Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Liquid Calcium and Micronized Calcium
The most common calcium sources are to follow, but first I wanted to mention liquid cal-
cium because I believe it's the most important. Liquid calcium is becoming more and more
popular in ecological agriculture as part of foliar spray mixtures and soil applications.
There are many forms, but the most common is generally from liquefied calcium nitrate,
which is 9-0-0 with 11% calcium. It's not technically considered organic, but it's one of the
rare synthetic products that's worth using. There are organic versions available, too, such as
one from calcium lignosulfonate and others from micronized calcium carbonate. There are
also inferior versions such as liquid lime and calcium chloride that I avoid.
Liquid calcium products are applied in very small doses because they're so readily avail-
able to be used by microbes and plants, and can be spread out so evenly that not much is
needed. Often, ⅓-2/3 cup per 1,000 square feet is all that's used (or even less). These
products can be difficult to find, but if you need calcium, I recommend you take some time
to try to find one. The price is often $20-$30 for a quart.
They should be mixed with sugar (such as molasses), microbial inoculants, and some of
the biostimulants you'll be reading about soon, especially liquid fish or sea minerals, and
fulvic acid. Some products have some of these ingredients included already. Don't mix it in
the same sprayer with humic acid, chemical phosphorus or very hard water, as you can get
some unhelpful reactions. Liquid calcium is useful in spring and especially in fall, to stimu-
late bacteria that break down organic matter residue.
