Organic Cal-Mag Nutrient

woodsmaneh! said:

IMHO most people make things worse when they try to treat a deficiency head on, in other words they screw it up. I never recommend treating plants for just one issue, most times your wrong and do more harm. I say this as the mobility of some elements depends on the availability of other elements in the plant. For example: when the level of nitrogen drops it causes other elements to lock up. Magnesium is a good example, low nitrogen and the mag locks. [FONT=&quot]

Most bags of lime carry the recommendation to use in the fall so it can age, they also recommend you don't use lime and fertilizer together in the same year. Lots of people mix and use but that does not mean it's right, there may be some that can be used right away but I have yet see any. Dolomite Lime has way to much magnesium in it so I never use it. The lime industry has done a good job of convincing us we need it but tossing in line is more likely to upset the balance than help. There are much better ways to get what you need than Dolo. If your looking for calcium then use gypsum to add more calcium.

Another good additive is Green Sand or glacial rock. Green sand contains iron-potassium silicate, 7% potash, sulphur, boron, iron, manganese and zink. It comes for the ocean and is made of seashells and organic matter. It will improve the tilth of the soil and increase the water holding capacity of sandy soils. You can apply anytime. You can find it at garden centers.

Here’s The Important Part[/FONT]
The main point I want to make is that even if minerals are leaching from your soil, it doesn’t make sense to blindly go back adding just two of them (the calcium and magnesium in dolomite lime) without knowing you need them. You might already have enough or too much of one or both of them. We need to think a little more than that when organic gardening.
Your soil needs a calcium:magnesium of somewhere between 7:1 (sandier soils) and 10:1 (clayier soils). Outside of this range, your soil will have water problems, your plants will have health problems and insect and disease problems, and you will have weed problems.

One of your most important goals in the garden is to add specific mineral fertilizers to move the calcium to magnesium ratio towards this range. As a side note, I understand it may seem strange to some that we should have to do this, but our soils are way out of balance and we’re trying to grow things that wouldn’t naturally grow there, so we have to do this.
The problem with dolomite lime? It has a calcium:magnesium ratio of 2:1. That’s way too much magnesium for most soils. Magnesium is certainly an essential mineral. Too much of it, however, causes many problems, compaction being one of the most common, but also pest and weed problems.
So if you add this to your garden every year, chances are you’re just causing more compaction and weed problems.

When Should You Use Dolomite Lime?
You should only use dolomite lime when you have a soil test showing a huge deficiency of magnesium in your soil.
Even then, calcitic lime (calcium carbonate) is generally the way to go because it has a small amount of magnesium and often a calcium:magnesium ratio of about 10:1, with a calcium content 34% to 40% or more.
I use calcitic lime regularly in my organic gardening, but even then, only when I need it. A soil test is the main way to find out if you need it.[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

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woodsmaneh! said:

Dolomite lime is best used in the fall to condition the soil for next year. It is known as a hot soil conditioner and will burn roots so be careful.

Peace

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kingofqueen said:

Molassas is a cal/mag source never had a defiencincy using it indoors . But Yup like they said Dolomite LIme is what u need to ammend your soil with for cal/mag .

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StonerFiesta said:

My girls right now are into week 8 of flower from day of light switch to 13/11 and are starting to show signs of Mg def, I have used Age old organic line (for the Most part but still all organic) they are currently being fed with Age Old Bloom, Bonticare Cal/mag, Age old Kelp, Silica Blast, Strapped molasses. I would like to start using the lime in my medium (pro-mix) as a PH bffer but I fear it may begin to overdose them on calcium and magnesium. Could i just stop using the Cal/mag if using the lime? BRINGING THIS OLD THREAD BACK TO LIFE.

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StonerFiesta said:

My girls right now are into week 8 of flower from day of light switch to 13/11 and are starting to show signs of Mg def, I have used Age old organic line (for the Most part but still all organic) they are currently being fed with Age Old Bloom, Bonticare Cal/mag, Age old Kelp, Silica Blast, Strapped molasses. I would like to start using the lime in my medium (pro-mix) as a PH bffer but I fear it may begin to overdose them on calcium and magnesium. Could i just stop using the Cal/mag if using the lime? BRINGING THIS OLD THREAD BACK TO LIFE.

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Jack Harer said:

If you're not having problems with pH, I'd go with a cal/mag supplement rather than added lime. You really need to get the pH of the soil set with lime at the beginning BEFORE you transplant. Unless you're using RO or distilled water, there ought to be sufficient Ca and Mg, but ocassionally you may need a supplement. In that case, I personally keep a bottle of Botanicare Cal/Mag on hand for fast acting, but prefer to make my own with powdered egg shell and Epsom salts.

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