Posted by waytogrow /Mar 27th , 2012/Soil Additives

Lime is added to soil to raise the pH and lower acidity; this is also referred to as sweetening the soil. So when you use lime you add calcium which is needed for root development but you also increase the pH of your soil which some plants don’t like. If you wish to add calcium without affecting the pH, gypsum lime (which is used in gyprock) can be a good alternative. Most plants prefer a slightly acidic soil and it would take lots and lots of gypsum lime to change the pH from slightly acidic to neutral. As gypsum lime, which is calcium sulphate, breaks down in the soil it produces hydrogen sulfide which under certain conditions in larger volumes can create rotten egg odors. This is why they don’t also gypsum into the municipal landfills and also this is the reason why mushroom manure compose smells. This is the calcium source in mushroom manure.