In today\u2019s post we\nwill look into the importance of calcium in gardening and 6 easily available\nsources of calcium to plants, And What out of these really work and Why? Then, Finally\nTwo Gardening Hacks or Tricks to get instant supply of calcium to your plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, before we start listing the 6 easy sources of calcium\nto plants, we will quickly know the importance or the function of calcium in\nplants. Calcium plays a very important role in overall growth of plants. It\nhelps in absorption of major nutrients by the roots in the presence of water.\nIt is essential for formation and integrity of plant cell wall and hence very\nessential for fruit formation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, What are the\nsigns and symptoms of calcium deficiency in plants?<\/strong> Having\nsaid that, now let\u2019s list out the top 6 options or the sources of calcium to\nplants<\/strong>. If you do vegetable gardening or intend to grow veggies organically\nin your home or terrace garden, please follow this till the end! 5.\nEgg Shells:<\/strong> No doubt egg shell is composed of calcium carbonate. You\nknow Even one of the hardest thing Marble is calcium carbonate and also the\nsoft Chalk sticks is also calcium carbonate. 4.\n Bone meal<\/strong>: Yes! It\u2019s an\nexcellent source of calcium, but\nthe problem is the Plants can\nonly get phosphorus from bone meal and\ncannot utilize calcium from bone meal. This is because of Garden Soil PH of\naround 6.5, that\u2019s slightly acidic for most garden plants. And at this PH\nlevel, it\u2019s not a good option to use bone meal as a source of calcium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.\nExpired Calcium or Iron Tablets:<\/strong> Are these of any use to the plants?\nCertainly not for instant supply of calcium unlike in humans. These are complex\nbinding forms or compounds in these tablets that take time to decompose and\nrelease them for uptake by plants. The best way to use these expired tablets is\nto add them to your compost bin. The final compost formed will be rich in\ncalcium and other minerals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.\n Lime:<\/strong> Agricultural Lime is chemically\ncalcium Hydroxide. And another variety garden lime called Dolomite lime is more\ncommonly used and It\u2019s also a good source of magnesium for plants. No doubt,\nit\u2019s a great source of calcium. The only draw back is it increases your soil PH\nlevel to alkaline levels which is not desirable for most plants. Unless, you\nhave tested your soil PH and if its found too acidic like below 5.5 levels, you\ncan safely use lime for your plants. This PH meter is quite handy and very\ninexpensive. You can buy that Online from amazon link in description. Well, The\ndosage of Lime should not be more than 1 teaspoon per litre of water or 1\ntablespoon per gallon of water once in a while like once in 3 months. But still\nif you want to use this and keep your soil ph unchanged, you have many options\n\u2013 like adding lot of compost manure to raise the PH or you can mix about 10 gms\nof alum powder in 1 liter of water to compensate for the soil ph level because\nalum acidifies the soil or alternately add 1 or two teaspoons of white\ndistilled vinegar into this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.\nGypsum:<\/strong> Gypsum is one of the best sources of calcium to plants and the\nsafest option simply because it will not alter the soil ph levels. Chemically its calcium\nsulfate dehydrate. Its also called Lime sulfate. Gypsum is also used in clayey\nsoils to remove soil compaction and improve soil drainage. It drastically\nreduces the sodium levels or salinity in the soil, which is very important if\nyou are watering your plants with salty or hard water. And Finally, the most inexpensive sources of\ncalcium for home gardening: The Calcium Hacks using Chalk Pieces, Egg shells and\nWhite Vinegar. The second hack is The Vinegar Hack. To treat blossom end rot disease or any acute deficiency of calcium in plants. You can mix lime and vinegar or egg shell powder + Vinegar to break down the compound and prepare a water soluble form of calcium that can be quickly absorbed by the roots. Make sure if you use egg shells, sun dry them for atleast two days or microwave them for few minutes.
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\nCalcium deficiency can cause necrosis or death of plant tissue at certain parts\nof the plant particularly at the tips of fruits and tips of growing leaves which\nappear like burnt tips. Blossom End rot Disease seen in tomatoes, peppers and\nsquashes is the best example of such necrosis due to calcium deficiency. Plant\nchlorosis or leaf yellowing and stunted growth are also signs of calcium deficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n6. Milk:<\/strong> This is the most expensive option and not recommended because\nmost of the ingredients found in milk along with calcium are not required by\nplants. Like Fats, lactose and proteins are not essential to plants. But, If\nyour milk is spoilt, you may dilute it and water it to your plants or make a\nfoliar spray by mixing it with compost tea, like how we have done this in my\nprevious posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe point here is if you add crushed or even powdered egg shells into soil, it\nmight take many months and even years for it to decompose and release that\ncalcium for uptake into the soil. This option is least effective for treating a\nacute disease like Blossom end rot or a stunted plant. Perhaps this option of\npowdered eggshells may be utilized while preparing your potting mix before\nplanting. Another option for instantly providing\ncalcium for plants is to water the plants with the water used to boil eggs. Do\nnot throw away this water. Cool it and water your plants with this. Egg shells\nrelease some calcium into water during the process of egg boiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWell, The Dosage for gyspum is 1 teaspoon per litre of water or 1 tablespoon per gallon of\nwater once in about 3 months. Depending on the container size or the plant size\nyou can safely increase the dosage if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nFirstly the Chalk Sticks Hack:
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\nChalk is chemically Calcium Carbonate. You can take white chalk sticks and bury\nthem into the soil while planting your veggies. That\u2019s in intital stages. This\nreally works wonders for plants like Tomatoes, Peppers, squashes, egg plants\nand almost any vegetable plant. You can bury two chalk sticks per container for\nthese vegetable plants safely if you soil ph is around 6.0. For other plants to\nprovide slow release calcium source, you can bury one chalk stick per container.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its simple! Just take a handful of egg shell powder or one or two spoons of lime and add same amount of white vinegar to this. You can see a chemical reaction between calcium carbonate and acetic acid which releases carbondioxide as gas and free calcium into the solution. You can leave this alone for few hours and then mix with water and water your plants. This is the cheapest source of calcium to treat acute deficiency. That\u2019s it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n