Calcium Extracted From Eggshells: Vinegar Extracted Or Straight

[Perception]

Been doing a little reading on adding calcium from eggshells to the soil, and was curious about what people are doing out there. I'm 1 week in to flower (ROLS), and I've got living earthworms in the soil. I figure that the large amount of EW castings they are generating in the soil will supply needed calcium, but figured that it wouldn't hurt to add some ground eggshells for the worms to eat.

On that note, sounds like there are two methods people are using for a calcium boost.

1) Water Soluble Calcium (Vinegar)
Add 1:10 eggshells/vinegar, and let sit for 7-10 days. Filter out liquid, dilute 1:500 or 1:1000 with water, and you have WCA (water soluble calcium) that is ready for foliar spray and/or soil drench.

2) Powdered eggshell
Blend dried eggshells in a blender/foodprocessor, and scratch the powdered calcium in to soil.

I was wondering if anyone is using either of these methods, and if the "stretch" is the right time to boost calcium? I think I'm going to just use the powdered calcium since I have active worms in there, but am curious about the subject.

Reference article: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/SA-10.pdf

 

[justiceman]

Very interesting. I have not done this but I searched around on google and found this video to be pretty informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ycETgNRe5k
Seems like the fine ground powdered egg shell or the vinegar process would be your best bet.

 

[Homesteader]

You should roast the egg shells first for WSC.

 

[Homesteader]

https://ilcasia.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/chos-global-natural-farming-sarra.pdf

 

[Perception]

Yeah! Dr. Cho's book is what put me on to all of this. I like his methods, but will definitely pick and choose items, as it sounds like a lot of work if you are constantly doing every process. I'm leaning towards Fukuoka's method of "do nothing farming" (not really doing nothing).

You should roast the egg shells first for WSC.

Aside from evaporating off any extra egg goo, does this do anything to prepare the calcium for the vinegar process? Or the process of scratching in dry eggshell powder?

 

[NightsWatch]

I just let them dry out then crush them when i plan on putting it directly in soil ,
And let nature take care of it, In my compost bin i just throw them in they got months to decompose

 

[Perception]

Yeah, I definitely add my shells to my compost pile and vermicompost bin. Although I'm thinking about what would be effective for me in the short term. Current grow is 1 week in to flower.

I've found a couple references to making calcium tea with nothing but eggshells and water. I'd like to give the plants a drink of something soluble, then put the pulverized shells in the soil for slow release. I believe I had a calcium deficiency in my last grow, and am trying to correct this time around.

Tea made from water & eggshells.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/homemade-eggshell-plant-fertilizer-42947.html

 

[Homesteader]

Bone char supplies a large amount of calcium as well and could probably be extracted to make a CalPhos with Vinegar.

 

[Homesteader]

Aside from evaporating off any extra egg goo, does this do anything to prepare the calcium for the vinegar process? Or the process of scratching in dry eggshell powder?

I believe that it make it more soluble with the vinegar which maybe only means that it takes a shorter time.....not sure.

 

[NightsWatch]

Well again if i was really worried then i would just add dolomite lime its 50 percent calcium
you could always add dairy products when watering like Milk :)

 

[Homesteader]

Well again if i was really worried then i would just add dolomite lime its 50 percent calcium
you could always add dairy products when watering like Milk :)

I like the milk idea, although that funk may fester;).

 

[NightsWatch]

watered back 4 to 1 and applied every second watering might work well again i never worry about deficiencies in flower i top dress a variety of organic compounds and being in top it decomposes really fast and leaches slowly into the soil its a win win in flower its coffee grinds and potato peels hell even few egg shells :) carrot peels lol appears to work well composting on top of the soil

 

[Perception]

Nice! Good to know. I added red wrigglers to the 5 gallon pots 14 days ago (7 days before throwing in to flower), and I'm astounded at how much EW castings are already in the soil! I took a handful of soil last night and it was loose, full of worms, and about 50% worm poo. I think that if I just give them some eggshell food, that they'll break it down pretty quickly. Maybe a foliar spray of WCA to kick it off.

 

[Perception]

Very interesting. I have not done this but I searched around on google and found this video to be pretty informative.

Seems like the fine ground powdered egg shell or the vinegar process would be your best bet.

I appreciate that guys explanation of the chemistry - makes perfect sense. I wish he talked about dosage a little bit more though. He's doing closer to a 1:1 ratio of eggshell to vinegar, while Dr. Cho and others recommend 1:10, and then diluting the finished solution 1:500 or 1:1000 with water. This seems like a VERY dilute finished solution.

Anyone have experience with diluting the solutions? Will it hurt the plants if I give them too much of the soluble calcium? I'd like to give them a boost, but don't want to overdo it.

 

[Homesteader]

The calcium wont as much as the pH of the vinegar will. You may need to bring it up with wood ash or something. I only do this in the first week of flower, what is your plan with application?

 

[Perception]

The calcium wont as much as the pH of the vinegar will. You may need to bring it up with wood ash or something. I only do this in the first week of flower, what is your plan with application?

Trying to figure out my plan of action right now. Dosing is what I don't know about. What dosage do you use in first week of flower?

You should watch that video. The guy making the video does PH tests of vinegar before and after mixing with eggshells. In his 1:1 mixture, the PH of vinegar + eggshells comes out neutral after just a couple minutes, after the acetic acid (vinegar) combines with the calcium carbonate (eggshells), and results in Calcium, H20, Co2. It's really cool.

 

[Perception]

What I'm struggling with, is that a 1:500 or 1:1000 WCA to water solution "seems" very dilute. When I measured out 1/3 teaspoon to my 32fl oz spray bottle, it just seemed like nothing.

I made some WCA using the technique outlined in the article referenced in my first post. I then diluted it 1:500, and took PPM readings.

-> Plain H2O (control): 35ppm
-> 1:500 WCA/H2O: 95ppm

So the 1:500 solution has 60ppm of calcium. Does anyone know if this is sufficient for a calcium boost via foliar feeding and/or soil drench? I just don't know what a healthy dose of soluble calcium should be in PPM.

 

[Homesteader]

What stage of growth are you using this on? I think it would be best to go slow and spray with a 1000:1 often during early flower and work your way up. I have heard of people going much higher than even 500:1 but Im not sure if that adds benefit at that lower ratio but looking forward to seeing what you discover.

 

[Perception]

I'm 3 weeks in to flower.

One of my three plants is showing some symptoms of nitrogen deficiency (not sure if this is correct diagnosis, but leaves getting a slight yellowish), so I figured I'd start with a calcium boost, and give a small boost with a liquid fertilizer containing a small amount of nitrogen.

I figure that everyone's WCA will vary in potentcy though, which is why I was curious as to what a good PPM for soluble calcium is. 60ppm "sounds" good, but I have no idea, haha.

 

[Perception]

This article gives a little clarification, assuming they are correct. https://www.alchimiaweb.com/blogen/deficiency-excess-calcium-in-cannabis-plants/

If experiencing calcium deficiencies, they recommend a solution of 1 part magnesium to 2 parts calcium, for a total EC value of .35, which equates to 175ppm. So broken out, that's:
-> ~58ppm Magnesium
-> ~116ppm Calcium

To me, sounds like 60ppm of calcium is fair enough for maintenance nutrition. But, just a guess.