On Mar 9, 2:39*pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
gardenermatt wrote:
With winter closing, my pathways in the garden are still covered in
the de-icing salt I bought from 'Value Topsoil | Bark Mulch |
Decorative Aggregates | De-icing Salt from Hallstone'
(http://www.hallstonedirect.co.uk/).

It's proving to be a bit of a nuisance as me and my wife own a couple
of cats of whom the salt isn't the best for, but also, it's an
eyesore.

I've suggested to wash it all off with water, but this way will cause
it to run off into the soil patches, ruining the PH and god knows what
else. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get shut of it to
avoid these problems?

Any help is much appreciated.

Matt

If you try to wash it away it will end up in your soil. *Salt (sodium
chloride) is very bad for plants, it produces a condition called sodizing,
in which the excess of sodium ions displaces other necessary metal ions
(calcium, magnesium, iron etc). *This effectively makes your soil useless
except possibly for a few very hardy weeds. *Sodizing is a major cause of
soil degradation and loss of arable land around the world.

Rome ploughed salt into the soil of Cathage after they conquered them. *Now
this may be just a story or if real a symbollic gesture but in any case it
illustrates that the effect of salt on soil has been know for a long time..

Not a "story" IMHO. Was a standard weapon of war in the ancient (and
not-so-ancient) world.

HB

So I would use any method possible to sweep it up, vacuuming has been
suggested, before trying to wash it away. *And if you actually want to have
a living garden don't put salt on it in future.

David