What's New

Another place place CW Grow is shining is amongst the trees. We made this video as an overview of why wollastonite is a good fit for trees and shrubs, especially in a changing climate.

The wollastonite in CW Grow is full of calcium and silicon. While calcium is well known as an essential nutrient for plant health, what silicon does for plant health is a field of hot discoveries.

A study showed that an extraordinarily high amount of silicon was found only at the root tips of maple trees as they are pushed through the soil.

At high concentrations, silicon can form a solid, biogenic rock (rock created by a living organism) in plant tissues. The author of the study suggested that the silicon could be concentrated at the root tips protect the tips with armour as they push through the soil.

How plants use silicon varies from plant to plant. Could there be an evolutionary advantage to plants that can uptake and concentrate silicon in their cells to form biogenic silicon, a glass like layer that improves disease protection?  The hairy stems on plants like comfrey or cucumber are also full of silicon and are used to stop pests  from crawling around.

Silicon is also recognized to boost plant immune systems to wage better chemical attacks and defences against pests and diseases; even though the amount of silicon found in plants can be very small.

The future of wollastonite and silicon research holds a lot of promise for capturing carbon and boosting stress tolerance in gardens, fields, and forests.

Check out our new video and let us know what you think.