Yes, definitely answers my question. As for the Pro-tekt: The Dyna Gro is marketed in my country, but not ProTekt specifically. Bamboo cultivation is not a common practice here, though I have seen it grown in the city of Aqaba, in Jordan, right across the border. (Yes, in the hot desert). As for the potting mix, we use bamboo skewers for barbecue, and it is fairly simple to take some bamboo sticks, cover them with potting soil, keep it moist and let them decay slowly. (They become brittle). The process may take some time to complete, and by spring I will have it ready for planting. I will plant grasses (which are known to take-up silicone) in this mix alongside a control mix with no bamboo chips, for comparison.

If it labeled 100% silicone, that's what it is, and it's the identical product, regardless if labeled for aquarium use and priced at 10 times more, or sold in hardware shops and home centers for sealing tubs, showers and refrigerators. I buy it in the larger tubes meant to be used with caulking guns and have used it for years to reseal tanks with no problems. To give me more control on small jobs, I filled a 30 cc syringe that came with a fairy narrow tip on it and keep it capped, inside a zip bag. It's handy for just the type of small job you are planning. That syringe originally held paste horse wormer, but after being washed and boiled, I was sure it would be safe, and it has been. I don't know if it's available in the UK, but in the US, 100% silicone is also sold in small syringe applicators, for small jobs. You might want to see if you can find it there, because they are a lot easier to use and control, than squeezing it out of a tube. To keep any remaining sealant in the tube fresh for another use, dip the tip into hot water immediately after use, wipe it clean, cap it, and seal it into a zip bag with the air squeezed out. My refill in the syringe has so far kept good for nearly 4 years. I used it only last week, to seal a small crack in a plastic box filter and it flowed and held as well as the day I had opened the original large tube.

Let me try to put you mind at rest on cookware. On flaking of enamel from enameled cast-iron, you'll need to check on specific brands. I recall (but cannot find) a chowhound discussion of this last winter. The gist of it (IIRC) was that the less expensive brands were more likely to experience enamel flaking and the most typical offenders were Martha Stewart, Mario Batali and Rachel Ray brands. You will find some reports on Tramontina and Lodge pots, but most folks seem happy with them. The Tramontina 6 qt. dutch oven model was running about $50 at Wall Mart. The most recent Cook's Illustrated magazine (May-June 2013) says it performs nearly as well as brands costing five times as much (e.g., Le Creuset and Staub). There is also Lodge's own line of enameled cast iron dutch ovens which cost more than the Tramontina line but are still less than half the cost of Le Crueset and Staub. A friend of mine bought one of the "Kirkland" enameled dutch ovens from our local Costco for (I think) about $80 last winter. I do not know if that pan is made by Tramontina or Lodge, but it seems to be work very well and has not flaked on the interior. (She's using it on an old coil burner stove, btw.) So, plenty of alternatives to LC. On non-stick: the stuff is inert when it flakes. Internet research will turn up a lot of paranoid (and mostly fact-free) raving about non-stick just as there is with induction, itself. Did you know, for example, that induction cooks food in half the time of other stoves because it works like a microwave but does not contain the "low frequency radiation" which makes induction dangerous to your health, and that it may send current into your body if you use a metal spoon? That must be true because somebody posted this on the 'net! :>) To be sure, there are some real problems with NS coatings, even though poisonous/toxic flaking is not one of them. The actual problems with non-stick coatings are: (a) the chemicals used during the manufacturing process can be hazardous to the factory workers (e.g., toxic and/or carcinogenic). Those chemicals do not get passed on to the consumers who buy the finished products, but the potential risks for the workers may make your conscience uneasy about buying NS products. (b) getting a NS pan too hot (as in over 650F) will cause the coating to decompose and the resulting fumes reportedly can cause "flu-like" symptoms in people, Those fumes can be toxic to birds (but then, so can the fumes from a self-cleaning oven.. Considering that 650F is hotter than the melting point of lead, and that temps over 500F will generally degrade the slipperiness of teflon (i.e., diminish or ruin the non-stick-ability), and that that most of us would sear meat at around 450F (and wouldn't use non-stick pans for that purpose, anyway), and that most cooking oils have smoke points in the range of 350F to 400F, you can safely use NS by simply recognizing the limits and respecting them, if you like NS pans. The problem with NS on induction comes from failing to recognize how quickly induction brings a pan to heat. This will be especially problematic for those in the habit of cranking a burner to maximum, walking away for several minutes, then adding oil or whatever, and then reducing the heat. Do that with induction and you can have your empty NS pan at the melting point of lead before you know it. Heck, do that with a cast iron pan and the too-rapid rise in heat may crack the pan; there was a thread here discussing this point last summer. Get a cast iron pan to 600F and your are burning off the seasoning, as well. So, just set the NS pan to the temp you want to use, it will be at temp pdq, and you will be fine using it. As for stainless steel and ease of cleaning, that depends somewhat on the pan construction and on technique. Something thin and light is apt heat unevenly and burn food just as it would on any other stove. A more substantial pan will heat more evenly and be less likely to burn. The trick is usually said to be to get the pan hot, then add oil, and wait for ripples to appear (or wisps of vapor from the oil) before starting to cook. When you are done, you can put that SS pan in the dishwasher. For what is not cleaned it completely, a quick scrub with a sponge and some Barkeeper's Friend will easily and quickly polish it back up. Costco also has a number of decent induction capable cookware sets for less than $200. The selection seems to vary from season to seaon. Last year, I bought a 7 pot set of Circulon "Premier Professional" for $179. (2 sauce pans, a 6 quart stock pot, 3 fry pans (8" to 12") and a 3.5 qt. saute pan, plus lids.) They have anodized aluminum bodies with magnetic bases and non-stick interiors. The pans have worked very well for me on both induction and gas burners. I think there is a comparable "Kirkland" set on sale at Costco, now.) This post was edited by JWVideo on Sun, Jun 2, 13 at 14:50

Silicon in the form of Potassium Silicate KSiO3 is used in horticulture to add necessary Silicon, an element plants use to strengthen their cell walls and their overall structure as a consequence. I am planning to add silicon supplement to containers filled with standard peat potting soil, and compare with those without added silicon. A question arises about compatibility of Silicon to standard potting soil: KSiO3 is highly alkaline while peat moss is acid. Would that trigger an unwanted chemical reaction. Will that reaction release pure silica which is not available for plant uptake?