Calcium and magnesium keep your plants thriving — but are you missing these essentials?
When growing with coco substrates, LED lights, or soft water, calcium and magnesium (Cal-Mag) deficiencies can sneak up, stunting growth and causing rusty spots. Why? These growing setups burn through nutrients, making Cal-Mag crucial for strong plants.
In this article, we’ll explore why Cal-Mag is key for healthy crops, how to spot deficiencies, and when to add supplements for maximum yield. Ready to boost your plants with the nutrients they need? Let’s get started!
The benefits of using Calcium and Magnesium
Calcium and magnesium are crucial for long-term plant health, photosynthesis, and a ton of other processes. Here’s how they can benefit your crops:
● Calcium builds strong cell walls, helping transport nutrients through the plant.
● Magnesium is vital for photosynthesis and lush, green foliage.
● Your plants will grow tough, sturdy branches, ideal for bearing heavy fruits.
● Magnesium helps with plant metabolism, distributing energy and nutrients.
● Healthy root growth and enzyme production also rely on magnesium.
● Calcium also plays a key role in moving enzymes and plant hormones.
The importance of adding CALMAG supplements when using soft water and R/O
The type of water you use matters. If you live in an area with hard water, you might want an R/O pump to filter it. R/O pumps reduce water’s E.C. levels, turning it into soft water that’s generally better for growing.
Once filtered, though, soft water needs to be supplemented with calcium and magnesium to keep your plants happy. This goes for soft tap water, too, since it may not have enough calcium and magnesium on its own. The same applies when using soft water from a tap, which may be insufficient in Calcium and Magnesium for perfect plant growth.
Calcium and Magnesium when growing using coco coir substrate
Coco coir is produced from washed and treated coconut husks, and in farming and agriculture, it has proven to be a high-performance growing medium. What makes coco coir different from the soil is that it contains no nutrients. Coco coir is an inert medium perfect for adding liquid nutrient inputs and controlling how much food your crops receive.
When growing with coco coir, it is important to know that it has a high cation exchange capacity. This means it will be able to hold large-sized ions, so supplementing coco coir with Calcium and Magnesium will be necessary to provide the plants with all the primary, secondary, and trace elements they demand.
It is recommended to feed Calcium and Magnesium nutrient to plants growing in coco coir every feed.
CALMAG and LED growing: what to consider
Due to the intensity and PAR provided by LED grow lights, crops may often run shorter on Calcium and Magnesium, especially during the mid and late flowering stage. The reason why growing with LED lights may use up more Cal-Mag than other types of grow lights is due to metabolism and rate of growth.
We would recommend supplementing your crops Cal-Mag supplements to maintain the perfect balance throughout the plant’s lifecycle.
Signs of a calcium and magnesium deficiency
An unexpected deficiency in Calcium and Magnesium can appear over time and will need to be quickly resolved, and below is a list of symptoms to look out for.
● Leaves will look pale green and begin to show yellowing between the veins.
● Root development will significantly slow down, reducing nutrient uptake.
● The tips of the leaves will become dry, and lifeless with a brown tint.
● Plants grow small and remain stunted during flowering, reducing height.
● Leaves showing a deficiency will be brittle to the touch and can easily fall off.
● Rusty coloured spots cover old and new leaf growth and affect vigor.
● Plants become more susceptible to plant diseases and pathogens.
If you suspect that your crop has a deficiency, we recommend you look at our post on the subject. Here you will find a complete guide about the different macro and micronutrient deficiencies, how to recognise them and how to solve them.
Last step, avoid deficiencies - Atami’s calcium and magnesium nutrients
Now that you are familiar with the functions and uses of calcium and magnesium supplements, or even have already detected deficiencies, the next step is to tackle it.
At Atami we offer two Cal-Mag supplements depending on the type of method you use: mineral growing or organic gardening.
ATA CALMAG – Mineral and enriched with iron
ATA Calmag is a fast-acting, highly absorbent mineral additive that will deliver the optimal levels of Calcium and magnesium and quickly restore deficiency.
Plus, our ATA CALMAG has added iron, which supports enzyme function, chlorophyll production, and overall plant metabolism. Iron is a trace element that plants need for robust chlorophyll levels, effective nutrient processing, and healthy growth from the roots up.
So, with this calcium and magnesium mineral supplement, which also includes iron, you can combat several deficiencies at the same time – very versatile!
VGN CALMAG – Approved for organic farming
On the other hand, we have the newest addition to the Atami family, the organic certified VGN line. On this range we can find VGN CALMAG.
This calcium and magnesium supplement is really special because it has four very interesting characteristics for the organic grower:
• It is one of the few calcium and magnesium supplements approved for organic farming.
• It does not contain nitrogen, so during the flowering and ripening phase, you don’t have to worry about the extra nitrogen supplied.
• The nutrients are directly absorbed by the plant.
• Protects and cares for the health of the soil.
Our conclusion
Maintaining a consistent balance of primary, secondary, and trace elements will ensure that your garden produces the strongest, healthiest, and most abundant yields possible.
Having the experience and knowledge to identify a Cal-Mag deficiency early on will prevent plants from experiencing slow root and foliage growth, stunted, and a potential loss in production and quality.
We recommend using calcium and magnesium supplements to avoid or correct any ongoing deficiencies. Especially when growing in coco substrates, indoors with LEDs and soft waters. In case you want to step up your plant nutrition game, your allies are: ATA CALMAG or VGN CALMAG. Happy growing!
