Cal Mag dosages

[George Mc]

I use Fox Farm Trio nutrients when I feed and I also use cal-mag with every watering and feeding. My question is do I feed the girls 1/4 or 1/2 dosage recommended like I do with Fox Farm Trio? I'm growing in Fox Farm ocean forest soil.

 

[HydroponicFireman]

That depends on how big and old the plants are. It should give a feed schedule on the container.

 

[Aroxol]

I use Fox Farm Trio nutrients when I feed and I also use cal-mag with every watering and feeding. My question is do I feed the girls 1/4 or 1/2 dosage recommended like I do with Fox Farm Trio? I'm growing in Fox Farm ocean forest soil.

Cal-Mag can be pretty strain dependent as I’m learning right now, but usually when plants are young like new clones or seedlings and I’m using RO water, I’ll bring it .3 EC, in veg I’ll usually stick with ~2-3mL per gallon, when they get to be adults I’ll stay consistent with 5mL per gallon unless I see deficiency spots starting to appear, at which point I’ll increase. If you use RO water, you’ll always want to add calmag/ use a little more than if you use tap. Just my approach, hope that helps.

 

[George Mc]

Cal-Mag can be pretty strain dependent as I’m learning right now, but usually when plants are young like new clones or seedlings and I’m using RO water, I’ll bring it .3 EC, in veg I’ll usually stick with ~2-3mL per gallon, when they get to be adults I’ll stay consistent with 5mL per gallon unless I see deficiency spots starting to appear, at which point I’ll increase. If you use RO water, you’ll always want to add calmag/ use a little more than if you use tap. Just my approach, hope that helps.

I use well water that I pH to 6.5. I know my water has a lot of calcium in it anyway so I basically have been only using 1 1/2 milliliters of Cal Mag per gallon. I'm so new to growing I don't know if I had a deficiency or an abundance before. That's kind of why I'm asking the question. I'm not sure what EC is.

 

[Emilya Green]

I am not a fan of all the advice out here to arbitrarily use 1/4 or 1/2 of something that a manufacturer recommends, without a very good reason to do so. If you have less than 1000w HID or equivalent, that is a good reason. If you are growing in small containers, that is also a good reason. If you have made mistakes and have struggling plants, that is a good reason. If you just want small plants that will give you a chance to diagnose deficiencies, I guess that also is a good reason.
Other than that, who among us has the qualifications, degrees and scientific knowledge to second guess the manufacturer's recommendations? What incentive does the nutrient company have to advise you to use too much of their stuff so that you always have problems with your grows? Follow the directions my friends... unless, you have a good reason not to.

 

[Aroxol]

I use well water that I pH to 6.5. I know my water has a lot of calcium in it anyway so I basically have been only using 1 1/2 milliliters of Cal Mag per gallon. I'm so new to growing I don't know if I had a deficiency or an abundance before. That's kind of why I'm asking the question. I'm not sure what EC is.

Ok got it. Basically calmag deficiencies show up as orangish looking spots on your leaves. If you’re not seeing that, the amount in your water plus what you supplement is likely fine. Just took some pics of CM issues on my plant so you can see what I’m talking about. EC is measurement of dissolved salts - typically ppl will show the strength of their nutrient solution in EC or PPM (if you’re familiar with that?).

 

[Aroxol]

I am not a fan of all the advice out here to arbitrarily use 1/4 or 1/2 of something that a manufacturer recommends, without a very good reason to do so. If you have less than 1000w HID or equivalent, that is a good reason. If you are growing in small containers, that is also a good reason. If you have made mistakes and have struggling plants, that is a good reason. If you just want small plants that will give you a chance to diagnose deficiencies, I guess that also is a good reason.
Other than that, who among us has the qualifications, degrees and scientific knowledge to second guess the manufacturer's recommendations? What incentive does the nutrient company have to advise you to use too much of their stuff so that you always have problems with your grows? Follow the directions my friends... unless, you have a good reason not to.

Love to get your take on my current calmag question post.

 

[Emilya Green]

Love to get your take on my current calmag question post.

I was pondering that... and not sure I have ever seen a mag overdose... You can overdo the calcium and lock out potassium and iron and several other elements, and your plant would look so sick that it would be obvious that something major was going on. Usually I think we see this when people try to supercharge their soil with calcium of some kind, or try growing in eggshells or something silly like that.