Many ancient cultures used alabaster to carve monuments.
Gypsum is often touted as a miracle cure for clay soil, able to loosen it and make it more workable. Gypsum does help some soils, but only under a very narrow circumstance. Using gypsum where there is a high level of saline, or salt, from too much sodium in the soil helps to remove the salinity. This gives the lawn grass an opportunity to grow. Craig Cogger, a soil scientist with Washington State University, recommends adding soil amendments such as lime and gypsum to the soil in the fall.
Gypsum Facts
Gypsum is hydrated calcium sulfate and is mined throughout the world. There are many large sources close to the Earth's surface that make it easy to obtain. It has many uses, including making sheet rock for wall siding, as an ingredient for cement and plaster, and as molds for pottery and other ceramics. Alabaster, a solid form of gypsum, has been used for thousands of years as a sculpturing medium.
Sodium and Gypsum
Sodium is bound up in a chemical reaction to gypsum and is no longer available in free form. Horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott of Washington State University writes that the only places likely to need a gypsum amendment are arid and coastal regions, and the southeastern United States. Non-agricultural areas in other parts of the country do not need the amendment.
Gypsum Effects
Gypsum does affect the soil in ways other than removing sodium. It leaches aluminum, iron and manganese from the soil, which creates a mineral deficiency for the grass. It also interferes with the movement of phosphorus, copper and zinc in sandy soils. Gypsum adds no fertilizing benefit to the lawn and may or may not change the pH balance, depending upon other circumstances. Any effect from gypsum is temporary.
Soil Testing
Testing of lawn soil is always important before adding any fertilizer or amendment. Your local county extension office will direct you to the area laboratory that provides a complete soil analysis so that you know exactly what is in the soil and any deficiency that need to be made up. Adding anything to the soil that is not necessary is a waste of resources and money and has the potential to do the environment more harm than good.
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