Recently
Is Your Cold Hardiness Map Useful?
Last week, we looked at the new U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zone map and the fact that it does not prove global warming. Using 30 years of one measure of weather to create a map for gardeners while ignoring all of the other weather …Read more.
Stop The Presses! The Headlines are Wrong!
Have you heard that the United States Department of Agriculture has released a new plant hardiness zone map for the United States? You may have heard that this map indicates global climate warming.
Does the new USDA map offer proof that the climate …Read more.
Transporting Trees: No Easy Feat But Well Worth the Effort
Q: I have nine dwarf fruit trees (including apple, peach, pear and plum). I will be moving this coming spring or early summer. These trees have been on my property from one to four years. Some have produced fruit, and some have not. Is it possible …Read more.
All-America Selections 2012 Award Winners
One way I've found to pick the best plants for my garden is to look at the All-America winners for the New Year. If it has been tested and approved in the All-America Selections (AAS) testing program, I can trust the plant to grow in my yard. Almost …Read more.
more articles
|
Make Sure Your Lawn Needs Calcium Before Adding Gypsum or LimestoneQ: I recently moved to a new home and I thought the lawn looked like it needed some help, so I went to the store for some gypsum. Where I used to live, gypsum was added to the lawns all the time. I was told that in my new region no one adds gypsum, but that some people add limestone. What are gypsum and limestone used for? What can I do to make my lawn look better? A: Gypsum is calcium sulfate and limestone is calcium carbonate. There is a huge difference between the two and what they could do in your soil. Both break down into their components. The calcium portion in each one could add calcium to the soil if it is deficient in calcium, which isn't the case for the majority of soils in North America. Have your soil tested to see if it is deficient before adding either one for the calcium. The carbonate portion of limestone breaks down in the presence of free hydrogen ions to carbon dioxide and water. Both leave the soil, and when the water leaves, it takes the hydrogen from the soil causing the soil pH to increase. Limestone is used to raise pH in soils that have been tested to be too acidic to grow a specific crop. The sulfate portion of the gypsum does not interact with the soil and does not change the soil pH. Sulfates are used by plants to get the sulfur they need. Just like the pure calcium, most soils have enough sulfur — it is rarely a limiting factor in plant growth. Added to soil to lower the pH, elemental sulfur is combined with water and oxygen by bacteria in order to create sulfuric acid, which can lower soil pH. The two types of sulfur are not the same. So if the sulfate, carbonate and calcium are not beneficial, why add them to soil? In some Western states, the soil has a naturally high amount of sodium in the soil.
The description of sodic soils as hard, poorly drained and compacted also describes the clay soil many of us have in our yards. It would be great if we could just spread on gypsum and let it separate the soil for us. Unfortunately, if the clay soil doesn't have sodium in it, the gypsum won't be beneficial. If you have clay soil, sandy soil or just about any other "bad" soil, adding composted organic matter will make it a better soil. Chemically, it is very hard to change soil structure or soil pH, but organic matter can do both. It is best if the organic matter is tilled into the soil, but even adding it on top will slowly provide benefits. A soil's fertility is better with organic matter compared to fertilizers. If your lawn is not looking its best, take some pictures. Cut a Rubik's Cube out of a couple of locations and take them to your local extension office. The master gardeners who maintain their help desk can provide the best, local nonpartisan advice you can get anywhere. E-mail questions to Jeff Rugg, University of Illinois Extension at jrugg@illinois.edu. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM 
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
