Difference between lime and gypsum for garden, Which one
hello all, I was just wondering what is the difference between pelletized lime and gypsum for the garden and which one is a better choice? Thanks in advance.
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Gary350
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Pellet Lime is best it is hard to kill plants with too much.
Wood ash works good to it is, Lime, P&K and lots of minerals.
If you put Gypsum on plants, tomatoes, squash, peppers, melons, vegetables taste gritty like very fine sand but flavor is not changed.
Research shows that gypsum can increase sweet potato crops 400% but data says nothing about gritty tasting potatoes.
Wood ash works good to it is, Lime, P&K and lots of minerals.
If you put Gypsum on plants, tomatoes, squash, peppers, melons, vegetables taste gritty like very fine sand but flavor is not changed.
Research shows that gypsum can increase sweet potato crops 400% but data says nothing about gritty tasting potatoes.
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rainbowgardener
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You saw my response about lime here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/ ... me#p419763
you can in fact kill plants with lime, if it is not appropriate to your soil type.
If you look at the article Paul linked to, it says : "Because of its alkalinity, lime raises pH of soils while gypsum does not raise pH of soils." So if you want to add calcium, without raising the pH of your soil (which in general you would want), gypsum would be better.
But why are you concerned about the calcium level of your soil? In general, it is not an issue. Even when plants are showing calcium deficiency signs, such as blossom end rot, it is not usually due to lack of calcium in the soil, but to factors that make it difficult for the plant to uptake the calcium, such as cold temperatures, under or over watering, etc.
Personally, I have never in all my gardening years added calcium to my soil, except what is in my compost, since egg shells go in the compost pile. Since I don't pulverize the egg shells, that is a very slow release form of calcium.
you can in fact kill plants with lime, if it is not appropriate to your soil type.
If you look at the article Paul linked to, it says : "Because of its alkalinity, lime raises pH of soils while gypsum does not raise pH of soils." So if you want to add calcium, without raising the pH of your soil (which in general you would want), gypsum would be better.
But why are you concerned about the calcium level of your soil? In general, it is not an issue. Even when plants are showing calcium deficiency signs, such as blossom end rot, it is not usually due to lack of calcium in the soil, but to factors that make it difficult for the plant to uptake the calcium, such as cold temperatures, under or over watering, etc.
Personally, I have never in all my gardening years added calcium to my soil, except what is in my compost, since egg shells go in the compost pile. Since I don't pulverize the egg shells, that is a very slow release form of calcium.
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Gary350
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Rainbow is right, if you don't need it don't use it. I will never put gypsum on my garden again I ruined my tomatoes one year they were so gritty tasting they were not good to eat. Only reason I use wood ash is because it is a good ZERO nitrogen fertilizer with P&K plus minerals 1 teaspoon near each plants once a week. Wood ash is 20% lime for soft woods and 30% lime for hard woods don't use much and be careful not to kill your plants. Pellet lime is only $5 for a 30 lb bag at Farmers Co-op if you see BER in, tomatoes, squash, peppers, melons, lime plus water will solve the BER problem in about 3 days. If you fertilize with Urea this fertilizer much have lime to convert to a usable nitrogen for plants mix pellet lime with urea before you use it. Urea is also a very slow release nitrogen much safer to use than ammonium nitrate that can over dose and kill plants. Once you see BER on some plants in your garden other plants will often get BER also. Tomatoes seem to be the most likely plant in my garden to have BER first.
Gypsum is used here mostly to make soil easier to work. It is for saline sodic soils. I makes it easier to break through hard soils. It does contain calcium but does not affect pH very much
Lime and pot ash will affect pH. You should only change pH one point at a time not to over shoot. Changing pH takes time about 6 months and then retest.
People do put extra calcium in tomatoes as a hedge against blossom end rot. It only takes a very small amount. BER is a problem of calcium transport (relative deficiency) not an absolute deficiency because even if calcium is present in the soil, sometimes the plant just cannot take it up. It is a problem associated more with uneven watering. SIPS usually remedy that problem.
Lime and pot ash will affect pH. You should only change pH one point at a time not to over shoot. Changing pH takes time about 6 months and then retest.
People do put extra calcium in tomatoes as a hedge against blossom end rot. It only takes a very small amount. BER is a problem of calcium transport (relative deficiency) not an absolute deficiency because even if calcium is present in the soil, sometimes the plant just cannot take it up. It is a problem associated more with uneven watering. SIPS usually remedy that problem.