Organic Gypsum does seem the best buy

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A few blogs ago, I talked about buying gypsum to help break up the heavy clay in my garden and I mentioned that since gypsum was a mineral, it seemed unnecessary to buy organic gypsum. A knowledgeable friend of mine has corrected this misconception. He says gypsum from China could have all kinds of contaminents in it and so it is better to buy American and organic to be sure.

Just wanted to make sure to clarify this error of mine which was posted in a previous blog. Here's more information of the use of gypsum as a soil additive.

"Gypsum alone has profound beneficial effects on soil because of its chemical effects. Gypsum is used to improve sodic soils, to create more favorable solute concentrations in soil, especially after leaching with heavy rainfall, and even to correct subsoil acidity. The combination of gypsum and organics can result in biological improvement of soil more than can organics alone. This is an extremely important aspect of soil quality. The combination of gypsum and water-soluble polymers, including with organics, can maximize the improvement of physical properties to soil. The chemical, biological, and physical properties of soil when improved together with gypsum, organics and water-soluble polymers constitute a triangle for major spoil improvement.

The gypsum triangle results in better quality soil - chemically, biologically and physically. The need for gypsum and other amendments is urgent in the Intermountain West and other arid and semi-arid areas. Gypsum contains both calcium and sulfur; each is an essential plant nutrient; however, calcium does much more than its role as a plant nutrient. Without it in a soluble form, soils would not be tillable. Without it in soluble or exchangeable form, other plant nutrients would not function properly. Soils usually contain considerable calcium in the soluble and exchangeable forms. Some soils also contain large quantities of calcium in the form of lime, but that form is not readily available to plants nor can it improve soil when existing as lime. When soil pH is over 8, the calcium in soil is not soluble enough to be of maximum value for either plants or soil. Large crop responses can be obtained to gypsum when soil pH is high and even under other circumstances."*

*THE GYPSUM, ORGANIC MATTER, POLYMER TRIANGLE
Arthur Wallace Wallace Laboratories
365 Coral Circle, El Segundo, CA 90245

So I'm taking back my generic gypsum and trading it in for some organic gypsum.

At Espoma Organic Traditions Garden Gypsum - 5 lb Bag #GG5

June 18, 2010

Organic Gypsum does seem the best buy