Initially I tried to keep the one or two stems that collapsed from weight up using yoyo drawstrings but before long they all started to fall over. It's not even such a bad thing, everything fell so much that they all just kinda keep each other propped up enough to remain in the high Intensity zone. Like flipping a burger when one side is done, it topples from weight, opening up a new patch to be colonized by floral reproductive organs (buds) survival of the species demands it. Added more blue to the spectrum, will start to reduce daylight hours and temps over coming weeks. Probably should have used a net but I detest getting it off for the dry, a toppled cola is not so bad. Very nice first world problem to have if you ask me, blessed. No magnesium, no chlorophyll. First, Calcium Calcium is a vital nutrient, performing a large number of vital roles in plant biology. It’s a crucial component in plant cell walls and helps transport other minerals from one side of cell membranes to the other. It’s also involved in some enzyme functions. It’s what’s known as an immobile nutrient – once the plant has put it to use in one part of its structure, it can’t be relocated. That’s why we see deficiency in young leaves first – even if old leaves have more than enough, the calcium is fixed and can’t travel to where it’s needed. Without enough calcium, those membranes become weak. The cell walls can’t control their permeability, resulting in the leeching of vital nutrients and an eventual waterlogging of affected cells. Mostly we see it as yellowing leaves, especially in newer growth, and fruit that becomes soggy and sodden from too much moisture. Magnesium Magnesium is just as important. It’s a key component in the construction of chlorophyll, arguably the most important of all chemicals inside a plant. Chlorophyll is the powerhouse of the plant. It’s responsible for turning oxygen and water into sugar, fueling all the plant's growth. Without it, there’s no chance of vigorous growth at all Unlike calcium, magnesium is mobile and can be redeployed, so to speak, if the plant becomes deficient. As a result, magnesium deficiencies show in older leaves first, as the plant shifts its dwindling supplies to new growth. Chlorosis is the defining trait of magnesium deficiencies. Leaves turn yellow, from the oldest to the youngest. It makes sense – after all, no magnesium, no chlorophyll. Many Calmag solutions include iron, usually as a chelate. This is because many of the conditions that lead to soils poor in calcium and magnesium can also lead to low levels of iron, so it pays to cover all bases. Iron deficiencies also cause the same sort of chlorosis as magnesium deficiencies, so it sometimes pays to apply both at once. (Chelation is a type of bonding of ions and the molecules to metal ions. It involves the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between a polydentate (multiple bonded) ligand and a single central metal atom. These ligands are called chelants, chelators, chelating agents, or sequestering agents. They are usually organic compounds, but this is not a necessity.) Others will include nitrogen, too, presumably because plants need a fairly consistent supply of the stuff, and a deficient plant is likely to spring to life, hungry and ready to grow, once the deficiency is corrected. This is not the case for all brands, so it pays to check – there are plenty of cases where a low or nitrogen fertilizer is preferred. Calcium and magnesium work in concert within the plant, and so for many years it was assumed you had to ensure a good ratio of calcium to magnesium in order to get good growth from your plants. We now know that it’s both simpler and more complicated than that. The ratio of calcium to magnesium in the soil isn’t important, provided there’s enough of both for whatever is growing. However too much calcium can cause a drop in available magnesium. The two get along and readily bind to each other. You may well wind up with a magnesium deficiency if you go too hard with a purely calcium-based amendment. It’s why Cal-mag fertilizers are so useful – they prevent magnesium depletion while addressing both deficiencies at once. Cal-mag is best used regularly. As calcium is non-mobile, it needs to be present in the soil for use all through the growing season. As flowers and fruit develop it’s especially crucial to keep everything well-fed and clicking along. This is especially true if the weather has been erratic – plants draw calcium from the soil in water, so if the weather has alternated from very wet to very dry, it interrupts that uptake. I’d suggest you apply Calmag as a supplement for heavy feeders through the growing season, especially if the weather has been sketchy. Depending on your location, this could be anywhere from early spring through to late fall. Be mindful that plants with low fertilizer requirements won’t benefit from Cal-mag at all, and in fact, can be harmed by too much of it in the soil. You can also use Calmag to treat either magnesium deficiencies or calcium deficiencies as they appear. Both show up as chlorosis, with magnesium depleting the green from old leaves and calcium from the young Coco substrates have a few unique chemical properties that can cause problems if not treated. Chief among these is the high amount of potassium naturally found in coco. This potassium tends to swap places with calcium in nutrient solutions, resulting in too much potassium and not enough calcium in your system. Fortunately, treating with Calmag is a good way to remediate this. The magnesium has its own part to play in the complex chemistry happening at the root level, but together they can work to create a supportive growing environment for your plants. How you apply the Calmag will determine how effective it is, as well as what you’re hoping to achieve. As a preventative measure, you may never see the Calmag do its work. That’s the point – you are preventing the deficiencies from developing. If applied judiciously, it’s an invisible barrier, protecting you from crop failure and poor growth. But if used to treat a diagnosed deficiency, the impact will be felt fastest with foliar application. Magnesium deficiencies will correct quite quickly. While already damaged leaves won’t revive, the grim march of yellow will stop almost immediately. Calcium deficiency is slower to spot, as it’s tied to the development of new tissue, but once you’ve corrected the problem the next wave of leaves or blossoms should be in good health. Soil application takes longer for the plant to process, but it tends to be more enduring. It can take a few days for the minerals to work their way through a large plant, but once they do it’s a long-lasting result. You can always have too much of a good thing, and Cal-Mag is no different. At best, it’s possible to use Cal-mag to treat disorders caused by totally unrelated deficiencies, or even bacteria or fungus. While in these cases the Cal-mag itself isn’t going to cause too many problems, they certainly aren’t going to fix your problem. More critically, both calcium and magnesium can spell trouble in too high concentrations. Too much calcium in the soil can result in the uptake of too much of other minerals and not enough of others, a tricky thing to detect. Magnesium sickness is easier to spot, leaving browning on the tips of new growth. I always stress it's best to know for sure before you apply any specialized nutritional supplement like Calmag. For a general boost, a broad-spectrum tonic like kelp meal is a safer option. Manure We’ve been applying manure to crops for as long as humans have been gardening. Its benefits have long been understood, and we’re increasingly aware of just how beneficial manures are to the garden. Different animals produce manure with different levels of nitrogen. Cow manure is the lowest, starting at as little as 1% nitrogen. Once allowed to age, that can drop to effectively zilch and even very high nitrogen composts like poultry manure will reach nitrogen of zero if left long enough. It also loses a lot of its characteristic odor and becomes simply another olfactory note in the garden. It’s rich in phosphorous and potassium, as well as all the trace minerals key to plant development. That includes calcium and magnesium, though not as abundant as other sources. Kelp Meal Kelp meal is probably my favorite of the low-nitrogen fertilizers. It’s low in the big three – nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, but provides an astonishing range of other micronutrients, as well as plant hormones that stimulate root growth. It can be added to the soil loosely, or used to produce a nourishing tea. I write at great length about kelp meal here. Suffice it to say that it’s an excellent source of trace elements that are often overlooked in other fertilizers, with very few drawbacks. Bone Meal For calcium, you can’t go past bone meal. It’s exactly what you’d imagine – ground bone. Gruesome though it might sound, it's a very sustainable soil amendment, and safe to use too. The bone is superheated to kill pathogens before being finely ground, resulting in a nutrient-dense material that provides abundant calcium, as well as being a rich source of phosphorus.