makes sense to meBiomin Calcium from SaferGro is O.M.R.I certified as being “non synthetic”. Same goes for the Biomin Magnesium
http://www.omri.org/complete_company.pdf
Biomin Calcium
Guaranteed Analysis
Total Nitrogen…………….2.0%
2.0% Water Soluable Organic Nitrogen
Calcium (Ca)……………..5.0%
5.0% Chelated Calcium
Derived from Calcium Carbonate, Citric acid, and Glycine, Nitrogen derived from Glycine.
Just because you see calcium carbonate…doesn’t mean it is inorganic.
All limestone forms from the precipitation of calcium carbonate from water. Calcium carbonate leaves solutions in many ways and each way produces a different kind of limestone. All the different ways can be classified into two major groups: either with or without the aid of a living organism.
Most limestone is formed with the help of living organisms. Many marine organisms extract calcium carbonate from seawater to make shells or bones. Mussels, clams, oysters, and corals do this. So too do microscopic organisms such as foraminifera. When the organisms die their shells and bones settle to the seafloor and accumulate there. Wave action may break the shells and bones into smaller fragments, forming a carbonate sand or mud. Over millions of years, these sediments of shells, sand, and mud may harden into limestone. Coquina is a type of limestone containing large fragments of shell and coral. Chalk is a type of limestone formed of shells of microscopic animals.
Limestone can also be formed without the aid of living organisms. If water containing calcium carbonate is evaporated, the calcium carbonate is left behind and will crystalize out of solution. For example, at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, hot water containing calcium carbonate emerges from deep underground. As the hot water evaporates and cools, it can no longer hold all of the calcium carbonate dissolved in it and some of it crystallizes out, forming limestone terraces. Limestone formed from springs is called travertine. Calcium carbonate that precipitates from water dripping through caves is responsible for the formation of beautiful cave features such as stalactites and stalagmites.
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761565838/Limestone_(mineral).html
Biomin Magnesium
Guaranteed Analysis
Total Nitrogen (N)…………….2.0%
2.0% Water Soluable Organic Nitrogen
Magnesium (Mg)……………..3.0%
3.0% Chelated Magnesium
Derived from Magnesium Sulfate, Citric acid and Glycine, Nitrogen derived from Glycine.
Magnesium Sulfate is Epsom salt. Epsom salt was originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters at Epsom, England and afterwards prepared from sea water. In more recent times, these salts are obtained from certain minerals such as epsomite.
CAL-MAG Plus
Guaranteed Minimum Analysis
Total Nitrogen (N)…………….2.0%
1.94% Nitrate Nitrogen
0.06% Water Soluable Organic Nitrogen
Calcium (Ca)…………………..3.2%
Magnesium (Mg)………………1.2%
Iron (Fe)………………………...0.1%
Derived from: Calcium nitrate, Magnesium nitrate, and iron edta.
Now when we compare the two sources we can easily tell that Cal-Mag Plus from Botanicare is anything but organic J Other common uses for Calcium Nitrate are explosives, matches, pyrotechnics, and radio tubes. Magnesium nitrate is widely used in pyrotechnics as well.
Even the chelating agent is chemical in nature. EDTA is a crystalline acid, C10H16N2O8, that acts as a strong chelating agent. I will use Iron as the example here, because Cal-Mag Plus has it in their formula. Iron is an essential nutrient for plant growth. However, if you put a simple iron compound such as iron nitrate in your solution, it will form a precipitate with other chemicals in the solution such as phosphate. To avoid this, you must use chelated iron. A chelating agent is a molecule that grabs onto an ion such as iron and holds it tightly so that it cannot precipitate. However, plants still have ways of extracting the iron they need from these compounds. EDTA iron is one type of chelated iron that you can use in a nutrient solution.
The O.M.R.I certified Biomin products use a natural chelating agent of citric acid in lieu of the edta.
http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/courses/fnh/410/lipids/5_4.htm