Is Cal-Mag Plus a good product?

15 years ago

I had terribly hard water and used General Hydroponics Flora Series three part nutrient line with the Micro for hard water. My tap water was at about 330ppm, so I bought a high end Apec 5 stage R/O water filter. My ppms are now at 10ppm, but forgot to buy the regular micro. I think that my tomatoe plants are suffering from a calcium deficiency. They are about two weeks in my Areo/DWC system, and the leaves are curling up, inward and twisting. Will Cal-Mag Plus correct this problem? All condition are optimal including pH, TDS and temps.

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Comments (12)

corrumpu
15 years ago
CalMag works as advertised.
Not sure if it will correct your specific issue though. Depends obviously if that deficiency is what is causing your trouble.

--chris
joe.jr317
15 years ago
Two weeks is kind of early for a calcium deficiency to be apparent. Calcium is a micronutrient (as you appear to know). The plant won't use that much if it's still small. Curling and deformities are also caused by too much nitrogen and poor lighting. Also, some varieties are sensitive to overwatering. Kind of hard to avoid in hydro. Last year I had a few different varieties and one just did all kinds of crazy stuff. All three varieties were hybrids from Territorial seed company. I sent the crazy one off to have it tested for a virus at the request of Territorial based on pics I took and sent them and the result was negative. Of course, Territorial needed to find out if a virus may possibly have originated from their seed. The other two varieties under the same conditions performed excellently. I never did figure out the issue.

Is the plant one that you started from your own seeds from a hybrid mother? Seed saving ability is one reason heirlooms are gaining back their popularity. Seeds saved from many common hybrids on the market are unpredictable and often grow funky mutations.
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rube32
Original Author
15 years ago
I started from seed bought from Harris seeds and I found out that my problem was simple over watering and weak nutrient loads. I think I may have bought Cal-Mag for nothing, but at least I have it if a problem arises. I spoke to a tech support rep from General Hydroponics and he helped me figure out my problem. If I have good results I just might make their product my main brand. I used Canna Aqua A+B for my last crop and I have to say that I got pretty good results considering my crappy water (330 ppm), but it isn't cheap. So I think I will use Canna Aqua for my Eggplant Specialty Collection seeds. Have you used Cal-Mag Plus... if so how much do you use?
wordwiz
15 years ago
I'm cheap so I use A to Zinc multivitamins. Two tablets, once a week in a four-gallon bucket. The plants (a Siletz tomato, black seeded Simpson lettuce, sweet pea and Chinese Red Noodle Green Bean) seem to love it.

Mike
hooked_on_ponics
15 years ago
I've used Sensi-Cal to grow tomatoes with great success.

But you're right that you need to get extra supplements for your RO water.
widespreadpanic
12 years ago
Rube, I seem to be having a problem you had a few years ago. i thought perhaps I needed some cal-mag to supplement my RO water. Could you please go take a look at a post I made over at:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydro/msg0500554017050.html?11569

Please let me know some details about how you fixed your problem. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: My thread about similar problem
TheMasterGardener1
12 years ago
You need to go get the reg micro if your ppm is down to 10ppm. CalMag is good I use it even with my 3-part.
widespreadpanic
12 years ago
MasterGardener could you explain more? My nutrients made by hydro-gardens Chemgro 4-18-38(plus calcium nitrate, mag sulfate) claims to have all the micro nutes needed for tomatoes, they only say to add calcium chloride if using RO water. If you were experiencing the problems I'm having would you recommend adding calmag or calcium chloride?
TheMasterGardener1
12 years ago
"hooked_on_ponics "
Sorry but that is just funny :)

widespreadpanic,

Wait.... I dont even know what system you use!!! Soilless drain to waste, aero, DWC? I grow soilless right now using the GH line with a CalMag and other additives.

If you take a look at the back of the nuitrents it will say "5ml per gal bla bla at a certain plant stage". As growers we need to identify that stage and how much the specific plant can take as far as ppm goes. Going back to the 5ml per gal example that is the recomended dose to achive a certain ppm now wether your plant can take that without buring is why hydroponics can be hard. I have yet to switch to a true hydro/aero but soilless/coco is the same thing but with a little more buffer, which is how I grow. I usally go 3/4 strengh or less on the nutes. And maybe like some said here it could be somthing different. But if you know it is a Ca prob then yes get more Ca in there. It sounds like it might not be Ca because if your nuits have a little Ca in them and your plants are only a few weeks in and they dont have to fruit then it might not be the Ca.

I hope I helped. BTW you got help from GH then they must be one of the best companies.

If you have many diff plants linked to the same rez they my require diff feeding so that may or may not work.
joe.jr317
12 years ago
Mike (wordwiz), do you add an acid to dissolve the vitamins?
TheMasterGardener1
12 years ago
joe.jr317

Add acid to dissolve vitamins. Im sorry but pro hydroponic growers are not worrying about acid dissoloving?

3-part Macro and Micro nutrients.
Ca+Mg
Amino/sugar Vitamins
Cleaner(H2o2)
Bloom boosters (macro in diff ratios)

Now with these products Why are you wondering about dissolving vitamins?
TheMasterGardener1
12 years ago
I am sorry. I did not see your where talking about the multi-vit. The acid would be a good idea as a chelate. I too am interested to see how that would work. It would be way cheaper to use plant nutrients though. Companies have multi-vitamin products for plants. Amino acids and certain vitamins are used by plants. I dont think the plant would use A-Z but it would use some and benefit.

Is Cal-Mag Plus a good product?

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corrumpu

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Is Cal-Mag Plus a good product?

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