Gypsum Treatment for Your Lawn
Heritage Lawn & Irrigation’s gypsum treatment is a great natural soil amendment that helps add calcium to the soil. Gypsum treatments have been used for years by farmers to help fertilizers work more efficiently. There are many benefits to adding gypsum to your lawn:
- Creates a stronger, more traffic-resistant turf.
- Reduces the amount of fertilizer needed, which saves you money and is more Earth-friendly. (This fits in very nicely with our Eco-Pride program).
- Improves soil percolation which reduces water runoff and increases erosion control.
- Assists in seedling emergence.
How Gypsum Works
Gypsum, or calcium sulfate, is a naturally occurring mineral. It is not acid soluble and will not change the soil pH. Let’s break down what gypsum can do for your soil!
Gypsum Helps Plants Absorb Nutrients
Calcium, which is supplied in gypsum, is essential to the biochemical mechanisms by which most plant nutrients are absorbed by their roots. Without adequate calcium, nutrient uptake mechanisms fail. Essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium stick to clay particles in the soil and the plants’ roots can’t access them. Gypsum loosens these nutrients.
Gypsum Displaces Salt
Another superpower of gypsum is displacing harmful salts, and shifting the calcium and magnesium levels in the soil, allowing plants to better access nutrients. It also offers a readily available form of sulfate sulfur, a valuable secondary nutrient that benefits the soil and plants. The sulfate in gypsum binds with excess magnesium in the soil to form soluble Epsom salt, which moves lower into the soil. This magnesium is replaced by calcium, improving water holding capacity, root development and soil quality.
Gypsum Improves Water-Use Efficiency
Improved water infiltration rates, improved hydraulic conductivity of soil, and better water storage in the soil all lead to deeper rooting and better water-use efficiency. From 25 to 100 percent more water is available in gypsum-treated soils than in nontreated soils.
Farmers have known for generations that gypsum “sweetens” the soil allowing fertilizer to work more efficiently. They may not have known the chemistry and the mechanics behind it, but they knew it increased their crop yields. For homeowners, gypsum increases your grass yield for more and stronger grass blades.
