WATER SOURCE: We design our Canna products for less than perfect water. Also, nutrients work best with some pH controls in the water especially Calcium. However, we advise using a source water that is about 0.2 EC or just below 200 ppm with most of this coming from Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg). This is important, and the level of Ca is important because both pH and minor elements can be effected by this mineral.
CALCIUM: Nutrients are built, and plants will develop based on ratio's of elements to each other with the element that is in shorter supply being the limiting agent for plant development.
Ca in high amounts will lock out Potassium (K). It also affects Phosphorous (P) availability resulting in reduced energy. Mixing Ca and PK in high enough amounts will result in the formation of percipitates (clouding). Many times the CA is the trigger.
"Cal Mag Plus" and "MagiCal" has other things in it... especially Iron, Nitrogen and another group they do not identify, including sulfur.
Again, these can cause additional ratio and lock out issues. Both of these products change values and make end prediction tough at best.
Iron in excess will cause toxicity. The proper way to mix if needed is to add it to the source water to achieve roughly 0.2 EC, mix then add the rest.
All our products have more than enough Ca, Mg and everything else to do the job IF the 0.2 EC of mainly Ca and Mg is available in the initial water source... This we are 100% certain of.
This causes a gradual and persistent low Ca condition which would show a difference in the final weight of the plant. There is also another question that can and does go hand-in-hand with this one: poor water relations. Ca and water move with, and are affected by each other... Too much or too little have effects:
If I inhibit water uptake by reducing Ca availability, the roots look fine but water moves slower and so, too, all other minerals.
If I dry out OR over water a plant, even just a little, I will cause the same issue.
If I increase Ca to offset the loss, I get results;
if I overdo the Ca at the beginning to offset a future problem, I get horrble things happening.
From, odd greening patterns on the leaves, strap leaves, spots, browning spots, distortion, etc,
If you are having problems, I suggest your cure most probably lies in bringing the initial EC of the source water to 0.2, go back to the normal feed chart, water consistantly (same point of dryness) and at the right time (50% of water applied is used before the next irrigation), never use plain water to flush, keep humidity 50 - 60% day and below 80% at dark.
OTHER TIPS: the total EC will be brought up by the CalMag and PK so dont burn your plants.
PK tends to be best used in a 7 - 10 day window starting about the time you see first flower formation. This typically, on an 8 week flower response group, to be about 5 weeks before harvest or 2-3 weeks after flower initiation (not the light change)...
Adding a powerful PK early will not advance flower initiation (as many companies are claiming), only the amount of dark the plant sees will effect flower initiation. Adding it early could result in phosphate accumulation and ratio issues in Ca and Mg as described earlier.
Also, watch the light height, excess temperatures will cause issues and remember that a leaf focuses light energy into its mesophyll, the area between the leaf outside layer. The temperatures inside run 10 - 15 degrees F higher than ambient air. Watch the light distance!
