When combining calcium and sulfur in a concentrated solution as a supplement for plants, they precipitate out as calcium sulfate.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ Calcium sulfate is an industrial chemical used as a coagulant and desiccant, and occurs naturally as gypsum.

In the 1840's, German researcher Justus Von Liebig developed a theory known as Liebig's Law of Minimum, which effectively states that a plant's growth is limited by the lowest level of every essential element.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ In other words, high levels of many nutrients are wasted when any essential element is missing or supplied at a proportionately lower level.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ Lacking any essential mineral, no matter how seemingly insignificant, will affect the overall growth and health of the plant, according to Liebig's concept.

This seems to suggest that the common N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) fertilizers are inferior to fertilizers that provide every essential micro and macronutrient a plant requires in solution.

According to Dyna-Grow, a manufacturer of plant nutrients, planting media and other horticultural products, plants require a total of 6 macronutrients, which in addition to N-P-K consist of calcium (Ca), sulfur (S) and magnesium (Mg) and 10 micronutrients: boron (B), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu),???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), Cobalt (Co), and sodium (Na). Plants require higher levels of calcium than phosphorus.

The manufacturer states that silicon (Si) supplements are now being recognized as an essential element for optimum plant growth and health with the benefits comprising greater tolerance of environmental stresses such as cold, heat, drought, salinity, mineral toxicity or deficiency, improved growth rates, increased fertility (more blooms & fruit), accelerated root development on cuttings and improved resistance to insects and fungi.

When growing plants in soil, there may be trace amounts of some, or all, of these 16 macro and micronutrients.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ However, over time soils become increasingly depleted of many of these elements.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+And when growers use hydroponics or soilless media, these elements are missing altogether.

Following Liebig's law, adding an N-P-K formulation is only effective in relation to the presence of the remaining essential nutrients.

The difficulty in finding a complete nutrition formula has been solving the riddle of how to keep several of the macronutrients – notably calcium, sulfur and magnesium – in solution.

There are several calcium-magnesium and magnesium-sulfur powder supplements on the market but they require separate applications to prevent precipitation.

But recently, in what is considered a trade secret, the Richmond, Calif., manufacturer developed a process capable of keeping all 16 nutrients in solution.

Gerald Garrison of Green Applied Sciences, a Hawaii-based grower of vegetables and herbs produces volumes of vegetables and herbs in large outdoor and indoor locations, using various types of soil and soil-less medium, and supplementing them with the manufacturer's product, called Foliage Pro.

According to Garrison, complete nutrition, including soluble silicon, has helped him reduce the amount of bench time required to grow his products.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ He says he regularly experiences multiple growing years within each calendar year as a result.

"Much higher yields, increased growth rates, and overall healthier plants come from optimizing plant nutrition and bolstering natural protection plants need to guard from everything the earth and sky can throw at them," explains Garrison.