Mag deficieny in flowering. Can I use epsom salts with nutes (not foliar)? What about epsom effect on microbial life? (BIOBIZZ light mix soil)

Hi!
My tap water is high in calcium (total (calcium + other minerals) ppm is 240) , so I would like to avoid using cal-mag for Mag deficiencies in fear of overdosing calcium and causing Mag lockout.


1) Using biobizz light mix - can I use epsom salts with nutes and water the soil in flowering? Are epsom salts dangerous for microbial life (biobizz organic(?) soil) if NOT used as a foliar but watered instead? I have seen this opinion in many comment in several forums - that epsom in soil will hurt microbial life...

2) During vegetative stage, do you foliar feed ONLY the the leaves that are effected by MAG deficiency or you spray healthy leaves as well as a preventative measure?

It would be really hard to apply epsom foliar in flowering, risking to spray the buds.

Thank you!

Do you have a pic?

Prob not a deficency, probably ph, or ec of media causing lockout

ProPheT 216 said:

Do you have a pic?

Prob not a deficency, probably ph, or ec of media causing lockout

Click to expand...

Pics would help for sure.

But Ca can lockout K, Mg, and other shit. He's growing organically, and it's different than salts.

ProPheT 216 said:

Do you have a pic?

Prob not a deficency, probably ph, or ec of media causing lockout

Click to expand...

Its a theoretical question
Preparing for my next grow, because I messd up my first one. (Underfed, underwatered, caused Nitrogen deficiency, didnt fix in time, almost all fan leaves yellowed and died. Some survived so maybe my plants will survive. Anyway, have ordered new seeds)

Water ph is great for biobizz - about 6.8-7
I just wish for someone to clear this issue - is epsom salt watering (not foliar) bad for soil mixes such as biobizz and the microherd in them

Pictures of my messed up grow in here - https://www.rollitup.org/t/biobizz-is-this-too-much-supplements-not-nutrients-n-p-k.1075710/page-2

But I would appreciate if we would not dwell on what has already happened but helped me out with the question I posted please

kreikrei said:

Its a theoretical question
Preparing for my next grow, because I messd up my first one. (Underfed, underwatered, caused Nitrogen deficiency, didnt fix in time, almost all fan leaves yellowed and died. Some survived so maybe my plants will survive. Anyway, have ordered new seeds)

Water ph is great for biobizz - about 6.8-7
I just wish for someone to clear this issue - is epsom salt watering (not foliar) bad for soil mixes such as biobizz and the microherd in them

Pictures of my messed up grow in here - https://www.rollitup.org/t/biobizz-is-this-too-much-supplements-not-nutrients-n-p-k.1075710/page-2

But I would appreciate if we would not dwell on what has already happened but helped me out with the question I posted please

Click to expand...

Epsom is fine as long as the soil needs it. Too much Mg can lockout stuff too.

PadawanWarrior said:

Epsom is fine as long as the soil needs it. Too much Mg can lockout stuff too.

Click to expand...

Thanks.
I have read that epsom salts wont harm soilless mediums.
Now I am at ease knowing that at correct dosages it wont kill microherds in myBiobizz light soil, even if I add it by watering not foliar spraying

@PadawanWarrior
By the way - If I DO choose to foliar spray during flowering, can I use something like a clean painting brush which I immerse in epsom/water solution and "paint"the leaves from both sides?

With spraying its hard not to spray bud sites, but with a brush it could be safer. A bit more hassle, but I have the time


EDIT: nevermind - using a brush can damage the stomata etc, spraying/watering is the only way

You shouldn't need to spray any foliar epsom salts during flowering, so I wouldn't worry about that. Are you using Bio BIzz nutes as well as the soil? I see a lot of Bio BIzz grows on here that have mg deficiencies, so I'd definitely keep some epsom salts around rather than just throw Calmag at the problem. You're most likely to need it during stretch and it doesn't take much-depending on your nutrients, you might only need .5 g/gallon epsom added to your usual nutrient solution. Good luck!

What about adding some magnesium to your soil, before you get started. That way it's already in there when you get to flowering so you don't need to get crazy with sprays.

I know in the old days, Epsom Salt was an ingredient in soil mixes.

Dolomite lime, langbeinite, bone/shell amendments are in lots of soil mixes and dry nutrient blends for magnesium.

youraveragehorticulturist said:

What about adding some magnesium to your soil, before you get started. That way it's already in there when you get to flowering so you don't need to get crazy with sprays.

I know in the old days, Epsom Salt was an ingredient in soil mixes.

Dolomite lime, langbeinite, bone/shell amendments are in lots of soil mixes and dry nutrient blends for magnesium.

Click to expand...

Thanks for advice.
One think I rarely see though is the recommended dosage. I guess it depends on pot size.
If I use 20 l airpots and plant autoflower straigt in the pot without transplants - how much should I miix in any of the ingredients you mentioned (before planting the seed)?

Thanks

20L = 5 gallons, for that amount of soil I would use 1/4 cup of d.lime or 1/8 cup of langbeinite or fish bone meal or epsom salt.

The issue that you may run into is that a tiny seedling will have way different needs that a full size plant in mid flower. So adding enough Mag to be useful later may kill your newly sprouted seedling.

Unless you're getting awesome results from the "seed in final pot" method, I would move on from that.

Start in small pots with no additives, then move up into bigger pots with more nutes as your plant grows.

youraveragehorticulturist said:

What about adding some magnesium to your soil, before you get started. That way it's already in there when you get to flowering so you don't need to get crazy with sprays.

I know in the old days, Epsom Salt was an ingredient in soil mixes.

Dolomite lime, langbeinite, bone/shell amendments are in lots of soil mixes and dry nutrient blends for magnesium.

Click to expand...

Langbeinite is good stuff.

Increase base feed?

PadawanWarrior said:

Langbeinite is good stuff.

Click to expand...

How much do you top dress/how often?
I worry about throwing the ca/mg ratios off so I go very light

calvin.m16 said:

Increase base feed?

Click to expand...

Yes, that an obvious choice.
My main worry was - will epsom salts kill microorganisms in my medium? (biobiz light mix - its not soilless but it also is not true soil,but it has microorganisms that digest the nutes i pour in the pot)

But @PadawanWarrior pointed out it wont really hurt the microorganisms if added tonute/water solution.

kreikrei said:

Hi!
My tap water is high in calcium (total (calcium + other minerals) ppm is 240) , so I would like to avoid using cal-mag for Mag deficiencies in fear of overdosing calcium and causing Mag lockout.


1) Using biobizz light mix - can I use epsom salts with nutes and water the soil in flowering? Are epsom salts dangerous for microbial life (biobizz organic(?) soil) if NOT used as a foliar but watered instead? I have seen this opinion in many comment in several forums - that epsom in soil will hurt microbial life...

2) During vegetative stage, do you foliar feed ONLY the the leaves that are effected by MAG deficiency or you spray healthy leaves as well as a preventative measure?

It would be really hard to apply epsom foliar in flowering, risking to spray the buds.

Thank you!

Click to expand...

Biobizz sells its own organic calmag now you know?

conor c said:

Biobizz sells its own organic calmag now you know?

Click to expand...

Yup,saw that.

However I have a 240ppm water (right on the edge, where maybe I should use RO water) and I suspect (will get the report soon) that there is an imbalance of calcium/magnesium - too much calcium

Thus, if I regularly use calmag, and my tap water is high in calcium, I may lock out magnesium eventually...

Thats not the worst not great

kreikrei said:

Yup,saw that.

However I have a 240ppm water (right on the edge, where maybe I should use RO water) and I suspect (will get the report soon) that there is an imbalance of calcium/magnesium - too much calcium

Thus, if I regularly use calmag, and my tap water is high in calcium, I may lock out magnesium eventually...

Click to expand...

Who says you need to use it regularly just enough that you have no deficiencies will do and no more also dont foliar feed ever its not a good thing imo and remember its compost your in remember it buffers more vs other mediums also i use there allmix more vs the light mix id only use that or regular seedling compost for the first two weeks then into allmix tbh in the past i even popped seeds in allmix was bit hot obviously but they survived i use bio bizz veg/bloom myself its the only bottled nutes id mess with i dont use the bio heaven or topmax or the aloe stuff myself tho either and where i stay is super soft water and not bad ppm s so i have to add a lil organic calmag when using biobizz

conor c said:

Thats not the worst not great
Who says you need to use it regularly just enough that you have no deficiencies will do and no more also dont foliar feed ever its not a good thing imo and remember its compost your in remember it buffers more vs other mediums also i use there allmix more vs the light mix id only use that or regular seedling compost for the first two weeks then into allmix tbh in the past i even popped seeds in allmix was bit hot obviously but they survived i use bio bizz veg/bloom myself its the only bottled nutes id mess with i dont use the bio heaven or topmax or the aloe stuff myself tho either and where i stay is super soft water and not bad ppm s so i have to add a lil organic calmag when using biobizz

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing.
I am a total newb, I messed up my 1st grow - underfed, underwatered, and nitrogen deficiency destoryed 99% of my fan leaves on days 35-42 (I grow an autoflower). The plant is still alive,but I guess with no fan leaves and only sugar leaves left it wont produce. New seeds will be here in 2 weeks, but I wont cut my baby down yet


The mistakes I made kind of made me go into "overthink" mode and try to control all the factors related to growing I possibly can for the net round

And then there are people like you who remind me - Keep it simple stupid. (I have the tendency to overthink). THANK YOU - truly.

Ill still do the water report (My government/municipality doesnt have it public), but its more to calm my nerves for my next grow, so I wont have to ask myslf (when a deficieny occurs) - is it something in the water badly reacting with nutes and causing a deficieny/lockout?

Why dont you like foliar feeding?
I can see specific use cases. For eample when I do my first big watering on week 2-3 (I grow in 20l airpot without presoaking) I may miss a nute and the plant may show a deficiency in following days (fo example MAG def).

Now , since the pot will dry for approx a week, it would be hard to correct that deficiceny (dont want to water a soaked pot), so I could foliar some epsom.

Thats a very specific example, but its good to know foliar is an option when you run into a deficiency while the next watering isnt for another few days.

P.S.Hers my dumbass mistakes visualized - https://www.rollitup.org/t/biobizz-is-this-too-much-supplements-not-nutrients-n-p-k.1075710/page-2

Pictures of my poor baby on page 2

toomp said:

How much do you top dress/how often?
I worry about throwing the ca/mg ratios off so I go very light

Click to expand...

I've been adding a little to all my mixes. But I start small and work my way up when trying new stuff. I've read you shouldn't really use it for the K, but more for the Mg. It has sulfur in it too.

Too much S can cause issues though, so I'm careful with it now. I think I might have a little too much S in my soil, since I was adding Epsom too sometimes, so I've cut out the Epsom. I need to get my soil tested one of these days so I can stop guessing what the levels are.

Yes to adding epsom. I run organic, just finished a long run and occasionally used it.

Do not assume your home H20 is off. It likely has a balance already.

Dont overthink. Learn to diagnose properly, use the forum if needed. Calm. Thoughtful. No sudden moves.

Dont fix a problem you don't know you have.