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Adams County

I aquired a few bags of gypsum but it says it has 15 % sulfer in it . Can I use this and add lime , or just leave it alone ?? Bill

3/1/2008 4:22:01 PM

nOVA sCOTIA

Hi Bill. I've asked aquestion earlier about this.The gypsum i have is raw mined gypsum in a pulverized form.The soil sample results were 221084.591ppm [calcium] and sulfur[48.805%].I'm also wondering if i should be adding lime with it. I hope we get some advice. Carl

3/1/2008 4:47:41 PM

Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia

No expert here Carl, but was there a sieve test done on your gypsum. If it is too coarse you may not see the effects this season or late in the season. The sulfer is part of the compound that is gypsum, calcium sulfate. The lime will alter your ph, the gypsum won't. Tremor are you out there?

3/1/2008 5:50:11 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Gypsum rarely impacts the pH despite the sulphur. If you have a low pH & need lime you can use both lime & gypsum at the same time if you need more Calcium than the prescribed lime will deliver.

3/1/2008 6:56:35 PM

Kevinstinindians@yahoo.com

Pure gypsum contains 23.28% calcium and 18.62% sulfur. Pure gypsum will not effect pH. If it has byproducts in it then the byproducts may effect pH.

Yes, you can add lime and gypsum. Keep in mind different types of lime have different amounts of calcium in. Cal lime is about 32% calcium, mag(dolomitic) lime is about 22% calcium and hydrated(fast/hot) lime is about 46% calcium.

First, if you need to raise your pH decide how much lime you need to get your pH to where you want it to be. 50 lbs/1100 sq. ft will raise your pH about 1.0 on average, this is a rule of thumb, not an exact calculation. Then recalculate what you expect your calcium levels to be, after adding the lime, using the percentages listed above for which ever type of lime you used.

Next calculate how much gypsum you need to get calcium to the desired level. Some may not need to add gypsum if they're adding lime. Other will still need some gypsum.

3/1/2008 6:59:01 PM

Adams County

thank you all for the information. just wanted to know if the sulfer would lower my PH to much. thanks agian.. Bill

3/1/2008 9:04:37 PM