Diy Cal-Mag

[Herby Paisley]

Hi folks I found this recipe by Chef Anna on how to make your own Cal-Mag to feed your pot plants, Not sure if anyone has posted it before, So I thought I would help out my fellow DIY'ers and post this homemade version of Cal-Mag here!... Cheers!

Ingredients

6 large eggs
Epsom salt
Distilled water

1. Crack all of your eggs and rinse out the shells. Leave the washed shells out to dry overnight.

2. The next day, take a rolling pin and crush your dried eggshells into small pieces.

3. Weigh your crushed eggshells with a kitchen scale. This recipe calls for 30 grams of dried egg shells. Discard any extras.

4. Measure out 15g of epsom salts.

5. Take your large stock pot, add 1 gallon of water, 30g of dried eggshells and 15g of Epsom Salts. Place on your stovetop and turn your burner to high. Bring this mixture up to a boil and keep it boiling for about 5 minutes.

6. After a few minutes, turn off your burner and cover your pot with the lid. Let this sit for at least 24 hours. The eggshells and epsom salts will release their nutrients into the water during this time.

7. Strain any eggshells or debris out of the mixture.

8. Water your plant with 2 cups of this mixture to give your plant a boost of calcium, magnesium and sulfur. This recipe makes 1 gallon of cal-mag booster, which is enough for 8 treatments. Store the remaining to use later.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Why mix a fast-release synthetic form of magnesium (magnesium sulfate) and a slow-release "organic" form of calcium? You ought to be able to find calcium nitrate in any farm supply stores, plant nurseries / greenhouses that sell nutrients, hardware stores (that's worthy of being called a hardware store), Home Depots, Lowes, ChinaMarts, et cetera? Worried about ending up with too much nitrogen, or...?

 

[SoGnotSOG321]

Thank you for clarifying a question I had, and giving me 12 more
Application of 2 cups, to how large or volume size gallons/L pots, plant-plant type, stage of growth, time between treatments, type of grow, coco/p/v hydroponic, soil?
Does this work as a schedule thing or as the plant shows it? Can you leave out the Epsom salt to just get the calcium? And use it a foliar spray application?
Thanks for the recipe though nice to meet you

 

[Herby Paisley]

Thank you for clarifying a question I had, and giving me 12 more
Application of 2 cups, to how large or volume size gallons/L pots, plant-plant type, stage of growth, time between treatments, type of grow, coco/p/v hydroponic, soil?
Does this work as a schedule thing or as the plant shows it? Can you leave out the Epsom salt to just get the calcium? And use it a foliar spray application?
Thanks for the recipe though nice to meet you

Its your standard 250ml cup size and for soil growing and if diluted a lil more can be used in your dwc systems just like any other Cal Mag that's sold on the market. When you go to use it just make sure to test the ppms, ec, as well as the ph of the mixture so the strength ratio match's the usual store bought Cal Mag and your ppm's,ec, and ph are at the right levels for either application be it soil or hydroponic.
As for schedule just follow your usual feeding plan if it has a Cal Mag ml dosing schedule. Like I said just make sure the strength of the solution is close or same as the strength as a standard store bought one you usually use with your feedings if you do. lol
I'm not sure about the foliar spray application but with the epsom salt gone, I don't see why not. Try it out let me know..

 

[Weaselcracker]

can be used in your dwc systems just like any other Cal Mag that's sold on the market.

I tried making three different kinds of DIY calmag before and what I found was that it was pretty stubborn about its PH level of 7. It played havoc with the PH of my hempy pots.
The difference between that and the bottled Calmag versions I’ve bought is - they have all been fairly acidic and also easy to adjust to hydro ph of 5.6- 5.8.

 

[CADBOY]

Hi folks I found this recipe by Chef Anna on how to make your own Cal-Mag to feed your pot plants, Not sure if anyone has posted it before, So I thought I would help out my fellow DIY'ers and post this homemade version of Cal-Mag here!... Cheers!

Ingredients

6 large eggs
Epsom salt
Distilled water

1. Crack all of your eggs and rinse out the shells. Leave the washed shells out to dry overnight.

2. The next day, take a rolling pin and crush your dried eggshells into small pieces.

3. Weigh your crushed eggshells with a kitchen scale. This recipe calls for 30 grams of dried egg shells. Discard any extras.

4. Measure out 15g of epsom salts.

5. Take your large stock pot, add 1 gallon of water, 30g of dried eggshells and 15g of Epsom Salts. Place on your stovetop and turn your burner to high. Bring this mixture up to a boil and keep it boiling for about 5 minutes.

6. After a few minutes, turn off your burner and cover your pot with the lid. Let this sit for at least 24 hours. The eggshells and epsom salts will release their nutrients into the water during this time.

7. Strain any eggshells or debris out of the mixture.

8. Water your plant with 2 cups of this mixture to give your plant a boost of calcium, magnesium and sulfur. This recipe makes 1 gallon of cal-mag booster, which is enough for 8 treatments. Store the remaining to use later.

Very nice info Check out my signature for diy Calmag related info

 

[The Celt]

I will add something to address @TorturedSoul and @Weaselcracker ’s comments about slow release and pH.

You can make a calcium supplement with a calcium source (lime, egg shells etc) and vinegar. It forms calcium acetate which is readily available to plants

 

[Weaselcracker]

I will add something to address @TorturedSoul and @Weaselcracker ’s comments about slow release and pH.

You can make a calcium supplement with a calcium source (lime, egg shells etc) and vinegar. It forms calcium acetate which is readily available to plants

That’s one of the ways I made mine. Ph 7 all the way.

For some reason the site isn’t letting me link to threads otherwise I’d post the thread I made on DIY calmag and the results

Oh got it working - here’s the link to the results.

Anyone make DIY calmag?

I'm always paranoid when venturing into new territory. I think your plan seems solid. Watch the girls and see how they react. You using Epsom for a Mag source?

www.420magazine.com

 

[The Celt]

Not surprising the milk dropping your pH, it becomes lactic acid as it breaks down. I always have a jug of fermented milk (LABs) in the fridge and if I get it right, I actually drink a glass of water with a tablespoon of it each morning. Good for ”gut help” and my gut could use a LOT of help

The calcium/vinegar solution surprised me with the pH drifting up but I guess it is basic as well, might be all in the dosing

 

[Weaselcracker]

My plants suffered badly with those experiments and thanked me when I ordered a new bottle of calmag

 

[The Celt]

I never run into those kinds of problems as I have always grown in LOS...might try DWC this winter, that could change my luck with deficiencies though

 

[Weaselcracker]

My conclusion was that the shell/vinegar thing would only work well in soil. I’ve heard people recommend using gypsum as a calcium source to get around that ph problem - but haven’t looked into it.

 

[The Celt]

Gypsum should be good actually, it’s Calcium Sulphate which I would think (I might be wrong) on the low side of neutral.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Found this re the gypsum

Gypsum is neutral in pH, and since it has no carbonate ion as part of its makeup, it will not neutralize acidity. However, it is much more soluble than most lime products (about 200 times as soluble), so it does make a very good source for soluble calcium and sulfate.

The calcium/vinegar solution surprised me with the pH drifting up but I guess it is basic as well, might be all in the dosing

I tried to replicate the same dosage I would have been getting from my bottled calmag. About 100 ppm Ca and 50 ppm Mg.

 

[CADBOY]

Found this re the gypsum

Gypsum is neutral in pH, and since it has no carbonate ion as part of its makeup, it will not neutralize acidity. However, it is much more soluble than most lime products (about 200 times as soluble), so it does make a very good source for soluble calcium and sulfate.



I tried to replicate the same dosage I would have been getting from my bottled calmag. About 100 ppm Ca and 50 ppm Mg.

Yeah I tossed my bottled Calmag out too, once I learned about @Emilya cal-mag-phos thread. Never looked back.

 

[Herby Paisley]

LOve it guys.... This thread turned into a nice discusion thread on different ways to make Cal Mag

 

[Redcup]

Heres a little detail on the process.

Eggshells are calcium carbonate, when boiled they produce calcium ions and carbonates In solution. Calcium ions are what the plant uses and carbonates add alkalinity. Calcium carbonate is only moderately soluble at atmospheric conditions and the solution wont have a very large concentration of calcium, i am not sure the number but like 100 ppm max, any more will precipitate.

Thats not bad but not much. Essentially this has produced hard water like from your tap.

The amount of magnesium called for seems very high in relation to the dissolved Ca. It seems about 10x more than needed to maintain a proper balance of Ca to Mag (3-1 or so).

This can provide a boost in Ca but the primary requirements will need to come from a different source. Calcium Nitrate for hydroponics, gypsum or lime for soil, chelated calcium is also available.
Calciums reactivity is why fertilizers are in two parts, it precipitates out in high concentration with p and S especially.

Hope that helps