What is the applying gypsum advantage at the right time?
Determining the right time and method of gypsum application substantially improves the effectiveness of this soil amendment.
Gypsum is a natural soil conditioner that provides many benefits to small and large gardens alike. Applying gypsum at the right time can have several advantages, including:
- Improving soil structure: Gypsum can help loosen clay soils and improve soil structure by transforming fine, tightly packed particles into larger clumps that make the soil more porous, allowing air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the soil more easily.
- Increasing water infiltration: Gypsum allows water to move into the soil, which promotes root growth and allows crops to grow well.
- Decreasing soil compaction: Gypsum improves compacted soil by breaking up hard-packed clay soils.
- Decreasing acidity: Gypsum can improve some acid soils beyond what lime can do for them, which makes it possible to have deeper rooting with resulting benefits to the crops.
- Preventing water run-off: Gypsum can prevent water run-off and erosion.
- Dislodging salt: Gypsum can repair damage from salt.
- Providing calcium and sulfur: Gypsum is an excellent source of calcium and sulfur for plant nutrition and improving crop yield.
It is important to avoid over-application of gypsum, but in most cases, you can apply 40 pounds of gypsum to every thousand square feet of soil at any time of the year. Regular annual applications of gypsum are needed to maintain the proper buffered solute concentration in soil to maintain soil in a flocculated state.
It is important to perform a soil analysis to determine if the soil truly needs gypsum before applying it. Over-application of gypsum can strip essential nutrients from your soil and harm plant growth. Regular annual applications of gypsum are needed to maintain the proper buffered solute concentration in soil to maintain soil in a flocculated state.