Mindless “Cal-Mag” usage

Tyleb173rd

Tyleb173rd

Well-Known Member
We grow in recycled, organic soil and have been using RO water for 6 weeks now. In addition to the new water we’ve been using 10-20 drops of cal-mag per gallon.

We use the calmag because of the suggestions from others saying that it needs to be used with RO water. But why? I understand we strip the tap water of everything but why not compensate for Calcium and Mag by adding a bit more to the soil prior to growing?

Why are calcium and magnesium always talked about at the same time?

Does 10-20 drops of that really make a difference when I’m growing in 7-10 gallon bags of amended soil?

I only use half of the suggested calmag per gallon. Can using too much hurt the ladies?

Thanks
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
Tyleb173rd said:
But why? I understand we strip the tap water of everything but why not compensate for Calcium and Mag by adding a bit more to the soil prior to growing?
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I don't use RO water, but my tap is close to it @28ppm.

The dolomite added for pH, along with the added gypsum seems to take care of any cal/mag issues and I've never used any sort of cal/mag additive. Just never saw a need.
 
kingtitan

kingtitan

Well-Known Member
I am using GO CALMAG 1-0-0 this time around with my RO + DI 0ppm water. I add less than the bottle says and I am actually changing to feeding CalMAG during mid week plain water to give the water some ppm. my nutes say it has a little bit of calcium and magnesium.

Yes RO is to strip the water of dissolved solids but there are some things we still want in it but not practical to pick and choose what to remove. RO removes everything and then you add back the good so in the case of cannabis we want to ad back the CalMag. RO specifically for drinking should have a re-mineralizer filter before coming out the tap. Having low ppm water helps with adjusting PH and reduces the total PPM so more nutes that are required can fill that space.
 
Buba Blend

Buba Blend

Well-Known Member
Tyleb173rd said:
We grow in recycled, organic soil and have been using RO water for 6 weeks now. In addition to the new water we’ve been using 10-20 drops of cal-mag per gallon.

We use the calmag because of the suggestions from others saying that it needs to be used with RO water. But why? I understand we strip the tap water of everything but why not compensate for Calcium and Mag by adding a bit more to the soil prior to growing?

Why are calcium and magnesium always talked about at the same time?

Does 10-20 drops of that really make a difference when I’m growing in 7-10 gallon bags of amended soil?

I only use half of the suggested calmag per gallon. Can using too much hurt the ladies?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Why not just water one with RO only from the start and find out.
If you understand amendments gypsum in the soil at the start would make a big difference and amending with a small amount along the way would help. If you spot a calcium deficiency it can be stopped quickly with the addition of cal mag. If you spot a magnesium deficiency it can be stopped quickly with Epsom salt.
For growers that do not understand amendments or can not spot the early signs of a calcium or a magnesium deficiency then it is best to be safe and add the standard tsp per gallon.
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
Use Calmag plus, don't be cheap. It is also a great source of nitrogen. (there is more nitrogen in the bag than either calcium or magnesium).
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
Use Calmag plus, don't be cheap. It is also a great source of nitrogen. (there is more nitrogen in the bag than either calcium or magnesium).
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This is gardening, commonly viewed as an inexpensive hobby, be cheap. Cannabis growers are the only ones paying out the ass to feed their plants and it's not because weed has extra demands that other crops don't. It's just cannabis growers being taken advantage of because they don't know better.
 
TacoMac

TacoMac

Well-Known Member
Rasta Roy said:
This is gardening, commonly viewed as an inexpensive hobby, be cheap. Cannabis growers are the only ones paying out the ass to feed their plants and it's not because weed has extra demands that other crops don't. It's just cannabis growers being taken advantage of because they don't know better.
Click to expand...
My grows are done EXCLUSIVELY with Miracle Grow products.

Regular, cheap $7.50 per bag MG Potting Soil.
Regular Formula MG Fertilizer (I'm still on a 10 dollar box I bought three years ago. It's about half gone.)
Tomato Formula MG Fertilizer for later flowering stage (Ditto above, but it's about 3/4ths gone.)
Bag of Lime 5 bucks.
Bag of perlite for about 6 bucks.
RO water from my 5 stage RO/DI unit originally bought for aquariums I used to run years ago.

Add that I pay about 5 bucks per seed for my Feminized White Widow from ILGM (I've still got 6 left of the last 10 I ordered - I grow two at a time)

A single 600 watt MH/HPS lamp with dimmable ballast.

That's it, folks. That's all there is to it. I spend roughly 17 dollars per grow on seeds, soil, and nutrients. My only other cost is the power to run the light and the water bill.

I average between 4 and 6 ounces per plant.

Done.
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
You have plenty of cal and mag in your soil mix. You don't need to add any. Theres only trace amounts in tap water.

You want 5:1 ratio of cal:mag. Partly why you don't want to use dolomite lime. It has thr wrong ratio of 2:1. Plus it takes 2 years to break down...

Crab shell meal, neem cake, rock dusts, karanja meal all have cal and mag and kelp meal has cal. Worm castings and compost have cal and mag too.
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
TacoMac said:
My grows are done EXCLUSIVELY with Miracle Grow products.

Regular, cheap $7.50 per bag MG Potting Soil.
Regular Formula MG Fertilizer (I'm still on a 10 dollar box I bought three years ago. It's about half gone.)
Tomato Formula MG Fertilizer for later flowering stage (Ditto above, but it's about 3/4ths gone.)
Bag of Lime 5 bucks.
Bag of perlite for about 6 bucks.
RO water from my 5 stage RO/DI unit originally bought for aquariums I used to run years ago.

Add that I pay about 5 bucks per seed for my Feminized White Widow from ILGM (I've still got 6 left of the last 10 I ordered - I grow two at a time)

A single 600 watt MH/HPS lamp with dimmable ballast.

That's it, folks. That's all there is to it. I spend roughly 17 dollars per grow on seeds, soil, and nutrients. My only other cost is the power to run the light and the water bill.

I average between 4 and 6 ounces per plant.

Done.
Click to expand...
That's cool. Be a lot cooler if you supported a local compost or non Scott's company instead but I appreciate your aesthetic. ;)
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
TacoMac said:
It amazes me how people have more money than sense. 30 bucks for Cal-mag that last one grow rather than 5 bucks for a bag of lime that last 5 years.

Stupidity to a level beyond the pale.
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Really!

After using dolo for more years than I care to think about, then reading about the dire consequences of using it (usually from someone who has NEVER used it), it's a wonder that my gardens, both soil and containers, are alive, much less thriving.

So it takes 2 years to break down. So what? It doesn't take 2 years to buffer the soil (more like 2 weeks), which is what I use it for anyway.

The Cal/Mag ratio is all wrong @2:1. Big woo, add some gypsum or other Ca source and you get to that magic 5:1 ratio right quick. It's not difficult, nor rocket science.

I'm just north of you in SC and sometimes wonder if it's a Southern thing. Here it's more like, what works, what can be sourced locally, and what's cheap. Leave the high $$ "designer" amendments to those with more $$ than sense.
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
Tyleb173rd said:
We grow in recycled, organic soil and have been using RO water for 6 weeks now. In addition to the new water we’ve been using 10-20 drops of cal-mag per gallon.

We use the calmag because of the suggestions from others saying that it needs to be used with RO water. But why? I understand we strip the tap water of everything but why not compensate for Calcium and Mag by adding a bit more to the soil prior to growing?

Why are calcium and magnesium always talked about at the same time?

Does 10-20 drops of that really make a difference when I’m growing in 7-10 gallon bags of amended soil?

I only use half of the suggested calmag per gallon. Can using too much hurt the ladies?

Thanks
Click to expand...
IMO: Learn to recognize Mg. def(deficiency) plants they go yellow-ish

avoid feeding calmag each watering better to add at feed time, imo one time per week

as your soils are re used be prepared to see an excess sooner than later of dominant un-used nutes

growing your way you need to be sharp on seeing def fuck ups and acting quick and accurate

not for the noob, but is a very fast way to learn to grow

in most cases Mg def. is easily fixed by an ample foilar spray of cal mag direct to the leaves

to see an almost immediate cure ...1-2 hours

is worth a photo for ego too

good luck
 
dubekoms

dubekoms

Well-Known Member
Wetdog said:
Really!

After using dolo for more years than I care to think about, then reading about the dire consequences of using it (usually from someone who has NEVER used it), it's a wonder that my gardens, both soil and containers, are alive, much less thriving.

So it takes 2 years to break down. So what? It doesn't take 2 years to buffer the soil (more like 2 weeks), which is what I use it for anyway.

The Cal/Mag ratio is all wrong @2:1. Big woo, add some gypsum or other Ca source and you get to that magic 5:1 ratio right quick. It's not difficult, nor rocket science.

I'm just north of you in SC and sometimes wonder if it's a Southern thing. Here it's more like, what works, what can be sourced locally, and what's cheap. Leave the high $$ "designer" amendments to those with more $$ than sense.
Click to expand...
I just got some new soil that has dolomite and agricultural lime along with gypsum. I'm pretty interested to see the difference compared to a mix with only dolomite lime.
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
Tyleb173rd said:
We grow in recycled, organic soil and have been using RO water for 6 weeks now. In addition to the new water we’ve been using 10-20 drops of cal-mag per gallon.

We use the calmag because of the suggestions from others saying that it needs to be used with RO water. But why? I understand we strip the tap water of everything but why not compensate for Calcium and Mag by adding a bit more to the soil prior to growing?

Why are calcium and magnesium always talked about at the same time?

Does 10-20 drops of that really make a difference when I’m growing in 7-10 gallon bags of amended soil?

I only use half of the suggested calmag per gallon. Can using too much hurt the ladies?

Thanks
Click to expand...
just a remember moment!

malls sell water thru their vending machine a quarter/25c for a gallon...citation needed

is good RO water..?

above all better quality than most ofther water that comes out north 'merican taps
 
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