okay, since this thread started out about calcium, i'll toss out a question or two.
We don't have grow shops and such around these parts. The outdoor garden is a five year old till on virgin glacial dump clays and rocks. I can find a lot of 'flat' rocks that i think are limestone, and we toss the bigguns on a rock pile. Every year, we have some blossem end rot on the tomatoes. We have access to oyster shell grit (usaully there's a LOT of powder in the bag) from the feed store. When i see the end rot, i usually do a foliar feed of epsom salt and spray some on the root area. If this means that the garden needs more calcium in the soil, do you suppose that burying one of those limestones under the tomato plant will help, or would it be too slow in release? Oyster shell? Garden lime? I know, we should get the soil tested.
Then, there's the houseplant thing. It is what it is, as far as what is available locally for potting mixes. Mostly, i try to see which pallet has the fewest flies buzzing around it, (in it). Often that means, 'organic M.Grow soil.' with 'added MG nutes'. What a bunch of advertising, that is. Anyway, i try to flush the mix before using, to get rid of some of the nutes, and then build with organics from there. Starting a bin for composting indoor, as it's freezing for so much of the year, here, and an indoor bin will help keep unwanteds from entering from anything outside. So, lately, i'm watering with aged tap water with a little leaf for the chloramine and chlorine to eat itself to death on, then pour that into another bucket that has worm castings for the watering tea. Question is, do the worm castings add calcium, or enough usable calcium that i don't need to worry about adding oystershell?
I gave up on meters and such, and hope that the soil is doing a good job, nothing is dying, well not much more than usual, ha. What do i need to watch for in the plants, as far as the calcium and worm castings are concerned?
Oh, i also have epsoma on hand and some mycos (sp?) stuff.