We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left over .
Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main ingredient ,
and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really have any other way
to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my compost heap that'd be a
double plus .

--
Snag

On 7/26/2014 2:15 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left over .
Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main ingredient ,
and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really have any other way
to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my compost heap that'd be a
double plus .


Gypsum is calcium sulfate. You can google up use in the garden but
don't think there is any advantage to use it.

Derald wrote:
"Terry Coombs" wrote:

We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left
over . Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main
ingredient , and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really
have any other way to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my
compost heap that'd be a double plus .
Gypsum is often used to add calcium without adversely affecting pH.
Whether that's what it does, I dunno. It also is added to clay soils
in an attempt to "improve" its texture. Dunno whether that works,
either. Gypsum also is used to reduce the concentration of sodium in
certain soils. Dunno whether....
You may find these enlightening or confusing:
http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/gypsum.html
http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Gypsum.pdf
To address your question directly:
I, personally, would eschew adding gypsum wallboard ("sheetrock")
because I don't know what other compounds or chemicals might be used
in its manufacture.

Well , looks like it goes to the landfill then ...though the addition to
clay soils is intriguing ... ours here is best described as clay and silt
with rocks .

--
Snag

On 7/26/2014 3:54 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Derald wrote:
"Terry Coombs" wrote:

We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left
over . Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main
ingredient , and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really
have any other way to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my
compost heap that'd be a double plus .
Gypsum is often used to add calcium without adversely affecting pH.
Whether that's what it does, I dunno. It also is added to clay soils
in an attempt to "improve" its texture. Dunno whether that works,
either. Gypsum also is used to reduce the concentration of sodium in
certain soils. Dunno whether....
You may find these enlightening or confusing:
http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/gypsum.html
http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Gypsum.pdf
To address your question directly:
I, personally, would eschew adding gypsum wallboard ("sheetrock")
because I don't know what other compounds or chemicals might be used
in its manufacture.

Well , looks like it goes to the landfill then ...though the addition to
clay soils is intriguing ... ours here is best described as clay and silt
with rocks .

We put gypsum through the fertilizer spreader twice a year here. This is
actual raw gypsum, comes in small pellets in bags from the local big box
stores. It does help to turn the Houston gumbo we have under our
property into something other than clay that gets hard when dry and
slick when wet. Started doing that at our Corpus Christi, TX house back
in the seventies, doing it now in this Houston area house. This house
has five feet of gumbo clay under it and about a half inch of sand on
top of that. At my age I may never get it all turned into something
useful. That's why our vegetable gardens are all in raised beds.

Digging holes in this gumbo to plant anything just turns the hole into a
swimming pool or water reservoir every time it rains. I used a large,
long pry pole in these holes to make more holes in hopes I could get
down deep enough to drain the swimming pool. So far so good but lots of
labor.

Going to pull the cuke vines this evening if it gets a little cooler,
also the squash plants are coming out and the crowder peas. What the
bugs haven't eaten or pooped on is just dying anyway. The sweet chiles
are doing great as are the tomatoes. Tomatoes need pruning, they're
growing so wild the sunlight can't penetrate. Hopi lima beans are
blooming like crazy and the bees are working them over really good but
no beans as yet.

My herb garden looks like a jungle. We have been harvesting and
dehydrating herbs since May and there's ten times more than we started
with. Nearby neighbors are mostly young people with at least two jobs
and they don't want any fresh herbs as they don't know what to do with
them and mostly eat fast food anyway. Even the flowers are going crazy.

Picked the last of the figs today, got every bit of a quart of figs this
year. Not bad for a four feet tall tree that was planted last year. The
Meiwa kumquat is covered with blooms, if they all come to fruition I
will have to prop the tree up, it too, is only about four feet tall. At
least all this stuff is trying so I'm happy.

Already put up thirty packages of chopped chiles and have no idea how
many packages of chard are in the freezer. I'm getting tired and hope
everything starts slowing down soon.

George

Terry Coombs wrote:
We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left
over . Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main
ingredient , and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really
have any other way to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my
compost heap that'd be a double plus .

Gypsum is calcium sulphate and is close to neutral acidity. It will not
alter soil pH.

It would only be of value if your soil would benefit from it. It is often
used to break up clay and it does work but it takes time and quite a bit to
do so.

The problem with plasterboard is that it is in chunks where agricultural
gypsum is a fine powder. Assuming there is enough to do any good the board
will take very much longer to work (if at all) as gypsum isn't very soluble
and needs to be finely divided to get into the soil. This is exactly the
same problem as those with marble chips wanting to raise pH, it's too
coarse.

--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A better world requires a daily struggle
against those who would mislead us.

On Saturday, July 26, 2014 4:54:17 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
Derald wrote:

"Terry Coombs" wrote:



We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left

over . Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main

ingredient , and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really

have any other way to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my

compost heap that'd be a double plus .

Gypsum is often used to add calcium without adversely affecting pH.

Whether that's what it does, I dunno. It also is added to clay soils

in an attempt to "improve" its texture. Dunno whether that works,

either. Gypsum also is used to reduce the concentration of sodium in

certain soils. Dunno whether....

You may find these enlightening or confusing:

http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/gypsum.html

http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Gypsum.pdf

To address your question directly:

I, personally, would eschew adding gypsum wallboard ("sheetrock")

because I don't know what other compounds or chemicals might be used

in its manufacture.



Well , looks like it goes to the landfill then ...though the addition to

clay soils is intriguing ... ours here is best described as clay and silt

with rocks .



--

Snag

Use it for mulch! then plow it in next spring. It really helps break down the clay plus adds calcium to help prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes.

On Saturday, July 26, 2014 7:16:37 PM UTC-4, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:

We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left

over . Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main

ingredient , and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really

have any other way to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my

compost heap that'd be a double plus .



Gypsum is calcium sulphate and is close to neutral acidity. It will not

alter soil pH.



It would only be of value if your soil would benefit from it. It is often

used to break up clay and it does work but it takes time and quite a bit to

do so.



The problem with plasterboard is that it is in chunks where agricultural

gypsum is a fine powder. Assuming there is enough to do any good the board

will take very much longer to work (if at all) as gypsum isn't very soluble

and needs to be finely divided to get into the soil. This is exactly the

same problem as those with marble chips wanting to raise pH, it's too

coarse.



--

David



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A better world requires a daily struggle

against those who would mislead us.

Within two years you won't be able to find a chunk anywhere. I've done this many times on clay gardens.

On 7/26/2014 11:15 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
We're building a house , and I find myself with small pieces left over .
Are these any good as a soil amendment ? Gypsum iis the main ingredient ,
and I don't know if it acidic or basic . I don't really have any other way
to dispose of this stuff , if I can add it to my compost heap that'd be a
double plus .

Hi, Terry.
Used to seeing you on the metalworking news group. I recently subscribed
to this one also.

My brother has tilled scrap drywall into his garden many times and it
works wonders, here in the desert. Last Spring I bought 100 lbs of
powered gypsum and hand broadcast it on our garden.

We have volcanic sand for soil and have added manure. leaves, straw and
all kinds of material to make the soil hold moisture. It works, but
turns the soil acid. Beets, carrots, potatoes and other root vegies like
neutral or slightly basic soil.

After the addition of the gypsum, all the vegetables are growing better
than they ever have. I will add more next Spring!

So, yes, use you tiller to break up the old drywall and improve your garden.

Good luck, Paul in Central ORegon

In article ,
Derald wrote:
because I don't know what other compounds or chemicals might be used in
its manufacture.

Try the MSDS - trivial to get in the age of the internet. No need for
FUD.

http://www.usg.com/content/dam/USG_M.../united_states
/product_promotional_materials/finished_assets/sheetrock-gypsum-panels-ms
ds-en-54000001.pdf

Unless it's foil backed, it's:
85% gypsum,
10% cellulose
3% starch and
5% crystalline Silica (the deadly carcinogen also known as quartz sand
- and largely not in respirable form, as detailed in the MSDS. Also
found in most soils, shockingly enough.
There may (probably only in type X) be 1% glass fiber.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.