CALCIUM

Calcium is used extensively in the plant as a component of mature cell walls. As long as the plant is growing, it needs a steady supply of calcium for proper growth and development.

The only soluble calcium compounds are lime and calcium chloride. The amount of lime that can be used as a fertilizer is limited because it drives the pH up and interferes with the operation of the microbial population in the media. Calcium chloride almost must be used in small quantities, since the accumulation of the chloride ion interferes with the uptake of other negatively charged fertilizer ions and is toxic to the microbial population.
Calcium sulfate is used in organic plant production systems as a calcium source. Calcium sulfate is essentially insoluble in water and is not available to the plants in its basic form. It can be finely ground and suspended in water for distribution within the production system, where it is processed by the microbial population in the media before the calcium is released into the media in a plant-available form. The processing takes time and the microbial system must remain in balance with its other needs for a maximum amount of calcium to be made available to the plants.

Calcium sulfate also provide sulfur to the plants, which need some sulfur for adequate growth. Far more sulfate will be provided to the organic plant production system than will be needed by the plants. The plants and the microbial system in an organic production system are fairly tolerant to the presence of high levels of sulfate. There is a limit, however, on how much sulfate the system can tolerate before it starts interfering with the operation of the system. In the field and in growing systems where soil is used, the per-plant ratio of media to plant is much higher than it is in the greenhouse and in containerized organic production systems. Increasing the volume of media in the system increases the systemâ??s holding capacity for cumulative substances like sulfate.

James Brown

Calcium should be maintained in a 1.5 : 1 ratio with phosphorous.
Calcium should be maintained at 3:1 levels to magnesium.
karmaxul Reviewed by karmaxul on . CALCIUM CALCIUM Calcium is used extensively in the plant as a component of mature cell walls. As long as the plant is growing, it needs a steady supply of calcium for proper growth and development. The only soluble calcium compounds are lime and calcium chloride. The amount of lime that can be used as a fertilizer is limited because it drives the pH up and interferes with the operation of the microbial population in the media. Calcium chloride almost must be used in small quantities, since the Rating: 5