Ok, my interest in fulvic or humic acids began sometime last year when the clerk at the hydroponics store kept trying to push a quart of it on me. He was ranting and raving about it being the "greatest thing for plants" and basically any kind of nutrient deficiency I could possibly be having would be well paired with it. I started listening to him when I had to get some chelated iron for my aquaponics plants sometime around July or so. So, what exactly is this fulvic acid business? I'll show you a few things and maybe someone who knows a lot more about botany and plant biology could help us out a bit more. All I know is that it was doing great things for my systems last year.
Ok so according to wikipedia it is:
"Humic acid is a principal component of humic substances, which are the major organic constituents of soil (humus), peat, coal, many upland streams, dystrophic lakes, and ocean water.[1] It is produced by biodegradation of dead organic matter. It is not a single acid; rather, it is a complex mixture of many different acids containing carboxyl and phenolate groups so that the mixture behaves functionally as a dibasic acid or, occasionally, as a tribasic acid. Humic acids can form complexes with ions that are commonly found in the environment creating humic colloids. Humic and fulvic acids (fulvic acids are humic acids of lower molecular weight and higher oxygen content than other humic acids) are commonly used as a soil supplement in agriculture, and less commonly as a human nutritional supplement."
After doing a quick search just now, I found this link that gives a few benefits of using these wonderful acids (a link to a store site nonetheless). This in particular caught my attention.
3. Transports Minerals into Cells
Because the molecular weight of fulvic acid is so low, it can easily transport nutrients in the plant. In fact, fulvic acids are able to transport over 60 times their own weight in minerals into cells. The fulvic acid actually transforms these minerals and metals into elaborate fulvic acid molecular complexes that have vastly different characteristics from their previous metallic mineral form.
Link: http://sdhydroponics.com/resources/articles/gardening/5-benefits-of-fulvic-acid.
Ok so according to wikipedia it is:
"Humic acid is a principal component of humic substances, which are the major organic constituents of soil (humus), peat, coal, many upland streams, dystrophic lakes, and ocean water.[1] It is produced by biodegradation of dead organic matter. It is not a single acid; rather, it is a complex mixture of many different acids containing carboxyl and phenolate groups so that the mixture behaves functionally as a dibasic acid or, occasionally, as a tribasic acid. Humic acids can form complexes with ions that are commonly found in the environment creating humic colloids. Humic and fulvic acids (fulvic acids are humic acids of lower molecular weight and higher oxygen content than other humic acids) are commonly used as a soil supplement in agriculture, and less commonly as a human nutritional supplement."
- Here's the part that mostly interests me "Humic acids can form complexes with ions that are commonly found in the environment creating humic colloids." In my limited understanding of chemistry, this essentially means the acid combines with materials that are already available in the soil or water where it is present. This is obviously great for plants who intake chemicals in liquid form, especially if it needs....say, calcium. When there is fulvic acid present, the acid combines with the calcium ions in your reservoir or soil and becomes more readily available for the plant. I could be completely off base about this but I feel like I'm grasping it a bit.
After doing a quick search just now, I found this link that gives a few benefits of using these wonderful acids (a link to a store site nonetheless). This in particular caught my attention.
3. Transports Minerals into Cells
Because the molecular weight of fulvic acid is so low, it can easily transport nutrients in the plant. In fact, fulvic acids are able to transport over 60 times their own weight in minerals into cells. The fulvic acid actually transforms these minerals and metals into elaborate fulvic acid molecular complexes that have vastly different characteristics from their previous metallic mineral form.
Link: http://sdhydroponics.com/resources/articles/gardening/5-benefits-of-fulvic-acid.
- Simply doing a little bit of snooping about the nutes I'm using made me realize this guy wasn't just trying to sell an extra bottle to me or anything like that, he was actually right on the money as far as I can tell. This makes everything make a lot more sense than it previously did to me before about everything from AACT to FPEs and even basic composting or using liquid nutes. All of it benefits from humic and fulvic acids and some people even use it for their own nutrition. I'm actually going back to school this summer or fall for horticulture and finding out things like this are giving me a head start I believe.
