With the Covid 19 pandemic tightening its grip with its variants even in 2021, more and more people are turning towards home gardening as a means of escape and to discover their hidden farming talents. Growing simple vegetables in the backyard or home garden and then cooking them has become a trend. People have realized how good the food tastes when grown by themselves – nothing can get fresher than the produce from your home garden taken directly to your kitchen. Those who relied on the fancy organic supplies are turning towards their backyard, and with unfavorable circumstances to fly out to their favorite holiday destinations, they are focusing more on their home gardening landscapes.
Home garden or agricultural land – the soil needs to have the right ratio of salts and minerals to grow plants. There are some types of irrigation water that could even be harmful to the plant growth, for instance, with the poor sodium-calcium ratio that seals the surface soil and prevents water from penetrating to the roots. As a result, the plants can wither and even those that do not, show poor growth. The hard water such as the underground water or the well water may not always help, depending upon the ratio of magnesium and calcium in that water. Then we have the soft water that is generally the rainwater and the runoff water from melting snow which do not have sufficient minerals. If the water contains high concentration of sodium salts, it could be toxic for the plants. Even at low or relatively balanced concentrations of the salts, this water can deteriorate the soil structure and prevent the roots from getting the water and minerals when used continuously. So, what’s the solution? Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate or in simpler words, gypsum! Gypsum is a water-soluble mineral that is high in calcium and has multiple uses in the agricultural sector. It is widely used as a fertilizer and can assist in treating the irrigation water. When gypsum is applied directly over the soil or added in the irrigation water, the water that is high in sodium is structurally modified.
A study was carried out on a land having low infiltration rate, i.e., the rate at which the soil absorbed the water. When irrigation water with low salt content (most of the salts being in the form of sodium) was provided to the soil, a large percentage of the irrigation water was wasted due to the runoff. Gypsum was then dissolved in varying quantities in the irrigation water to check for infiltration. As compared to the untreated irrigation water, the irrigation water that was treated with gypsum showed a continuous increase in plant health and crop yield. As a result, an overall increase of 40% to a whopping 160% was recorded. Even when this experiment was carried on different soil types, it was concluded that dissolving gypsum in the irrigation water increases the infiltration rate of the water that was originally high is sodium.
When gypsum is added to the soil or the irrigation water, it increases the calcium concentration and hence reduces the sodium to calcium ratio. Not only that, but gypsum also increases the salinity of low salt waters and therefore improves infiltration.
Adding gypsum to the soil may benefit the first few irrigation cycles but adding gypsum to the irrigation water could well be a game changer. When gypsum is dissolved in the irrigation water, it is more efficient and economical, giving better results in the form of crops and of course ROI.
Whether you have a huge irrigation land or are interested in enhancing the yield of your home garden, adding EcoGem®’s Soil Enhancer, with gypsum as its key ingredient, could be the miracle you were looking for. EcoGem®’s Soil Enhancer has many benefits including:
- Improves water infiltration
- Easily spreadable and water soluble
- Provides essential nutrients to plants including calcium and sulfur
- Improves soil health and structure
- Increases the soil productivity and yield
- Reduces cracking of soil
- 100% organic and natural ingredients
- Pet and children friendly
- Does not burn plants even if over applied
The 3 in 1 EcoGEM®’s Soil Enhancer is available in our online store. Get in touch with EcoGEM® today at (303) 500-6944.
