Dolomite lime to soil ratio
- Thread starter Edna
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Mix it with food grade gypsum. 1/2 and 1/2.
The dolomite lime has too much Mg (magnesium). Its got like a 2:1 Ca to Mg ratio. We want to see well above 5:1 some even go as far as 10:1 Ca:Mg.
Ca is important. Can add in some Crustacean meal to your mix (crab/lobster/shrimp whatever is in season) they sell it at the local feed store. For a medium to long term Ca source. I also use Oyster Shell FLOUR added to my soil mix and rock dusts for CEC.
The dolomite lime has too much Mg (magnesium). Its got like a 2:1 Ca to Mg ratio. We want to see well above 5:1 some even go as far as 10:1 Ca:Mg.
Ca is important. Can add in some Crustacean meal to your mix (crab/lobster/shrimp whatever is in season) they sell it at the local feed store. For a medium to long term Ca source. I also use Oyster Shell FLOUR added to my soil mix and rock dusts for CEC.
I've seen this information before and I'm not certain of it's source. Perhaps Doc Bud and his High Brix? It's odd that almost all the nute manufacturers mix their products 3:1 Cal to Mag if that were the case. A ratio of 6:1 is considered Mag deficient in field soil.
That said, I do not grow in soil. I grow in a soil-less mix and feed liquid and powdered fertilizer. In my soil-less mix (peat based) I add 2 tablespoons of dolomite lime per gallon mainly to balance pH than provide Calcium and Magnesium, that's just an ancillary benefit.
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- #4
Thanks brown for replying so quick. I will look into gypsum. If im unable to find it around my area, (do to isolation) do you recomend anything else ?
No not Doc Bud here - soil science is where I get it from. No knock on the Doc.
The Ca:Mg ratio is a pretty big one. Why they test for both in a soil test and report it that way.
I'm probably considered a high brix organic farmer. I don't test for Brix tho.
My soil will test at well above 5:1 Ca:Mg ratio and I wood like it higher.
I use my soil over and over and test in 1x a year to make sure its staying on track.
The plants use up a good deal of Ca compared to Mg and it shows in the soil test result. I even supplement some amount of Ca with EWC/kelp. These are not high in any nutrient.
With soil-less you are removing your input nutrients with your growing technique. In soil the Ca will be used up quite a bit faster than the Mg. This is why I suggested to up the Ca proportion with some Gypsum (also brings Sulfur to the table for smell and flavor).
So for a say 2 cups of Dolomite and then cut that to 1 cup and add a cup of gypsum the OP doubled up the Ca:Mg ratio - it should be perfect or pretty close.
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- #6
1 cup dolomite and 1 cup gypsum to how much dirt ? I will be using fox farm and i usually veg longer and what to make sure my soil stays on track. Thanks again brown
cubic foot or 2
1 cubic foot = 7.5 gal - so if you are mixing up soil add some in and stir it up.
The microbes will help break it down.
If you want to VEG a long time you want to topdress with some N say rabbit berries with EWC or something like that every few weeks. A handful of compost is good too.
Neither Ca product is soluble or very soluble.
1 cubic foot = 7.5 gal - so if you are mixing up soil add some in and stir it up.
The microbes will help break it down.
If you want to VEG a long time you want to topdress with some N say rabbit berries with EWC or something like that every few weeks. A handful of compost is good too.
Neither Ca product is soluble or very soluble.
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- #8
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
I just didn't want to get into the soil discussion... not being an expert I am not sure how valid my opinions on amending soil are. Live and learn I say. Hope it works ok.
FIM takes ages to resolve... much faster to just settle with two from one and top it.... I cut it right off where the new node is starting to rise up.
By wackamole, I mean that I am looking for which bud set is rising up to claim the top dominant position. Usually there are two of them, and just like in the game, as soon as they rise up and declare themselves the top, off with their heads. Then another will rise up the next day... off with its head. Once all the upper nodes have been chopped, some of the lower nodes rise up from the sides. When they do, off with their heads! Just like crazy Edward ScissorHands, I chop and I chop, trying to force the plant into a strong and level upper canopy. There are some days late in veg when 20 of them need a little trim, or they would eventually rise up over the canopy being established. It requires checking at least every couple of days when the plant gets that big, but with 30 or more bud sites created over a couple of months of this, it is worth all the effort.
Hope it works ok.FIM takes ages to resolve... much faster to just settle with two from one and top it.... I cut it right off where the new node is starting to rise up.
By wackamole, I mean that I am looking for which bud set is rising up to claim the top dominant position. Usually there are two of them, and just like in the game, as soon as they rise up and declare themselves the top, off with their heads. Then another will rise up the next day... off with its head. Once all the upper nodes have been chopped, some of the lower nodes rise up from the sides. When they do, off with their heads! Just like crazy Edward ScissorHands, I chop and I chop, trying to force the plant into a strong and level upper canopy. There are some days late in veg when 20 of them need a little trim, or they would eventually rise up over the canopy being established. It requires checking at least every couple of days when the plant gets that big, but with 30 or more bud sites created over a couple of months of this, it is worth all the effort.
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- #10
Thank you em . I wasn't sure if you took the whole top off or not. Looking to have a even canopy this round. Had alot of small buds on my recent grow and I'm looking to make those bottom nodes rise up and even out with the rest of the plant. Going to start a journal soon for this new grow and I'm confident on correcting my mistakes from watering to transplanting to early. Hope all is well down in the south ❤
. I wasn't sure if you took the whole top off or not. Looking to have a even canopy this round. Had alot of small buds on my recent grow and I'm looking to make those bottom nodes rise up and even out with the rest of the plant. Going to start a journal soon for this new grow and I'm confident on correcting my mistakes from watering to transplanting to early. Hope all is well down in the south ❤
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Doing good here... we had a scary and sudden cold spell instead of fall down here, but being Missouri the weather has changed its mind and now that the fall colors have been frozen suddenly away before they could start, it is becoming seasonable again for a week. Here in Missouri we say that if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute... it will change.Thank you em
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- #12
I reside in Alberta, and I can totally relate to that weather statement. I'm glad everything is moving along, and may I add the girls that you're about to harvest look amazing!
I strongly suspect that you know more than the average cannabis gardener. I might not always agree with your opinions, but I respect them all.
Cannabis eats a lot of calcium over its lifetime. Enough that (IMHO) nutrients marketed for the purpose of growing it ought to list N-P-K-Ca on the front label instead of just N-P-K, saving us the hassle of flipping the container over and peering at the fine print to find out how much calcium is in it. Many cannabis plants seem to lack proper levels of it; even when the plant outwardly appears to be healthy and doesn't show obvious signs of a Ca deficiency, the hollow stems that are often found at harvest time are indicative of it (a calcium deficiency).
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- #14
Thank you brown and soul for the great information. Im going to be mixing up some soil tonight for these girls. 1 cup gypsum 1 cup dolomite to 7.5 gal fox farm soil. I believe this will make a significant difference in my soil since im running 2 solar storm 550 led lights. Hopefully this will help with some of my cal-mag issues i had come across last grow. Here are some pictures of the girls at day 16 today. I took one picture of the cotyledons on one plant and the only one thats showing she might be getting hungry ? Might start feeding next watering. Oh and em i think the lifting methods working. I let them go till they droop a little let those roots chase and then water. I think ive come a long way from how i use to water these plants. Thanks always ! ❤
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Hollow stem is actually a sign of a very healthy cannabis plant.
It's not necessarily a sign of an unhealthy plant. And genetics can play a part. But it can be caused by nutrient deficiency. I suppose that the same thing could be said about "purple," too, come to think of it.
