Borax/Boron for one time use for plants?

[Bacondoggy]

From what I understand is borax is about 11% boron. Anyway, check out this guy's claim - I searched here and couldn't find anything that takes about it like this. I know it's useful in a solution to kill gnats and maybe other pests? But this talks about a very diluted (2 -8 ppm in water) only once your entire grow, will boost your plant. So he used it for thousands of plants and does it when they show flowering. Seems legit right??? He says your buds will take off and ur plant will go crazy. Check it out! Let me know your opinion!

 

[Richard Richardson]

That doesn't seem legit at all. Boron is fairly abundant, in terms of what is beneficial to a plant, even in tap water.

Here are the best ways to ensure more boron without overdoing it:

Soil organic matter: The borate ion bonds to organic matter in the soil. Organic matter is a major storehouse for boron and it provides one of the primary sources of available boron for crop use. Boron is released from organic matter by microbial action. Crops grown in soils low in organic matter content usually need more frequent boron application.

Manures: Manures are a source of the plant needed micronutrients including zinc, boron, iron and copper. But boron in manure is usually very low, ranging from 0.02 to 0.12 pounds per ton. At the highest concentration, a rate of 20 tons per acre would just barely meet the boron needs where boron deficiencies are known.

Compost is a great source of organic matter and, depending on the feedstocks in the compost, it can be a source of boron. Municipal leaves are also a source of these micronutrients, including boron. A compost mix of animal manures and leaf litter is an excellent soil amendment and source of both macro and micronutrients. Compost application and subsequent build-up of the soil organic matter is the "long-term" approach to remedy boron deficiencies in the soil. The increased organic matter level will help "tie-up" and retain applied boron and keep it from leaching from the soil as easily.

Cover crops for nutrient recycling: Growing cover crops in the vegetable beds over winter will help to capture and recycle some of the soluble boron that otherwise would be leached away with the fall, winter and early spring rains and snow melt. The boron will be tied up in the plant tissue of the cover crop, conserved over winter and made available again in spring when the cover crop is turned under and soil microbes breakdown the material.

Kelp Meal (dehydrated chopped seaweed) is another source of micronutrients including Boron. Liquid fish and liquid kelp are also sources of soluble nutrients, including boron, that can be used as a foliar supplemental spray. The boron concentration in these products varies and would have to be verified.

Compost tea is another source of soluble boron. In 2004, we had our compost tea analyzed for macro and micro nutrients: It contained 0.36 ppm of boron. Since plants can be fed through their leaves, this can be another source of boron through foliar application of compost tea. The concentration of boron in compost tea will depend upon the feedstock's used in the compost and the other recipe ingredients used to make the compost tea. The compost tea can also be fortified with liquid boron if a boron deficiency is present. Typically, foliar applied nutrients have the benefit of being anywhere from 4 to 30 times more efficient than soil applications.

Source