A place to post my sick figs
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RosyPosy
Well-known member
Correct, bone meal is one of the slower sources of calcium. But you can make it into a calcium acetate by extracting it with vinegar, and then it becomes a faster source of both calcium and phosphorus.
Though to be fair, the powders and meals are not my favorite form to extract because they are highly reactive and a little harder to filter out. But still can be used in a pinch.
Anytime you want to get calcium to your plants faster, you can use an acid. So even if you put the meal in your pots, if you water with diluted vinegar or citric acid, it will help to mildly extract that calcium. Fulvic acid also is good to use whenever giving calcium and can make it available faster.
snarfing
Well-known member
peat moss is also quite acidic, wonder if you could just add it to peat moss at the start
superdave336
Well-known member
Any reason why one couldn’t use oyster shells in their mix? I normally use one made for plants but this from tractor supply is cheaper.
You got me curious I can use TUMS -
superdave336
Well-known member
I’ve heard of tums being used before for plants.You got me curious I can use TUMS -
snarfing
Well-known member
id assume this is basically the same as bone meal
RosyPosy
Well-known member
It’s caused from nitrogen, potassium, or boron being too high in relation to calcium. And can be fixed in some cases by correcting that imbalance.
When you have too much potassium, it causes the plant to uptake nitrogen more, and both block out calcium in excess, and this leads to splitting.
Excess water does play a role, but it is especially the nitrogen and potassium causing the plant to suck the extra water up into its tissues making them structurally soft and prone to tearing. Calcium makes the tissues stronger so that they don’t tear.
But I am sure that some varieties may be prone to that regardless just because some varieties naturally have softer skin.
RosyPosy
Well-known member
Yes, peat moss is a good natural source of humic and fulvic acids which help to make nutrients available. But it’s easy for the pH to go up to a point where that doesn’t happen depending on your water pH and the types of fertilizers you use.
RosyPosy
Well-known member
You can use it, you just need to be careful of the extra ingredients. It does have a certain amount of sodium, plus flavorings and whatnot. I do know it can be high in aluminum as well.You got me curious I can use TUMS -
But yeah, anything that is calcium carbonate can be used, even landscape chalk.
Just be mindful of magnesium amounts too. It’s an important ratio. You want calcium to be 5 to 7 times higher than magnesium, otherwise you get into nutrient lockouts. Manganese is also important if you ever give anything with magnesium.
I believe Tums has a certain amount of magnesium as well, which is whyI’m mentioning it. I should look it up.
So, with the various sources for Calcium, are you adding vinegar/citric acid or calcium until the pH is neutral? My guess is that’s easier to add more calcium (eggshell for example) and filter the extra (indissoluble pieces) out. Then you’d have a neutral solution to add to plants. I suspect they don’t like low pH fluids being added to their pots.
RosyPosy
Well-known member
You need to add the vinegar 10 parts to 1 part of calcium. It will or should react by bubbling up, so you want enough headspace in your container to allow for that. And then it sits for about 7 to 10 days to extract. You’ll want to give it a swirl every few days. And cover it with a breathable cloth since it will build up gas.
It depends on how acidic your vinegar is for how long it takes, usually vinegar with at least 3% acetic acid is used, which is most food type vinegars. You typically don’t want to go higher than maybe 5%. There is some forgiveness in that, but you’re not wanting those more extreme cleaning vinegars.
Vinegar extractions do not go by pH for doneness since usually a mild vinegar is used. Once it has sat for about a week, and bubbles have stopped, you know it can’t extract any more and has taken what it can. If whatever you use for calcium starts floating, it likely is spent material. (Unless it is a powder which can be driven to the top by the bubbles.) The extracted calcium will naturally raise the pH though.
Then you strain out the calcium material and save the liquid to dilute for your plants. Most water is high in pH, and the amount of calcium vinegar used is low, so it doesn’t upset the plant pH very much at all.
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RosyPosy
Well-known member
Yes, you definitely can use oyster shells, you can use any shell, including crab, lobster, shrimp, clam, etc.
Oyster shells are one of my favorites because they have a certain amount of micros as well. Just keep in mind, as a dry, whole product added to potting mix, it takes longer to be plant available, it’s not an immediate source of calcium. If it is chunky to where it will stick around, it could be a good longtime source though.
I think Pete from Figlife uses/used that one. Here is the one I use when I uppot mine. I mostly do it to make me feel better.
RosyPosy
Well-known member
I was talking to someone in DMs about nutrients and realized I had totally forgotten about this product:
rootedleaf.com
It is calcium acetate (plus some other stuff) and is readily plant available. *I have not tried this brand yet, so I don’t know yet how well it performs with figs.* But I purchased some of their stuff that’s sitting in my garage to try this next season. They sound really good, so I thought I would share it here in case it helps anyone who’s not as into DIY.
CalMag Fuel – Rooted Leaf Agritech
rootedleaf.com
It is calcium acetate (plus some other stuff) and is readily plant available. *I have not tried this brand yet, so I don’t know yet how well it performs with figs.* But I purchased some of their stuff that’s sitting in my garage to try this next season. They sound really good, so I thought I would share it here in case it helps anyone who’s not as into DIY.
Kompakfigs
Well-known member
For $16, I’m buying it. I don’t know why it would harm plants. Composted cow, horse, rabbit and chicken ^manure are used for plants and unless there are chemicals to process the shells, I would say it’s quite organic.
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superdave336
Well-known member
Me too. I already use oyster shells but this is way cheaper and can be purchased at local farm stores.
Bofig
Well-known member
A lot of times these nutrient deficiencies are not caused by lack of nutrition but lack of roots to absorb it. If you don’t have good roots then you can add all you want and still not see a change. When rooting cuttings this is especially a big cause, so what I do first is try to build a good root system first. Mostly I fertilize with plant start or a transplant fertilizer that has rooting hormone in it. I see these come out of the nutrient deficiency quick when building a good root system with warm.
The other day I saw a post with a cutting unburied and there was one single long root coming out, it branched nicely but a single root won’t supply adequate nutrition to the plant and that is probably what causes a majority of this early on for cuttings.
The other day I saw a post with a cutting unburied and there was one single long root coming out, it branched nicely but a single root won’t supply adequate nutrition to the plant and that is probably what causes a majority of this early on for cuttings.
Poplee
Active member
I used oyster shell from TS in my mix last Spring. Even if it didn't add much calcium it would help with drainage. About the same size as perlite.