Calcium-rich soils are not tight and restrictive to plant growth.
Nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are normally described as the three most important soil nutrients, but another important nutrient is calcium. Due to this neglect, soils are often deficient of calcium. While calcium is not the most common nutrient taken up by plants, the ideal soils are mostly made up of calcium, which helps the soil maintain a healthy structure and pH range. Calcium-rich soils can create very healthy environments for plants.
Plant Strengthening
Calcium helps plants develop their buds and fruit and allow the plants to develop healthy roots, which allow them to reach nutrients and water more easily. Overall, calcium tends to strengthen the physiology of the plant because the plant cell walls are made out of calcium pectase. With adequate calcium, plants will have firm cell walls, while inadequate garden calcium will lead to flimsy walls.
Healthy Soil Promotion
Calcium does not simply serve as a nutrient, but more importantly plays a major role in the overall health of the soil. Calcium-rich soils can provide buffers that keep soil pH at a healthy level. Calcium also promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria that perform duties such as nitrogen fixation. Also, the calcium makes soil looser by keeping the percentage of magnesium down, which makes the soil much more manageable.
Disease Hardy
Calcium rich soils help many plants resist disease. Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers can resist blossom-end rot when they have adequate calcium, but they're most likely to be safe when the soil is already calcium rich when they are planted. In general, calcium-rich soils help foster disease immunity because plants have an easier time producing protective enzymes that can break down the cell walls of destructive microorganisms. They are most vulnerable to this disease in hot weather conditions, so gardeners should add limestone before planting vegetables for the summer.
Adding Calcium
Limestone increases the calcium content in soil, in addition to breaking up clay soil. Gardeners must liberally mix the ground limestone material into the soil. Another way to add calcium to the soil is to create a compost with egg shells, bone meal, lime and alfalfa. These organic materials will break down in the soil slowly, giving plants a sustained release of calcium. They also will help the soil hold water, which helps in sandy soils that drain too rapidly.
Calcium Availability
Calcium is very resistant to soil erosion compared to other nutrients. However, many plants struggle to use calcium even when they have sufficient calcium. Plants cannot absorb calcium unless they have adequate water, so calcium-deficient plants might not lack calcium in the soil but might simply be dehydrated. Soils with rich calcium might also perform poorly if there is a lack of potassium, sodium and magnesium, which interact with calcium to create many of the positive effects.
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