How to add calcium to plants is a question that you would have if you see that there is a deficiency. This can easily be achieved with basic ingredients and easily available additions that can be made to plants, such as lime, gypsum, oyster shells and eggshells which can fix any shortfall of the mineral in the soil.
In this article, our gardening experts will share their knowledge on what could be added to the soil to undertake a calcium deficiency, along with some valuable hints on how to use them.
Continue reading for information on all the options available to nourish your plant quickly.
Contents
How to Add Calcium Supplements to Plants
To add calcium supplements to plants, you can spread some foliar spray, or use a fertilizer that is rich in this mineral. You may also add some lime, egg shells, bone, ash from hardwood or oyster shells, or you can even add colloidal phosphate.
These can be used directly in the soil as they are naturally calcium-rich, decomposing to nourish the area around the plant. Which would help your plant in the deficiency when they are showing different signs.
– Foliar Spray
Calcium can be found in several sprays, such as calcium chloride, calcium acetate, and calcium nitrate. This liquid calcium for plants can be purchased from retail and online stores and is known for its immediate impact on plants.
These are beneficial because they would help the plant in finding itself again with the right amount of calcium that they were lacking or displaying severe calcium deficient symptoms. Because the calcium is absorbed into the top of the plant, where the blossoms develop, foliar sprays are the best option for preventing blossom end rot.
What you can do is spray the foliage with foliar fertilizer is helpful for various reasons, such as not affecting the pH range of the soil, and should be considered a valuable addition to soil nutrition. It is commonly used with potted plants, particularly seedlings, and transplants, because often these types of plants may start lacking in minerals.
– Use a Calcium Fertilizer For Plants
If you find out early in the gardening season that the soil in your garden lacks calcium, a calcium fertilizer is an excellent alternative. This allows you to treat the soil as soon as you notice the problem with long-lasting effects. For them to be of any help to your plants in terms of providing the calcium that they require, they must first be thoroughly mixed into the soil.
It is important to make sure that, before applying the fertilizer, to have the soil tested so that you can determine all of the needs of your soil and make sure that the fertilizer will not result in an unnecessary increase. These would be obvious by the signs that you would start seeing, such as the plants giving smaller fruit than they used to.
Moreover, the amount of calcium fertilizer that you must apply also depends on the pH level of the soil in your garden, the time of the year, and the phase of plant development.
– Lime
This is a type of calcium carbonate that is frequently used to increase the amount of calcium that is present in the soil. Keep in mind that this will result in an elevation in the pH of the soil.
Dolomite lime is yet another alternative to lime, which in addition to supplying calcium, also delivers magnesium, unlike Epsom salts, which only provide magnesium and no calcium when it is added. When you add this mineral, it may be more advantageous to use dolomitic lime on your soil may be advantageous if magnesium levels are too low.
When you aim to add this one, note that the fall season is the ideal time to add lime, directly working it into the ground, and this boosts the soil’s overall acidity and healthy plant tissues.
Before adding lime, it is recommended that you have your soil tested to determine the pH range it currently has. You should avoid using lime if the acidity of your soil is already very close to being neutral.
– Bone Meal
This is a fantastic soil addition that, when added to your soil, can raise the calcium content to a higher level than before. Grinding up the bones of several consumed organisms is the easiest way to produce bone meal.
It has a modest but consistent effect in raising calcium levels throughout an entire growing season which would often start in spring and last till summer or the end of summer in some cases. It is a more well-balanced fertilizer due to the presence of phosphate and nitrogen in its composition.
Calcium will continue to be supplied to the soil by bone for up to four months after it has been incorporated. If you add it at the beginning of the growing season, there should be enough of it to last through the entirety of the season.
It is helpful for all kinds of plants, not just vegetable plants, such as flowering plants, bulbs, and root crops, and you would see the result from the development of these parts of the plant.
In addition to this, also note that the bone meal also increases the pH range of the soil; thus, it must not be used on soil that is already alkaline.
– Eggshells
The inclusion of calcium in the soil through the use of eggshells is a process that occurs over a more extended period than the addition of calcium through the use of bone. This is because the eggshells must decompose before plants can utilize the calcium.
You can put eggshells directly into the soil where you will plant seedlings or add them to compost. Basically, eggshells are a natural source of calcium, and it does well to increase the calcium content of your soil.
Store your used eggshells in a container that prevents air from getting in for two days or until they have become dehydrated; start by washing them well, drying them overnight, and placing them in a food processor to pulverize them, so that they would be easier to place as a powder in the soil.
When combining the powder with the soil in your planting area two weeks before you start planting. If you want to add calcium to the soil with plants, make a calcium solution by adding two tablespoons of eggshell powder to four liters of water and then pour it over your plants.
– Wood Ashes
Wood ashes or calcium carbonate, particularly those derived from hardwoods, can be worked into the ground to make it add in calcium, as they are rich in this material. Keep in mind that adding ash to your soil can increase the pH level.
The amount of calcium found in ashes produced from hardwoods is comparable to that found in lime, and it also adds a source of potassium and phosphorus. Ashes from hardwood trees, as opposed to those from softwood trees, contribute a substantial amount of calcium to your soil.
– Gypsum
If you are concerned about the soil’s pH level, gypsum, a kind of calcium sulfate, is an excellent addition to the garden. Gypsum, in contrast to many other types of amendments, does not alter the soil’s pH level in any way; hence it will keep the soil safe.
It is a naturally occurring mineral that acts as a fast-acting supply of calcium and helps to loosen and break up the soil.
– Oyster Shells
Oyster shells are another form of calcium carbonate. It is possible to use oyster shells in your garden, as they are identical in composition to that found in lime. Using them will cause an increase in the pH range of the soil.
As a result, you must aim to check the soil before you apply them, especially from one plant to the other, and their specificity in keeping the range of the pH.
However, oyster shells do not elevate the pH level as quickly as lime does because it takes several years for them to decay entirely.
In short, if you want a consistent supply of calcium over time, this is an excellent option; however, you shouldn’t anticipate seeing results immediately.
– Colloidal Phosphate
Colloidal Phosphate contains some calcium oxide as one of its components. Also known as soft rock or rock phosphate, it is a source of calcium that, compared to the res, possesses a lower mineral concentration.
However, the advantage is that the pH range of your soil will not be raised as much when you add this. What happens is that calcium is released extremely gradually by colloidal phosphate, compared to other supplements such as lime or gypsum.
Conclusion
You have now understood how to add calcium to the soil naturally through this article.
Let us summarize the information on the natural source of calcium for plants and other options we discussed here:
- There are several options for adding calcium to garden soil. Homemade calcium soil additives come from eggs, oysters, coffee grounds, and bones.
- Apart from these, calcium fertilizers, including calcium sulfate, are also an option apart from homemade calcium for plant tissues.
- The calcium affects plants in your vegetable garden considerably. So always check your soil pH to ensure you give the plant the right balance.
After reading how to add calcium to soil fast, you can now ensure there is no stunted growth of your plants. So wait no longer and nourish the plant with these calcium fertilizers for plants.
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