What is Gypsum and How Does It Help My Lawn and Garden?

[@elenasanchez9656]

Dashed my hope for using it on my clayish soil spots. But I love that you keep giving us great visuals on the tests.

[@SoiLab]

Thank you!

[@cjclaeys4368]

I use this every year in nothern utah on my "volcano" dirt on the benches, good sulfur dose for alkaline soil if nothing else and cheap if you go to the right places, ie not the big stores. Great content, thanks!

[@SoiLab]

Thanks for watching and for the feedback! It's always great to hear what's working for others!

[@bluejay3945]

Great demonstration. Far to often gypsum is sold as a clay buster here in the east. I would love you to push this video further and get into the soil chemistry of adding gypsum to clay soil without high sodium and normal calcium levels Too many charlatans pushing gypsum as a cure all

[@yusufalbalooshi2723]

Thank you dear for excellent information

[@SoiLab]

You are very welcome! Thank you for watching!

[@markwatson2006]

Clear, concise, smart. Great instruction!

[@lowtherdream]

Great video! Thanks. So what is your advice for clay soil and my lawn? There are some areas where water stays and takes a long time to drain. If gypsum is not the solution... then what is my best option? I have about 30000 sq ft of grass, so they are not small projects :(

[@RonHenry]

This is awesome Matt. Great explanation and demonstration. Looking forward to the next video. 😎

[@SoiLab]

Thanks! 👍

[@jakefromupstatefarm]

Matt I just ran this test with my soil. Didn’t use de-ionized water so not sure if that affected it but had the opposite results. The soil with gypsum took longer to clear. Southern Tennessee with some decent clay

[@brinkman4925]

Soil compaction video plz. Just subscribed. My lawn is practically pure clay. Planted seeds in fall and grass came up beautiful but it was severely reduced by spring the next year.im doing everything to amend the soil before next fall.

[@SoiLab]

brinkman49, Thank you for the suggestion. A soil compaction video is on our radar and in the works for a future video.

[@mepro123]

I second this!

[@mshideler]

Third!

[@colinm1502]

1 year later. Where is the video?!

[@CoachJeremy]

Plant a bunch of forage radishes in the fall. They grow quick and produce a large root which naturally drills into the soil. You can terminate them by mowing or a cold winter will kill them. The radishes then decompose and release nutrients into your soil while also aerating

[@ramdaddy8557]

Bro you are amazing very smart. Greta teacher thank you so much

[@capolich88]

This is really good stuff Matt. I live in south tx and have our house built on caleche so our soil has become really compacted. Hope to see a video in the near video about these soil types.

[@SoiLab]

Christopher thank you for the support! We defiantly have this on our schedule for a future video!

[@PacificNorthwestLawns]

Great information Matt! 👍🏼

[@SoiLab]

Thanks for watching!

[@JettaTDI2005]

Hey Matt, thanks for the great video and I am looking at my soil report and yeap High Ca and S so let me throw down some gypsum in hopes of getting that down with all the rain that we are about to secure here in Austin Texas in the next week

[@Thelawncarenut]

Good stuff Matt - looking forward to much much more!

[@SoiLab]

Much appreciated!

[@Kai-tq6vl]

Fascinating!

[@SoiLab]

Thank you for the comment!

[@bamabladez]

Very interesting. But man that soil you harvested looks like some grade A quality soil!

[@michaelsuggett710]

Hey did you ever do a video on how to bust clay like you talked about at the end of the video?

[@JoseA1981]

Clay buster for lawns video will get SOOOO many views. Tons of videos on how to till or no till gardens that are clay based.

[@SoiLab]

Jose, Thank you for the suggestion. This is certainly on our radar and we have plans to address this in a future video!

[@ricoproia328]

Waited through your explanation why, but it didn’t come. Reason why is gypsum molecules are finer than the clay particles and than the clay particle’s and they are capable of penetrating through the clay. Thank you.

[@ricoproia328]

I forgot to mention several applications may be needed to lightly water.

[@Chad03Cobra]

Please do a hard clay fix!!

[@SoiLab]

Thank you for the comment! This is on the list for an upcoming video.

[@andres09cc]

Hey do i need to use gypsum if the water in a hole dry in 6 hours?

[@yoriichi3347]

Can this help soil compaction?.

[@albertweis7669]

Can. Use. Sheet. Rock. Ground. Up. ?

[@SoiLab]

Albert, That is not recommended.

[@littlenugs9942]

Can you use to much gypsum?

[@tycox8704]

The rate of 1 part gypsum to 5 parts soil seems impractical if you need to treat soil several inches or more deep.

[@thomasdreas4122]

Arizona lawn. Soil savvy test from 2016. Ca ppm 386, Na ppm 94. Both high. How many lbs of gypsum per k to apply? With high Ca is gypsum ok to apply? Plan on sending Yard Mastery soil test this year. Looking forward to more of your videos.

[@SoiLab]

If you are surface applying gypsum to an existing lawn, I would apply at a rate of 40lbs per 1000sq.ft. I recommend ensuring that the gypsum application is thoroughly watered in. With the number you listed, you will not have any issues with your Ca. I would continue to monitor through a soil test and adjust as needed.

[@thomasdreas4122]

@@SoiLab Arizona lawn. PH 8. Can I apply 5 lbs elemental sulfur per K and 1 lbs citric acid per K at the same time making two apps? Do I just dissolve citric acid and spray accordingly? Then give the lawn a good watering.

[@jontopham2742]

can i just grind up my drywall and throw it on my lawn?

[@SoiLab]

Jon, That is not recommended.

[@jontopham2742]

@@SoiLab how about throw it in my compost pile

[@LawnNOrder]

Great video Matt, I like the in house lab class. Makes sense to see the magic. I hope you do one on high level of Phos in the soil. 😎🌴

[@stevequach1869]

Love this channel! Professional and scientific!

[@LawnCrack]

Great info Matt. I had a great time speaking with you at GIE. Looking forward to taking advantage of your soil tests and learning more on your channel! Just subbed!

[@SoiLab]

Thank you!

[@leslielandberg5620]

You talk about soil particles, but that doesn’t sound scientific to me. Isn’t soul alive? Doesn’t it contain humic matter, as well as numerous nematodes and biologically active bacilli? And isn’t the chief problem with clay soils’ structure one of an ionic binding, so that no catabolic exchange, and thus no uptake of nutrients by the plant’s root system, can take place? (Not to mention oxygen can’t reach the roots and so the roots are starving). The way you speak of soil it honestly doesn’t sound as if it is alive. That confuses me, because we all want to understand how soil works to support growth, but your video doesn’t address this most fundamental issue and instead treats soil as only as an essentially inert chemical structure I.e. dirt. Soil is to dirt as the ocean is to a glass of distilled water.

[@SoiLab]

Hi Leslie, We completely agree that soil is a living thing. The goal of this video is to highlight a concept in soil chemistry. Thank you for the comment!

[@rajeshsanodia3684]

Mujhe chahie sale karne ke liye kahan se milegi kitne ki

[@jacehelean1]

Have you tried Aqua-drive by Diamond K Gypsum? I just bought some at an Intermountain farmers store in Utah, but there’s very little info about application. The science seems similar but more useful in lawns than straight gypsum. I’m throwing a Hail Mary with my heavy clay soil on a slope with high sodium content. Living in the west desert doesn’t make for great grass growing.

[@SoiLab]

Jace, I have not tried that product but I would imagine chemistries are similar. The gypsum should be able to move some of that sodium through the profile when coupled with proper water management.

[@jakemalek3395]

what if calcium levels are already very high in soil. can I still add gypsum to help with compaction?

[@mepro123]

I’m in a similar situation. You ever find an answer to this?

[@MRM5J]

I'm confused if it's good for soil drainage why not use it on the lawn to breakup the soil?

[@riflebear1711]

Feel free to use it on your lawn.

[@AncientHippie]

Thanks for the clarification on the clay soils. I was wondering while you were explaining (probably not doing your explanation justice) that it "grabs" a clay soil particle from here and over there and brings them together how would that be "breaking" up the clay. Can't wait to see your video on breaking up the clay. While I'm a numbers guy you dumbed this down enough that even I was following, good job!

[@patriot1303]

He said it makes the smaller clay particles combine to then act more like sand which of course is porous

[@justinaguilar867]

What if my Na 60.7 and my calcium 1375 is extremely high. I live in West Texas with clay soil

[@jimsparks-pw9tq]

I can't thank you enough for doing these videos. You have answered so many unknowns for us for our growing experience..

[@stevemullis7732]

Matt, can you just throw gypsum on top of the soil now in November? Can gypsum put on the ground near/around existing plantings?

[@bomaite1]

Can I use drywall scraps that are unpainted? Are there harmful chemicals in drywall, or is it just gypsum? I assume that the paper layer will decompose, and I will have to grind it up some way.

[@SoiLab]

Bomaite, That is not recommended. If you are to use Gypsum, I would stick with the gypsum available for lawn and garden uses.

[@joshmiller8646]

My soil test shows NA at 115 ppm. Is there a guideline about how many pounds of gypsum is needed to reduce NA by a certain amount?

[@SoiLab]

There is no direct and easy answer to this as soils have varying chemical and physical characteristics. Additionally there are limitations on the amount that can be applied at any one time. If you can incorporate/till the gypsum into the soil, I would suggest an application rate of 80lb per 1000sq.ft. If you are surface applying gypsum, I would apply at a rate of 40lbs per 1000sq.ft. In either case, please make sure to thoroughly water in the application. I would continue to monitor through a soil test and adjust as needed.

[@charonnekarringten1117]

If you have lots of clay can you use gypsum

[@bluejay3945]

Last time I checked expert soil scientist stated we know less than 1 % about soil biology. Experts act like gypsum only works with high Na and pH yet doing a google search of university research indicates gypsum did incredible things to both crop yield and turf quality. Summary statements from various studies could not explain why such effects were shown. So while gypsum definitely helps with Na my conclusion is there is no way I can possibly improve my coastal clay layer without a lot of help. I try mechanical aeration but I only have one lifetime. So I’ve started core aerating and adding both quality compost and heavy gypsum. It’s been definitely improving my soil tilthe. I have not observed chlorosis or any of the other nutrient issues IMO it’s worth doing because gypsum is cheap compared to back surgery

[@smallnuts2]

I'm in Phoenix. Dirt is hard. My soil was 8 alkaline and zero ph.