Silica have also been study proven to be more heat or frost-resistant.

Silica has been shown to be a binder of oxides and hydroxides (toxic forms of elements) and heavy metals. Coincidently, Silica is one of the most abundant elements in the earth’s crust – and when soil becomes deficient in Silica, there are negative results. Calcium Silicates have emerged as the most essential and available source of Silicates for soil applications. Of those, metasilicates, Calcium Silicate [CaSiO3], has shown to be the most effective source in many soil environments. Our Calcium Silicate is a raw mineral with a relatively high pH (10-11) with low water solubility, which is why it is micronized to less than 40 microns for injection capabilities, or the raw coarse being available for spreading, or our extremely micronized liquid product BlueGold® Mega Cal-Sil. This product is considered a ‘lime.’ We do not consider this an available Calcium source as it is a Cationic (positive charged) input and Calcium needs to be Anionic (negative charged) to be available. Aragonite is the Calcium source you’d use to address Calcium PPMs in the soil/sap. This product is meant to be used to address Silica PPMs.

The overwhelming evidence in controlled studies has shown that high levels of Silica can reduce the severity of several important diseases like Blast, Brown Spot, and Hollow Stem Syndrome. It has been demonstrated that disease tends to decrease with increasing concentrations of Silica in plant tissue. Similar observations have been made for many insect pests. In flowering species, including Hemp, Silica PPM increase in plant tissue has been directly correlated to significant dry weight increases.

Not all Calcium Silicates are the same. There are a handful of mines, and most are abundant in Magnesium. We have searched diligently to find a Calcium Silicate with no Magnesium as most soils have Magnesium excesses causing compaction and cracking while causing low Calcium availability.

CAUTION

BlueGold® Calcium Silicate (Injectable and/or Raw) should only be applied in accordance with an Apical sap/soil analysis. Results should dictate ongoing application rates. Ask us how to qualify for our Eden Guaranteed Grow Program.