calmag deficiency or potassium deficiency?
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Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
weedstoner420
Well-Known Member
Plants require 18 elements to survive and thrive:
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Carbon
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Sulfur
Iron
Manganese
Copper
Zinc
Boron
Molybdenum
Chlorine
Nickel
Calmag
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Carbon
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Sulfur
Iron
Manganese
Copper
Zinc
Boron
Molybdenum
Chlorine
Nickel
Calmag
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Lol is calmag an element?
CaliRootz88
Well-Known Member
weedstoner420
Well-Known Member
No that was sarcasm
OP, calmag is not an element. Too much calcium can actually inhibit the plant's ability to uptake magnesium.
Someone is going to ask you eventually, what is your medium and what have you been adding to feed the plant?
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Lol for sure. I was just playing around
weedstoner420
Well-Known Member
Hey man, you never know...
omninine
Well-Known Member
Could be your water source, growing media, low/high vpd, ph out of range, over/under/not enough watering, basically anything lol. If you think it's not one of those I personally would just give this plant a nice feed that is high in potassium and calcium. Always be generous with calcium, but careful with magnesium as it cannot be flushed out of the soil if you end up going overboard. The more calcium you give your plant, the more nutrients it will uptake, they will actually ask for it. Check out gypsum for a good source of calcium without the mag
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weedstoner420
Well-Known Member
Are you sure? I have always gone by Mulder's chart:
Which says that excess calcium can lock out many other nutrients. So the plant "needs more" of them, but only because the excess calcium is making it harder for it to uptake them. Hence people including calmag in their feed schedule for no particular reason, then running into deficiencies...
xtsho
Well-Known Member
Too much calcium will lock out other nutrients. Unnecessary use of calmag can cause deficiencies of other nutrients most often K and Mg. It's quite common. Someone growing in soil, using tap water, and calmag every watering. The soil already has calcium as does the tap water and whatever nutrients they are feeding. Then the added calmag causes an excess of calcium in the soil which leads to deficiencies in K and Mg.
Calmag is really only needed when using RO water and sometimes when growing hydro. I grew hydro for a decade and never used calmag. The same thing with coco despite all the so called expert coco sites saying it's needed. Any decent base nutrient has adequate amounts of calcium and no additional supplementation is needed.
Most issues are from too much of something not a lack of something.
I posted this in a different thread today but it applies here as well since calcium is being discussed.
"Prophylactic applications of calcium applied as lime or gypsum that are not based on soil test results could create deficiencies in other positively charged nutrients (cations), primarily magnesium and potassium. These cations compete for limited binding sites (very limited in our sandy soils) on soil particles and for uptake by plants."
Calmag is really only needed when using RO water and sometimes when growing hydro. I grew hydro for a decade and never used calmag. The same thing with coco despite all the so called expert coco sites saying it's needed. Any decent base nutrient has adequate amounts of calcium and no additional supplementation is needed.
Most issues are from too much of something not a lack of something.
I posted this in a different thread today but it applies here as well since calcium is being discussed.
"Prophylactic applications of calcium applied as lime or gypsum that are not based on soil test results could create deficiencies in other positively charged nutrients (cations), primarily magnesium and potassium. These cations compete for limited binding sites (very limited in our sandy soils) on soil particles and for uptake by plants."
Are You Sure You Need That Gypsum? Calcium Induced Deficiencies in Vegetables
By Josh Freeman (University of Florida, IFAS Extension, Assistant Professor, Horticultural Science) and Mark Reiter (Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Virginia Tech) Many growers live w…
nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
My advice is to stay off Instalame,
xtsho
Well-Known Member
Running too much Ca doesn't make deficiencies show up. It causes them to occur by locking out other elements. Take away the excess Ca and you don't have lockouts or deficiencies.
This chart with the different coloring makes it easier to visualize. As you can see calcium is the most antagonistic of all the elements which is why calmag often does more harm than good.
speedwell68
Well-Known Member
My water has zero Calcium. The last time I tested my water I had a PPM of 23. Luckily my mate works for my local water company and he tested it for me and again zero Calcium. Yes my soil does have some, but not nearly enough. I believe that my nutes have some, but again not enough. I think they rely on the fact that most tap water has some Calcium, I get that my scenario is very rare, my water is almost RO.
I treat my plants with my own homemade CalMag. Once when they are potted up halfway through veg and once when they start to flower. Then they will get a dose every other week until a couple of weeks before the end, so maybe 3 or 4 doses for the whole grow. A dose is a tablespoon of Calcium Chloride and a teaspoon of Epsom Salt in 5L of water. I don't get Ca or Mg deficiencies and I don't get any lock outs either.
You are right that people give way too much CalMag and cause themselves bother because of it. It is a theory put about by fertiliser companies to sell more product.