New Grower Cal/mag....yes or no

[Wingnut]

I have read the nutrients used by alot of different growers and cal/mag is almost always in the mix.
I see the purpose if you are using distilled or RO water but, what if your water profile is on the harder
End of the spectrum and you have a decent calcium and magnesium profile (I also Homebrew and those
Minerals are essential to yeast and taste profile so I have done tests). I'm a soil grower but, am newer to
The group so, I'm very open to advice...thanks

 

[Waira]

:smoking: It's a case by case thing, depending on- as you mentioned-- water hardness, grow medium, and of course, the individual plants, which can have surprisingly variable demands, even pheno' to pheno',... Both are secondary nute's, so a fair amount is needed all through the grow,... other factors come into play with the chemistry affecting availability, like pH, interactions with other nutrient elements, etc.,... So, many folks add a dilute dose as a matter of course, just for prevention's sake, others don't bother until there's some sign of deficiency,... coco, and hydro folks must use it all the time! Lots of people like to add molasses as an occasional supplement, which has some Ca, Mg, K and a little Fe in it, plus the sugars which ramp up the microbes... which in turn benefits the plant! In this case, extra Ca-Mg on top of this is redundant,.... managing and understanding your inputs is what it's about,...

 

[Wingnut]

Waira...thanks a ton. That was a great explanation. More than answered my question.

 

[Piotrek506]

I am with Waira on this one, you need to run few grows and see if you getting cal mag def.
In my case I used to get it every single grow,so cal mag was and is a must ....
It is very individual to location, water source, nutrients range and soil you using . I am using bio bizz and always had problems with calcium and magnesium deficiency.
Now I have to use cal mag supplement every watering, dolomite lime(before planting the seed I mix it with the soil) plus Epsom salts every few weeks

 

[Sunny747]

better safe than sorry.. In most cases we can't tell how much ca/mg is in our water.. RO water is the way to go so you can start with a clean slate.