The many benefits of silica for plants

Silicon is one of the most useful elements to mankind. It's used to make dynamo, engine blocks, machine tools and computer chips, as the most common component of sand. In nature, as it is in the presence of oxygen, silicon becomes silica.

The beneficial effects of silica for plants have been demonstrated by multiple studies - it:

• Improves nutrient uptake,
• Enhances plant metabolism,
• Promotes upright growth (stronger and thicker stems, shorter internodes),
• Provides resistance to bacterial and fungal diseases, and
• Helps alleviate environmental stresses such as temperature, salinity, heavy metal and aluminium toxicity.

Our new product, Diatomite is rich in silica (it is about 33% silicon): we recommend adding this to your initial mix, but also when top dressed (and kept dry), it is very useful as a completely non-toxic insecticide as it will assist in killing pests such as fungus gnats and thrips.