I use calcium, manganese and copper.

Ethylene is the aging hormone and plants use calcium to regulate ethylene. Regular applications of calcium greatly extends shelf life. My cucumbers easily go five months on the kitchen counter top with no deterioration and good aroma and flavor. Also, plants use calcium to make cytokinins in the roots. Cytokinins is the anti stress hormone.

Plants make their own fungicides internally thru the Shikimate pathway. Manganese is the primary micronutrient that is used in that biochemical pathway.

Plants use copper to make hydrogen peroxide and other super oxides that will kill pathogens. Copper is also used to make lignin and plants will lignify a wall around infection sites to contain the damage.

Don Huber said the number one limiting nutrient to plant health and productivity is carbon. Plants are 40% carbon. Always add white sugar to your foliar and soil drenches. John Kempf recently said they sprayed oil on some plants (vegetables?) and got good results. He didn’t say but I assume it was horticultural oil (mineral oil) at one ounce per gallon as a foliar as a carbon source. It has the added benefit of suffocating pests and smothering fungal spores. We recently had a heat spell and plants use a lot of carbs battling the heat stress and this was the reason they used oil as a foliar because it is a concentrated carbon source. I would add white sugar to the oil and water mix just to spike even more carbs. Spray after 6pm so the sun doesn’t cook the leaves. It takes a few hours to absorb.

Calcium and carbs; a match made in Heaven.

Hope that helps,

Bill