Enhance your plants' soil with gypsum.
Gypsum is an inexpensive mineral compound frequently added to multipurpose gardens to enhance and enrich plant growth. This mineral is both readily available at home and garden stores, and is also very simple to add to the garden. It can be used for many purposes, all of which have great benefits to dirt and soil. Gypsum is also known as hydrated calcium sulfate and holds two basic elements that enhance growth: calcium and sulfur.
Soil-Loosening
Granulated gypsum is frequently used in clay soil to loosen and fertilize the soil. The process takes around three years to fully inundate the soil with gypsum so that it is suitable for plant growth and health. The reason for this is that gypsum loosens the soil to provide drainage capabilities for the plants. The plants soak in the calcium and sulfur while the gypsum granules slowly work their way through the soil, loosening it and allowing for the best possible draining. Although gypsum works best applied once a year over a period of three years, it can still be added to an existing garden for a minimum effect.
Earthworm Increase
When applied once a year over a period of three years, the addition of gypsum increases the amount of earthworms in the soil. Earthworms are beneficial to plant growth and health due to the fact they circulate air in the soil. A gypsum addition creates a very livable, breathable and pleasant environment for earthworms, thus leading to ultimate plant health.
Fertilizer
While the calcium in gypsum makes this mineral an ideal fertilizer for all plants, there are some plants that will specifically benefit from the sulfur aspect. Plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas and gardenias all thrive from an application of gypsum due to its sulfur content. This component assists in creating the building blocks (amino acid) of the plants, leading to the development of proteins. Home gardeners may also be interested to know that gypsum is safe to use on acidic soil plants because it doesn't change the soil's pH balance.
Other
Another great benefit of gypsum is that it has the ability to enhance other compounds that have been added to the soil. Fertilizer and lime are just two examples of this. Gypsum and lime work particularly well together in acidic soils. Lime, meant to enhance the pH in soils, is slowed down on its way into the dirt by a gypsum addition. This in turn adds to the length of time the lime takes to absorb, thus allowing the lime to soak into the soil more thoroughly.
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