If you've been following our homesteading journey for awhile you have definitely seen a post, story or article mentioning our favorite source of calcium- Kelzyme: CaFe! We use it all over the farm, from the garden to the livestock tanks and nearly everything else in-between!
We have been using CaFe for literally years! We were first introduced to it back when we had our OG homestead in the city and have continued to use and love it at our farm here in the country ever since! We are very excited to write this dedicated article highlighting our favorite complete calcium source for the garden, farm or homestead! And a huge bonus is that we just recently became affiliates and are super stoked to offer you an exclusive discount for our peeps only!
Use Code: URBANLADYBUG at checkout for 15% of your entire order,
this discount code never expires!
As you guys know we only recommend products we use and love ourselves! So we are more than confident that you will discover KELZYME as beneficial on your farm as we do on ours! We find it to be the biggest hidden secret in the gardening/homesteading/farming community and we are so excited to share the incredible benefits of this sustainable product with you and the rest of the world!
YOUTUBE VIDEO I CREATED FROM LAST YEAR SHOWING HOW WE APPLY KELZYME: CaFe TO OUR BEDS BETWEEN SEASONS. Time stamp: 2:34
What is Kelzyme: CaFe?
KELZYME®: CALCIUM FERTILIZER- is a calcium rich mineral composite that is 100% derived from Sea Kelp! CaFe is a complete source of high calcium + other essential minerals that is greatly beneficial for developing plants, animal feed/supplements, water troughs, compost piles/teas, hydro/aquaponics, barns/coops and more! In fact, CaFe the highest form of calcium found, is 100% organic and is OMRI Certified! Not to mention, it is also environmentally sustainable with absolutely NO chemical additives!
CaFe is mostly made up of a highly absorbable calcium and comes in both a micronized (powered) and granular version which allows its range of applications to be nearly limitless! We utilize both versions of CaFe for various different applications around the farm and depending on where we use it, one form may be more beneficial than the other.
In this article, we will touch base on both the micronized and granular versions of CaFe, how we use them and we even touch base on how larger scale farms can greatly benefit from this product too! As always, we just want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to read our article's and we hope you end up reading through till the end! Our goal is that you learn something new from this article and are confident on where to source a quality organic calcium for your
homestead and garden!
MICRONIZED VERSION
GRANULAR VERSION
The Science Behind KELZYME®
"Since its discovery, KELZYME® has been independently analyzed, tested and discussed in agricultural journals in order to understand its qualities, discover its uses and ensure that it is applied for optimal results.
At the core of KELZYME’s® truly amazing qualities are the principal elements of its composition: KELZYME® is largely made up of highly absorbable calcium. Calcium is an essential part of a healthy diet and crucial for life on a cellular level."
(Directly Quoated from kelzyme.com)
Where is Kelzyme sourced?
A long long time ago (talking millions of years ago), massive spaces of the deep sea were literally covered in seaweed! Those very same stretches of the sea are now large stretches of land that are located in what is known as north-west Nevada in present day. Our prehistoric oceans were abundant in essential minerals and calcium, which was then heavily absorbed by the seaweed forests and broken down for absorption.
As the planet evolved, the waters receded from the land and the seaweed dried up and became fossilized, along with all the other species of plants, animals and organisms that made up the prehistoric oceans.
In the north-west Nevada deserts beneath layers of clay, rock and ash KELZYME remained undiscovered up until just a few decades ago!
Favorites Uses Around The Farm:
Image sourced from Kelzyme.com
How We Use Kelzyme: CaFe
around the Farm and Garden!
In The GARDEN: KELZYME® CaFe improves your plants ability to uptake nutrients, increases the presence of active enzymes in your soil, reduces disease, helps neutralize soil acidity and so much more! It can be used for fruits, vegetables, flowers, shrubs, trees, orchards, vineyards, turf, row crops, raised beds and field crops! CaFe is the ultimate calcium resource for all home gardeners, small and large scale farmers and even landscapers too!
Increasing a plants ability to uptake nutrients leads to healthier crops with higher yields, we've especially seen this true for our onions! We grow some of the LARGEST onions I've ever seen and we always amend our soil with Kelzyme prior to planting our onions and generally top dress or feed CaFe via compost tea at least once during the growing period. CaFe helps with regulating plant nutrition and helps fosters, root, leaf and plant growth. The active enzymes promote the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibit the development of harmful fungi.
Acidic soil can cause deficiencies in other vital nutrients like phosphorous, magnesium and calcium. It can even cause plants to be exposed to toxic levels of aluminum and manganese. These deficiencies can manifest in your plants in numerous different ways, leaves can yellow and fall off, blooms can limp and fade along with many other issues. Regular applications of CaFe in soils that tend to lean more acidic is best practice to ensure a healthy crop. Cafe promotes vigorous plants, robust fruits and lush turf!
CaFe encourages the development of bigger, stronger & healthier plants that produce larger fruit that can ward off diseases like blossom end rot in tomatoes and peppers, blackheart in celery and tip burn in cauliflower, cabbage and brussels!. Calcium is critical for regulating plant nutrition and proper crop development and is required by all plants for the development of cell walls and membranes.
Applications: We like to use both the micronized and the granular versions for the garden depending on where its being applied or how it being used. For instance, for compost and compost teas we love using the granular. For direct applications to raised beds and row crops we prefer to use the micronized.
But for other applications like hydroponic gardening you'll want to use the micronized version over the granular.
CaFe can be applied directly to soil in a dried application which is the easiest IMO and our favorite way to apply it. CaFe can also be applied by mixing in water and pouring directly to base of plants, to irrigation water until ground is saturated, directly to hydroponic systems and in back pack, hand or power unit sprayers for foliar application!
In The COOP: We L O V E to use CaFe for our chickens and ducks! It is fantastic to use in their water to limit algae growth, we top dress in their scratch grains a couple times a week for additional calcium intake and we always supply it for free choice as its a wonderful replacement for oyster shell.
Its also a great Grit replacement for laying hens who are kept in smaller backyard spaces and don't have access to proper grit.
CaFe is food grade, 100% Organic and OMRI Certified so its safe for your birds to eat and safe for you to eat their eggs!
Finally we also spread it in our coops and in our coop run to minimize odor, which has replaced our previously used Saturday Lime and Sweet PDZ!
Applications: We prefer to use the granular version for all of chicken applications that they are eating for instance for their grit, free choice and in their water but we like to use the micronized version for inside their coop and in their run.
Free Choice for Oyster Shell Replacement
Spread across coop floor for odor elimination.
For The DOGS + GOATS: You guessed it, we also love using CaFe in our outdoor dog and goat water troughs to limit algae growth which also provides a low-level supplemental calcium intake for both which is really fantastic for pregnant and soon to be kidding goats.
Of course just like in our chicken coops, we also love spreading CaFe across our goat barn floors every time we clean them out to help with minimizing odor from their urine, which can give off a harsh ammonia smell and help keep their bedding fresher for longer. This is especially helpful if you use the deep litter method like we do.
Applications: Very similarly to the chickens we like to use the granular version in their water troughs and the micronized version in the goat pens for limiting odor.
Adding to clean water trough to keep algae from growing.
For Handmade SOAPS/BODY Care: As mentioned previously, CaFe is 100% organic and has no added chemicals, so it can even be used on skin and hair!! Calcium has incredible moisturizing benefits which has encouraged soap makers to start using it in their homemade soaps and body care products!
Calcium is a critical part in wound healing and helps regulate cell turnover by stimulating certain enzymes that give you younger, plumper looking skin. CaFe can help maintain an intact skin barrier by promoting proper lipid content and without that proper lipid content our skin can become dry, wrinkled and itchy. Calcium works hand in hand with the outer most skin to create a natural skin-barrier that helps your skin retain its proper moisture.
We are currently formulating our own special CaFe goats milk soap and face mask that will hopefully be available soon, so keep a look out for that in our shop! We are very excited!
Applications: I plan on using the micronized version of CaFe for our soap and face mask recipes! Ill update with how they come out!
In The COMPOST: Another great way to add calcium to your soil, while also amending your beds and providing a nitrogen rich fertilizer to accompany the calcium fertilizer is by adding CaFe directly to your compost piles.
CaFe will do many of the same things for your compost piles that it does for your garden soil. For example, CaFe is wonderful at neutralizing compost acidity and increasing the presence of active enzymes.
Applications: As mentioned above we like to use the granular version for our compost teas and compost pile applications. The granular version is easy to apply by tossing into the piles as it doesn't blow away in the wind and breaks down over time with the rest of the stuff in the pile. When brewing teas we use the granular version because it is denser and takes up less space in the tea bag we use to brew with.
CaFe added to our compost pile
I'm sure you can easily see why Kelzyme: CaFe has become a staple for us! Nearly half a decade ago we fell in love with the results we achieved from CaFe in the garden and have sworn by it ever sense!
CaFe is 100% responsibly sourced, 100% organic and OMRI certified! Which allows me the freedom to apply it to our gardens, feed it to our animals and even use it for skincare!
Not to mention, CaFe has helped us become less of a consumer by eliminating our need to keep 3-5 different bags of product around. We no longer have to buy + find a place to store oyster shell, lime for the coop and separate calcium amendments for the garden.
It all satrted in the garden but over the years of following Kelzyme, we've learned of all the other awesome ways to use CaFe around the farm which makes it truly the best and most complete calcium source for us and we are confident it will be for you too!
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