What Kind Of Ca Do You Need?

[visajoe1]

You couldn't remember the "extra" goods in crushed oyster shells, amazing ! Are you trying to neutralize an acidic condition ? Try rock phosphate 0-5_0 / 25% calcium.

That post was from 2015, perhaps he remembered by now lol

 

[Compost Man]

That post was from 2015, perhaps he remembered by now lol

Oh. Maybe someone can use this information ( very good stuff) add bat guano 0-5-0. Then you'll have short time and long time supply.

 

[QuestForZest]

Oh. Maybe someone can use this information ( very good stuff) add bat guano 0-5-0. Then you'll have short time and long time supply.

Guano for CA?

 

[PauliBhoy]

Hard water is my favorite source of Calcium
My well water has around 75ppm in it which seems to be about perfect...and it's free.
You shouldn't need to add any calcium if your water has at least 60 ppm.

Note that all organic sources of Phosphorus are very high in calcium.

 

[Week4Bytch]

Hard water is my favorite source of Calcium
My well water has around 75ppm in it which seems to be about perfect...and it's free.
You shouldn't need to add any calcium if your water has at least 60 ppm.

Note that all organic sources of Phosphorus are very high in calcium.

Someone on this thread mentioned calcium carbonates are not absorbable by the plant. True? I did a quick Google, on it's own no not absorbable, but... ---> Calcium is an alkaline metal that when chemically combined with oxygen and carbonate (CO3 -2) forms calcium compounds. Microbes in the soil eat these compounds and excrete waste products containing calcium, which plants can absorb.

 

[Jmaes Mabley]

The people that make Promix BX which is Peat Based use a ratio of 2/3 Calcitic Lime to 1/3 parts Dolomitic Lime.

For chemical based fertilizer I use Calcium Nitrate for my Nitrogen, and Calcium source. 15.5-0-0. 20% Calcium.

I use this with Hydro Gardens Chem Gro 4-20-39. I then add in Epsom Salts for Magnesuim, and Sulfur. I mix the 4-20-39 first. Then the 15.5-0-0, then the Epsom Salts for chemical grow. And Promix BX. Promix BX stabilizes at 6.2ph. Initially it is 5.8, but after a couple days stabilizes at 6.2.


If growing Organic, I recommend this recipe. I would also use Coot Earthworm Castings. They are the best.


For Blending and Topdressing:

Malted Barley

For Mixing in Soil (per cubic foot):

1 cup Crustacean Meal

1 cup Kelp Meal

1/2 cup Neem Cake

1/2 cup Karanja Cake

1 cup Basalt

1 cup Gypsum

1 cup Calcium Carbonate (Ag Lime)

SUGGESTED APPLICATIONS

Apply at a rate of 2 cups per cubic foot or approximately 1/4 cup per gallon of the mix when mixing soil.

Coot's Soil Recipe per cubic foot of soil (7.5 gallons):

1/3 Sphagnum Peat Moss

1/3 Aeration Amendment (pumice, lava rock, perlite, vermiculite, rice hulls, etc..)

1/3 High Quality Compost and/or Earthworm Castings

2 cups of Coot's Nutrient and Mineral Pack above

2 cups of Malted Barley (blend 1 cup into a powder then mix into soil, the other cup will be top dressed at a rate of 1/4 cup of malted barley each week starting in week 3-4.

You will want to blend the barley right before applying it).

NOTE: The key to this mix is to use high quality compost or earthworm castings. The compost and castings portion contain the highest concentrations of beneficial microbes which are needed to break down the nutrients in to a plant-available form.

Our compost and earthworm casting options:

Oly Mountain Fish Compost

KIS Fungal Compost

Earthworm Castings

 

[Stonemason7767]

I have been thinking about experimenting with crab shells and apple cider vinegar at a 1:5 ratio for 5 weeks to make some CalPhos. Anyone try this before? Should I skip the crab and just use oyster?

I use oyster shell and white viniger.if you use apple cider you need to boil before extraction. The mother in the apple cider will make your solution skanky.a "dead" viniger works much better. The bacteria and microbes in fruit vinegar react with the egg shells or oyster shells in negative way.

 

[7munkee]

I tossed powdered milk on my tomato bed outside last year and it stopped the blossom end rot.

 

[Homesteader]

Yeah so this is quite an old thread and prior to me diving into the calcium world of growing. I am 100% in favor of gypsum as the main source of calcium for soil. Calcium carbonates require an acidic soil in order to free up any calcium and it drives pH up higher than you may want and the carbonates can lock your magnesium up. Will it work? sure and it has for years but it often takes years if not decades to disolve depending on the pH. Gypsum is cheap, easy and the most effective bar none for cannabis. 1 cup-3cups per plant. Anything above that begins to add problems so I would go with two full cups of gypsum.

 

[Week4Bytch]

Yeah so this is quite an old thread and prior to me diving into the calcium world of growing. I am 100% in favor of gypsum as the main source of calcium for soil. Calcium carbonates require an acidic soil in order to free up any calcium and it drives pH up higher than you may want and the carbonates can lock your magnesium up. Will it work? sure and it has for years but it often takes years if not decades to disolve depending on the pH. Gypsum is cheap, easy and the most effective bar none for cannabis. 1 cup-3cups per plant. Anything above that begins to add problems so I would go with two full cups of gypsum.

The carbonate will lock up phosphorus and magnesium...I know, my tap water is high in calcium carbonate. been going through a lot of stress for 2 years wondering what the heck is going on with some of my flowers. Now I'm almost 100% positive it's the calcium carbonate build up in my soil. I'm now filtering the water with a RO unit. My dry amendment pack has Gypsum in it.

 

[Week4Bytch]

And..forgot to mention, Dolomite Limestone will raise your pH to a LIMIT OF 7... tHAT'S RIGHT, just 7... A good place to be if your growing in living soil. Use it! (Natures Cal Mag)

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I've been using gypsum and it seems to work well. Every few weeks, I add a tablespoon along with some other amendments to some soil and top dress before watering.

 

[Week4Bytch]

I've been using gypsum and it seems to work well. Every few weeks, I add a tablespoon along with some other amendments to some soil and top dress before watering.

I've learned a few things since my last post (March 6th). The Dolomite Limestone is better used on the initial mix of your soil (it has a longer span of time to breakdown during the cook). It's not that good as a top dress because the calcium in it does not break down as fast. I'm guessing the gypsum is a better option as a top dress. Most proprietary products use Gypsum instead of the Limestone (probably for that very reason).

 

[ScroggerDave]

I've been using gypsum and it seems to work well. Every few weeks, I add a tablespoon along with some other amendments to some soil and top dress before watering.

Where are you getting gypsum from? I want to ensure I’m not getting stuff loaded with anything toxic that might’ve been introduced from a mass manufacturing process. Anything a big box store sells automatically comes to mind, whether it’s true or not.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Where are you getting gypsum from?

Amazon.com

 

[Week4Bytch]

Down To Earth Gypsum. Have a box of it I haven't even opened yet..

 

[ScroggerDave]

Amazon.com

Down To Earth Gypsum. Have a box of it I haven't even opened yet..

Thanks to both of you!

 

[Week4Bytch]

Double check if your water source is high in calcium carbonate. This is important.

 

[RUFUSHOUND]

Double check if your water source is high in calcium carbonate.

HI mate @Week4Bytch, new member and over the moon to have found this thread.
Ive been growing for a year or so and like you, my water (uk tap) has high levels of calcium carbonate and I always have mg def along the line. As my water has little mg I have been correcting with epsom salts but beginning to think the calcium carbonate may be the problem, blocking the uptake no mater how much I throw at them.
Im growing in coco - my tap water is about 200ppm, ph 7.5, feeding with EC 1.8 (using only COCO A+B and epsom)
The epsom (250g) Is dissolved in 1L water and I give 2ml/L per feed

my water report
CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate 125.51mg/l or ppm
Ca 39.91 mg/l
total hardness 46.10
Degrees Clarke 8.02
French Degrees 11.52
German Degrees 6.55

Brewers information:

CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate 115.25 mg/l
Chloride 11.50 mg/l
alkalinity (HCO3) 64.84 mg/l
Ca - Calcium 39.91 mg/l
Mg -Magnesium 3.76 mg/l
Sodium 10.48 mg/l
Sulphate 66.46 mg/l

Any help greatly appreciated as Im about to give up on coco and go back to soil

 

[Week4Bytch]

HI mate @Week4Bytch, new member and over the moon to have found this thread.
Ive been growing for a year or so and like you, my water (uk tap) has high levels of calcium carbonate and I always have mg def along the line. As my water has little mg I have been correcting with epsom salts but beginning to think the calcium carbonate may be the problem, blocking the uptake no mater how much I throw at them.
Im growing in coco - my tap water is about 200ppm, ph 7.5, feeding with EC 1.8 (using only COCO A+B and epsom)
The epsom (250g) Is dissolved in 1L water and I give 2ml/L per feed

my water report
CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate 125.51mg/l or ppm
Ca 39.91 mg/l
total hardness 46.10
Degrees Clarke 8.02
French Degrees 11.52
German Degrees 6.55

Brewers information:

CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate 115.25 mg/l
Chloride 11.50 mg/l
alkalinity (HCO3) 64.84 mg/l
Ca - Calcium 39.91 mg/l
Mg -Magnesium 3.76 mg/l
Sodium 10.48 mg/l
Sulphate 66.46 mg/l

Any help greatly appreciated as Im about to give up on coco and go back to soil

I've only grown with bottled nutes for about a year or so, and learned that those estimated feed schedules are based of mixing the solutions with RO filtered water. With hard tap water (which brings a higher ec from the beginning, measure it before mixing) you are are possibly under feeding from the totality of the mix. Growing in soil could help for a grow or two until it builds up in the soil and begins blocking uptake the same as coco. I've had great grows just using soil on the first run, it's the second and third runs of the same soil is when I started to have problems. I've since began using an RO filter myself (even in soil), I mix it with my hard tap water 50/50 abouts. Seems to be working so far. Few of my pots get straight tap water and are doing great as well.. knock on wood.
There are some discussions that amino acids break down carbonate calcium to a usable nutrient. Maybe try before spending monies on a RO unit? Don't need much of it, Just double check your nutrient line up real good, it might have in there already.

Worse case scenario if you did go with soil would be to just dump the soil after every grow... I'm not a huge fan of that and try to reuse my soil as many runs as I can.