I am an avid gardener , and have with in the last few years added a raised vegetable garden amidst the myriad of other raised flower beds that i have. I have only recently come across using UCG's for soil amendment. I can boast of naturally rich nutrient rich soil already, due to the forrest behind my house with the various deciduous trees. however, i believe in repurposing stuff and reducing the carbon footprint, so i have started recycling my UCG's into my compost along with banana peels. Roses love the banana peels (burried around roots) much safer for the plants than that "Miricale G" stuff ;) . but i am also deligted to know that the vermiculture love the coffee grounds,as they are a good source to airate the soil. How much is too much UCG? i have 7 raised 4x8 foot beds. (Depth of bed is approximately 1' deep. i also plan to put aged cow manure along with it over the winter. ( i live in Northeast). any one have an idea how much i could safely add in mulch pile to increase within safe quantities? i rotate my crops in each bed yearly. but want to do the best i can to maintain a proper balance within each bed consistantly. Best regards and happy gardening!

In case the link is ever broken, cut and paste the PDF file here: Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University The Myth of Gypsum Magic âAdding gypsum to your yard or garden will improve soil tilth and plant healthâ The Myth Upon continued prodding from one of my university extension colleagues, I recently watched several episodes of a well-known gardening program on television. My kids joined me, alerted by my animated responses to the hostâs non-stop torrent of advice. Among many amazing discoveries I learned that by adding gypsum to my yard or garden I would improve my problem soils by changing the particle size and loosening compaction. Further searching on the web revealed that gypsum would also improve drainage, decrease acidity, and eliminate soil salts. Previously, I had heard of gypsum for use in soil reclamation projects, but not for a typical urban landscape. Since gypsum is simply calcium sulfate, could this chemical truly transform soil structure and serve as a fertilizer for yards and gardens? The Reality This myth falls into the category of agricultural practices misapplied to ornamental landscapes. Gypsum effectively changes the structure and fertility of heavy clay soils, especially those that are heavily weathered or subject to intensive crop production. Gypsum also improves sodic (saline) soils by removing sodium from the soil and replacing it with calcium. Therefore, one can see improvement in clay soil structure and fertility, and desalinization of sodium-rich soils, by using gypsum. What other effects will gypsum have on soil and plant health? There are a number of scientific studies on gypsum usage both in the literature and on websites. Briefly, researchers have found: ⢠Gypsum does not usually change soil acidity, though occasional reports of both increasing and decreasing pH exist; ⢠Gypsum can increase leaching of aluminum, which can detoxify soils but also contaminates nearby watersheds; ⢠Gypsum can increase leaching of iron and manganese, leading to deficiencies of these nutrients; ⢠Gypsum applied to acid soils can induce magnesium deficiency in plants on site; ⢠Gypsum applied to sandy soils can depress phosphorus, copper and zinc transport; ⢠Gypsum can have negative effects on mycorrhizal inoculation of roots, which may account for several reports of negative effects of gypsum on tree seedling establishment and survival; ⢠Gypsum is variable in its effects on mature trees; ⢠Gypsum will not improve fertility of acid or sandy soils; ⢠Gypsum will not improve water holding capacity of sandy soils; and ⢠Gypsumâs effects are short-lived (often a matter of months) With the exception of arid and coastal regions (where soil salts are high) and the southeastern United States (where heavy clay soils are common), gypsum amendment is just not necessary in non-agricultural areas. Urban soils are generally amalgamations of subsoils, native and non-native topsoils, and - in home landscapes - high levels of organic and non-organic chemical additives. They are also heavily compacted and layered (and gypsum does not work well on layered soils). In such landscapes, it is pointless to add yet more chemicals in the form of gypsum unless you need to increase soil calcium levels. This nutrient deficiency can be quickly identified by any soil testing laboratory for less than a bag of gypsum costs. (If you need to improve sulfur nutrition, itâs wiser to use ammonium sulfate). To reduce compaction and improve aeration in nearly any landscape, application of an organic mulch is more economically and environmentally sustainable. The Bottom Line ⢠Gypsum can improve heavy clay soil structure and remove sodium from saline soils ⢠Gypsum has no effect on soil fertility, structure, or pH of any other soil type ⢠Most urban soils are not improved by additional gypsum ⢠Before adding gypsum or any chemical to a landscape, have soil analysis performed to identify mineral deficiencies, toxicities, and soil character ⢠Adding gypsum to sandy or non-sodic soils is a waste of money, natural resources, and can have negative impacts on plant, soil, and ecosystem health For more information, please visit Dr. Chalker-Scottâs web page at http://www.theinformedgardener.com.

Thank you for your interest. We are in the Chicago area. The plants most affected are Lady's Mantle and Salvia. After investigating further, we determined that the problem was that the mulch had been lying on the leaves for a few days and discolored those areas. Especially the Lady's Mantle with its large leaves. We were our of town when the work was done. Yesterday we were able to get out and work in the garden and figured it out. It was a sloppy effort by the crew that put down the mulch. We've had the garden mulched several times over the past few years and had never experienced this. Hoepfully the plants will recover quickly and there is no permanent damage. Thanks again.

bleedenver certainly gives a great answer to your question trivedi_south! Coffee Grounds are SUPER for those acid lovers: azaleas, camellias (to some degree, I put a bit but not much on them) - I do occasionally but not often put coffee and tea (less grounds, more of the "wash out bottom of the pot" stuff on my lorapetalum and roses. Normally coffee grounds go directly into our compost. When I spread the compost in my vegetable garden I temper it with Lime *if needed* (I have a lot of lime in the beds now, I probably won't add any more for a year). The only time I've used coffee grounds directly in the soil is when I am building lagsana beds (which I am doing in the far back). I have coffee grounds AND many crushed up egg shells spread around. They will eventually tempter one another. I'm only putting these in areas that I will be planting neutral (don't much care about acid: like dwarf abelia) or lower fruit bushes (aronia). At church we've used coffee and tea on our blueberries after a good pruning with wonderful effect. The plants have been much stronger and the fruit much better tasting and sweeter for the acid. Some information on Gardens Alive is very good information, some related to some products is not information I would give (I would not sell people a product I don't believe in anyway). If you can get large amounts of the coffee grounds, why not start a lovely compost heap. If you can keep it running hot enough you can put all of your garden waste in there and turn it into garden gold!!!