DIY CalMag+ (using eggshells and molasses)

[monkeyman]

I already put together a different DIY for CalMag+, however if you want to be even more hands-on, you can make some 100% organic CalMag+ at home using only egg shells and molasses and apple cider vinegar, for just pennies a gallon. Considering that it currently sells for around $20 a quart, that is quite a savings.

1. Gather together the equivalent of a dozen egg shells.

2. Wash the egg shells and allow them to dry. Make sure that the only part remaining is the shell - remove the inner lining of the shell, etc., then put in a dry spot and allow to dry thoroughly (several days is best).

3. After the egg shells are dried, break them in to small confetti-sized bits, and heat them in a dry frying pan until they are brown and black, with a mixture of some white shells also.

4. Grind the egg shells up in to a fine powder using a coffee grinder or a blender.

5. Measure your egg shell powder to see how much volume you have, and place the powdered egg shells in to a very large glass jar and place the jar in to your sink, and add 5 parts organic apple cider vinegar to 1 part powder. So, if you have 100 ml of powdered egg shell then add 500 ml of vinegar. - Do not cap the jar. Make sure there is plenty of space for the reaction to take place in the jar, it will need a lot of room, which is why its a good idea to put it in the sink in case it bubbles over a bit.

6. Allow the vinegar and egg shell powder to react together for about 12 hours, at which point you shouldn’t see any more activity in the jar. If you do, then allow it to finish the reaction and settle down completely.

7. Place the liquid in to a jar and seal it, and and allow it to sit for 3 weeks.

8. After 3 weeks filter the remaining substance in to another jar, and keep the liquid and strain out the remaining eggshells etc…You have made water-soluble calcium acetate.

9. Add 1 teaspoon of calcium phosphate per gallon of water.

10. Add 1 tablespoon of unsulphured organic blackstrap molasses to each gallon of water and calcium phosphate mix, and you have homemade CalMag+

DIRECTIONS FOR USE:
For best results, use with every watering with standard fertilizer program.
Soil Gardens: Use 1 tsp per gallon of water.
Accelerated Formula: Use 2 tsp per gallon of water.
Hydroponics: Use with preferred hydroponic formula. Desired range of nutrients are:
Nitrogen (N) …… 160-250 ppm
Magnesium (Mg) …… 45-75 ppm
Calcium (Ca) …… 160-280 ppm
Iron (Fe) …… 2-7 ppm

[Gpaw]

The right side of my brain wants to know where the phosphorus is coming from.
I got calcium carbonate and acetic acid…

Cheers
G

[monkeyman]

The heat affects the shells - the white ones are the phosphorus source and the burned ones are the source of calcium. That’s why you want a mixture of browned, black and white bits

[Foreigner]

I did something similar, and I think it actually worked, but I ended up just buying some calmag.

I was just uncomfortable with gauging dose/potency. But looks interesting with the molasses and vinegar.

All the best

[beacher]

That’s really cool. So the calcium wouldn’t be available to the plant without the acid reaction first?

[monkeyman]

No, it would obviously still be available if you put the shells straight in the soil, but the soil would have to work at breaking it down in to a more usable form, we are just speeding up the process and making it easier for the plants to uptake quickly.

[beacher]

Cool thanks, I don’t really understand chemistry very well haha

[cannabissequoia]

@beacher

ool thanks, I don’t really understand chemistry very well haha

That’s me too. Where’s the Magnesium from? I’m searching for a chemical material analysis for chicken eggshell & there’s a lot of info but nothing easy…

Flash point was easy

But what else is in there besides Calcium Carbonate?

[Foreigner]

I think I read that it becomes calcium acetate which is readily available. Can’t remember where I saw this or if I’m making it up.

Edit: you can do the same thing with limestone.

[cannabissequoia]

@Foreigner

Edit: you can do the same thing with limestone.

by the end of this thread it’ll be all about home-made hallucinogens & prison escape methods

[Foreigner]

There is LSD in those stringy bits that get stuck when you peel a banana.

[monkeyman]

The magnesium comes from the unsculphured molasses. There is 48 mg of magnesium per teaspoon.

[moose71]

growing organic i just kind of add each ingredient separate from each other. i cook the eggshells in the oven at 300f for a half hr. i don’t remove anything from them. i pulse them in the food processor until all most a power. i just scatter a handful under each plant and work into the soil. i then mix the vinegar diluted in half with water mixed with molasses and water it in. the microbes do the rest. if not enough desired effect i do it again. helped my buddy grow some sativas to 10ft. outdoors this year. harvesting soon. no chemicals used.

[mike28086]

love to see some pics!

regards,

[mike28086]

spewed half, well… at least a quarter of a lung coughing. from the choke, after the f*g laugh caught me. I got to start reading these things earlier in the damn day!

regards,

[moose71]

ill take some pics and post when i help him harvest this week.

[monkeyman]

@Foreigner

I think I read that it becomes calcium acetate which is readily available.

Yes, this is exactly right. The process described breaks down the calcium carbonate and transforms it to water-soluble calcium acetate. A diluted solution can also be used as a foliar spray for plants.

[Who]

I have always wondered @monkeyman why unsulfured molasses? its what i use blindly but it seems like trace sulfur would be a good thing?

[monkeyman]

Molasses is usually made from sugar cane and has sulphur dioxide added, which is why it’s called sulphured. Unsulphured molasses does not have the sulphur dioxide added, which is a preservative and anti-microbial agent that kills the beneficial micro-organisms in the soil. So if you’re using molasses for growing cannabis, make sure that it is both organic and unsulphured.

There are also different grades of molasses, from light-colored molasses that is made from pure sugar cane syrup, to darker molasses and also blackstrap molasses which is denser and thicker. Blackstrap molasses has gone through multiple boiling/extraction processes, which cause it to have the highest concentration of vitamins, micro and macro elements. It is also filled with calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and other valuable elements. So unsulphured, organic blackstrap molasses is what you are looking for using in the garden.

[Who]

@monkeyman man thanks so much!, really lol i didnt know why and was thinking of trying it,so glad i asked.
thanks!