Do you know how much protein the average person needs daily for general health? About 55 grams (depending on your weight). With that amount of protein, your body can perform all the functions it needs to.

But what happens when you provide more than the minimum requirement of protein to your body along with the right environmental stressors (exercise)? You start to build muscle.

That’s kind of what extra silicon does to plants. It beefs them up, making them produce more and become more resistant to disease. In fact, Helene Isbell at Maximum Yield calls plants on silica “strong beastly plants”.

Check out how silica works and the reasons why you should add it to your hydroponic garden in this article.

Increases dry weight and harvest

When plants absorb silica, it gets to work thickening the cell walls throughout the plant with silicon. This thickening leads to bigger stalks and stems, and that means the plant can absorb and process more nutrients. The result is greater dry weight (up to 80% more, in fact) and better harvests.

Improves disease resistance

Plants don’t have immune systems per se, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have defense mechanisms. Plants that get plenty of silica do a better job of protecting themselves from disease. In fact, silicon will concentrate itself in vulnerable areas in order to prevent powdery mildew, damping off, root rot, and gray mold.

Improves resistance to environmental stressors

Not only does this element protect your plants from fungi and other pathogens, it also protects them from the environment. Plants that are beefed up on silica better tolerate harsh temperatures and drought situations. They also fend off insects because of their thicker, harder to get through, leaves and stems.

Now, if you’re growing indoors, this may not be a big deal, but it does offer insurance against something going wrong in your grow room.

Makes food textures better

Remember how we said that silica fortifies plant cells? By doing that, the texture of foods like leafy greens is improved because every single cell has been pumped up. Thicker cell walls means a heartier texture.

And guess what? Silicon makes food healthier for you too. Similar to its function in plants, silicon actually strengthens skin, bones, and joints in people.

Balances nutrient absorption

By suppressing certain nutrients, silicon in the plant cells allows other nutrients to be taken up more readily. This leads to a better balance of nutrients. And we all know that nutrient balance is a top concern when cultivating an indoor garden.

Prevents toxin absorption

In addition to all the other maladies silicon can protect your plants against, it also inhibits the absorption of toxins from soil or other growing media. What toxins exactly, does it guard against?

Silicon makes it harder for plants to absorb heavy metals like iron, aluminum, and manganese. This is good news because your body needs some trace metals, but high levels are toxic to you.

Silica is an abundant natural resource. Buy silica formulated to be readily applied to you hydroponic system at Indoor Cultivator.