Gypsum—Its Benefits Are Too Many To List

Do you have a clay or hard subsoil problem in your garden? Then gypsum may be what you need to help loosen the soil structure.

It's not considered a miracle substance, and you will find that it doesn't work right away, but a 3 year program of applications should help improve poor soil conditions. It's not expensive and it's easy to spread where needed.

It also has a job of repairing the soil that has been damaged through compaction from heavy stock, machinery, in the recovery of sub-soils exposed by earth movement and in soils affected by salinity.

A gardener faces one of the biggest problems in a new or established garden if they have a clay or layer of hard subsoil type of soil. This type of soil creates poor drainage, soggy soil and soil compaction.

When you have a new garden you can work organic humus, which should be done anyway, to loosen the poor soil. Manure, compost, peat moss and soil mulches and conditioners are normally used for this purpose.

A lot of work and time are required to recondition soil in an established garden. Gypsum may be just the answer for reconditioning it, because it can be spread on the surface of the soil—in the vegetable garden, flowerbeds or on the lawn. What this means is it does not have to be worked into the soil. It can just simply be spread on the surface.

What Does It Do?

Its main purpose is to penetrate the many clay particles in heavy or the layer of hard subsoil type soils and loosen the soil structure. Then this creates air and moisture slots that will loosen and break-up the soil structure.

Be aware that it does not contain any major plant nutrients, so continue a regular fertilizing program even though it contains calcium and sulfur which is needed for plant growth. In addition, continue to put out organic humus as you plant.

Easy To Apply

Spread it on the lawn, using the granular type, with a lawn spreader at the rate of 40 pounds per thousand square feet. This fertilizer can be spread any time of the year. Only one application per year is needed. To get it started working, water immediately after applying.

If applied properly it does not affect the pH of the soil, not harmful to humans and your animals and will not burn. And because it is neutral and will not change the soil pH, you can use it in places where plants like Azaleas, Camellias, Rhododendrons and other acid loving plants grow, they need a little calcium too. Of course, it should be applied per directions.

What Is Gypsum?

Hydrous calcium sulfate, known as Calcium Sulfate, has a chemical formula of CaSO₄. Another name for it is gypsite.

Varieties of Gypsum

• +Selenite—Transparent and colorless/lightly colored. It shows a pearl-like luster. The word selenite comes from the greek for moon, which means moon rock.
• +Satin Spar—A fiber variety, with a look of satin that plays up and down the fibrous crystals.
• +Alabaster—A fine-grained, massive variety. It's an ornamental stone used in fine carvings for centuries.
• +Desert Rose—A rosette-shaped variety that has brown sand inclusions.
• +Flower—A rosette-shaped variety with spreading fibers, found in caverns.
• +Rock—A rock composed mostly of gypsum, also containing impurities such as calcite, anhydrite, rock salt, dolomite, limonite, and clay.

Many states contain large deposits that stretch over large regions. Such deposits exist in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Benefits of Adding Gypsum to Your Soil

Here are some of the benefits from its use on the land.

• Lowers Soil Compaction: Gypsum-treated soil combined with organic matter can soften the soil and make it easier to till; crops react better.
• Prevents Water Run-off and Erosion: It is a defense against unnecessary water runoff from particularly big storms which create erosion.
• Betters Soil Composition: Gypsum affords root growth and air and water movement.
• Converts Salty Soils: An economical method to resolve salty soils.
• Ties Organic Matter to Clay: The importance of organic matter is magnified when it is dispensed with this mineral.
• Reduces Soil Crusting: No crust formation allows more and faster seed emergence and a couple days earlier to harvest and market.
• Improves Water Use Efficiency: Gypsum increases the efficient use of water by crops. In periods of drought, this is exceedingly important.
• Lowers pH in Soil: Gypsum lowers the pH of soils, making it good for the growth of almost all crop plants.
• Reduces Soil Water-Logging: Gypsum improves the capability of soil to drain.
• Helps Soil Conditioners Perform More Efficiently: Increases the results of water-soluble conditioners used as amendments to improve soil composition.

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