6 Benefits of using Gypsum in Your Garden

In this article we will enumerate 6 benefits of why you should incorporate Gypsum in your gardening.

What is Gypsum?

Gypsum is also known as calcium sulfate. It’s a natural element that provides sulfur and calcium to soil. Gypsum comes from sedimentary rock and is formed by the evaporation of water that contains sulfate and calcium, such as saltwater. When the water evaporates, the minerals are left behind. Over time, they condense and form gypsum. Let’s find out the benefits of Gypsum:

1. Source of Sulfur for Plant Nutrition.

As we continue to use chemical fertilizers in our gardens, the natural fertility of the soil is getting destroyed and as a result the soil is lacking nutrition. Sulfur deficiency has become common in plants these days. However, this can be corrected by using Gypsum which is an excellent source of sulfur for plant nutrition and improving crop yield.

Signs of Sulfur Deficiency:

(a) Young leaves are light green and yellow in colour (b) stunted growth and delayed maturity in plant, (c) in case of severe deficiency, the veins of the leaves may also turn yellow, leaf tips can burn or darken and hook downwards (d) small & spindly plant (e) long purple streaks might appear along the bark of the stem in case of an overall deficiency in the plant.

2. Source of calcium for root growth.

Calcium is essential for most nutrients to be absorbed by plants roots and stimulate root growth. Without adequate calcium, uptake mechanisms would fail and plants won’t get the required nutrition. Gypsum also improve soil structure, decrease soil compaction, decrease acidity, prevent water run-off, increase airflow and dislodge salt. It aids in the flocculation process, which groups soil particles into clusters and improves air and water movement through the soil for healthy root growth.

3. Improves acid soils and treats aluminum toxicity.

Gypsum has the ability to reduce aluminum toxicity, which often accompanies soil acidity, particularly in subsoils. Gypsum can improve acid soils, which makes it possible to have deeper rooting with resulting benefits to the plants. Surface-applied gypsum leaches down to to the subsoil and results in increased root growth.

4. Improves soil structure

Gypsum can help repairing the soil that has been damaged through compaction from heavy stock, machinery, in the recovery of sub-soils exposed by earth movement and in soils

affected by salinity. It also helps in loosen clay or layer of hard subsoil problems in your garden.

In any soil, flocculation or aggregation is needed to give favorable soil structure for root growth and air and water movement and gypsum helps with this process. Soluble calcium enhances soil aggregation and porosity to improve water infiltration. Management of calcium in soil is equally important as balancing npk.

5. Improves water infiltration

Gypsum powder also improves the ability of soil to drain and not become waterlogged due to a combination of high sodium, swelling clay and excess water. When we apply gypsum to soil it allows water to move into the soil and allow plants to grow well.

6. Helps reduce runoff and erosion

Agriculture is considered to be one of the major contributors to water quality, with phosphorus runoff the biggest concern. Gypsum helps to keep phosphorus and other nutrients from leaving gardening fields. Gypsum should be considered as a best management practice for reducing soluble phosphorus losses. Using gypsum as a soil amendment is the most economical way to cut the non-point run-off pollution of phosphorus.

Try Garden Genie’s gypsum powder and gypsum granules for your sulphur and calcium deficit soils and enjoy the many benefits of this organic fertilizer.

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