Baccto Potting Soil Needs Calcium?

Mon May 02, 2011 9:41 pm

Hi all,

This is my first year trying to grow tomatoes and there is a LOT of info out there. Sometimes it's hard to sort through it all so I'm asking for some help.

At the recommendation of my local nursery, I used BACCTO potting soil to plant my tomatoes in my containers. While Googling BACCTO today I came across a statement on their site that says tomatoes will need additional calcium when using BACCTO soil.

What is the best way to add calcium? What source do I use for calcium? I just transplanted the seedling to the soil and pots a few days ago and now I'm concerned about the calcium issue.

Thanks,

Lou

Mon May 02, 2011 10:25 pm

Try some Tomatoes Alive by Gardens Alive.

Mon May 02, 2011 11:50 pm

crunched up eggshells, lime, bonemeal ...

Tue May 03, 2011 1:20 am

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into those.

Tue May 03, 2011 1:22 am

Some folks might be interested to know that Baccto is 85% peat moss. I wonder if that affects the recommendations any.

Tue May 03, 2011 3:04 pm

hit or miss wrote:Some folks might be interested to know that Baccto is 85% peat moss. I wonder if that affects the recommendations any.

I'm not sure what that would do. Do you have any suggestions?

Wed May 04, 2011 12:25 am

Well, peat is acidic at around 4.4 ph. It has basically no nutrients and dries out very quickly. I think a good dose, think 1:1, mixed with the Baccto would be a big plus.

Maybe someone with much more knowledge than I have will chime in on this.