I can't find a copy of a Mag I Cal label anywhere on the net, but I believe it contains only 35% calcitic lime. Advise you read the label and do the calculations. The recommendation was 40# of lime/m. That could be a lot of bags of JG product at a higher price than than you need to pay. Plus, as dchall said, you may need to apply dolomitic lime rather than calcitic. Advise you stay away from adding boron without professional guidance. It needs to be applied in VERY small doses (grams vs pounds) and too much will make your lawn a wasteland. Edit: "Boron at .35 PPM. Is this having a negative impact on my lawn?" Not likely. Grass needs very little boron for healthy growth. Adjustment in a boron level that is above .20 ppm may give fractional improvement but is for the lawn perfectionist who is trying to improve from 99% to 99.5%. IMHO. This post was edited by yardtractor1 on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 12:03

Hi Strawberryhill, I have been in the process of re-landscaping my yard and had a portions of it tested already; the gypsum/ calcium sulfate is present at more than adequate levels and the sodium levels were ok. The issue for me has been, I have different things going on in one plot of land and was talking to my hubby about three weeks ago and we decided to re-landscape the front yard; now a new area to test. In October I will be planting in a bed on the side of my house that unlike every other area in my yard clearly has clay soil; I am concerned about the drainage; and am awaiting info. for that area. I agree with you that not only can levels vary in one part of a neighborhood, but I have variances in my own yard; but based upon some basic information from the Uni. Cooperative Extension, mapping etc., I would be surprised if gypsum was lacking; what is going on with the sodium, that is another potential monkey wrench in this scenario. My water is pH 7.6- 7.8... so it is alkaline but compost and soil sulfur among other things are my best gardening friends. All of my bands and 1 gallons are in pots and I am just awaiting the root growth and health to put them in my soil; hopefully by October; growing plants in pots is not my forte. Thank you for the recommendation to use ball. If all goes well I will likely receive more bands at some point and if there is an issue with gypsum it could definitely be useful:) During my first couple of years of college my major was bio-chem, then I decided that science relative to human anatomy etc. was more interesting, and then gravitated toward and completed a dual undergrad. in Criminology and Psychology. Yes, I was confused a confused 17 year old....and while now, having a family has made stability necessary, I am already planning for a shift once the kids go off to college; there is still some existentialist in me. Lynn This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 20:23

1) Will pickle crisp affect flavor? Yes, it might. Calcium chloride is a salt, so it can taste "salty" depending on your taste buds. Regular salt is sodium chloride, which we all know under the common name of "salt". Some people can detect a chalky taste from Pickle Crisp which would be the calcium in it (ever eat Tums? - those are calcium carbonate and taste, to me, like blackboard chalk). Again, depends on the sensitivity of taste buds. As an example, if I order a margarita, I cannot tolerate the lime (fruit) and salt on the rim. But run an orange or a lemon over it instead and dip it in the salt, I love it. I also do not like salt on sliced tomatoes. I think it's hideous. DH salts his liberally. It may be your taste buds reacting to the type and flavor of the acid/type of salt combo. Note: I tend to cut the sodium type salt in recipes where I'm using Pickle Crisp where it is safe to do so. 2) How long does it take pickle crisp to work? I honestly can't answer that one, because I've never opened a jar of anything where I've used Pickle Crisp (tomatoes, pickled peppers, etc.) before it has been on the shelf for a least a month or 6 weeks. And (so far, knock on wood), I don't detect any chemical flavor or lack of crispness. Pickling lime is calcium hydroxide, so it reacts differently (and likely faster) than calcium chloride. 3) Does the thickness of the syrup in this recipe interfere with how pickle crisp works? Long term, it shouldn't. My guess is the Pickle Crisp didn't completely have time to do its chemical reaction stuff before you popped the lid and tasted. Probably more than you wanted to know...

Certain precautions supposedly help alleviate the phosphorus deficienncy [sic] problem. Honestly it isn't something you can eliminate and it isn't something to worry about either. It's not a deficiency so much as an uptake problem, it's normal for many varieties, it is common (especially so when plants are started way too early ), it disappears (unpurples) all on its own as the plant matures. This is not to say you shouldn't maintain your fertility and pH as Timmy said. The rest takes care of itself. but I am not sure when BER will show As to the calcium uptake, again it fixes itself as the plant adapts and matures. You can see it quite early on in the fruit - a darker discoloration on the bloom end of the fruit while it is still quite small. You can't "cure" or prevent it. The plant does that for itself. I assume all these plants will eventually be planted outside in the garden? If so, then depending on the weather when you transplant, you may experience some early BER regardless of what you do. But it will go away once the weather stabilizes - assuming sufficient sunlight and that your soil bed is balanced and well-prepared. And if you are transplanting older seedlings (ones that were started way too early ;) then you may see more of it. Old transplants simply can't adapt nearly as quickly or as well as those of proper age and size come transplant time. So, bottom line, I think the "cure" for all your concerns is to quit starting your plants so far in advance. ;) Dave