Does anyone use zeolite or kitty litter as a soil amendment?
Steve_M in PA
last year
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Comments (9)
Steve_M in PA
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How big should holes be in kitty litter containers
Comments (13)A) If the compost is 'finished', the particles are very small and will be very water retentive - IMO, not well-suited physically for use in container soils in any appreciable volume. B) If the compost is NOT finished, it contains particles highly variable in size that break down very quickly into increasingly smaller particles. As unfinished compost breaks down, it does add some nutrients to the soil, but it also promotes the immobilization of N. When it breaks down to the 'finished' stage .... well, see A) above. Compost actually adds very little in the way of nutrients. What it does add can easily be supplied, either macro or micronutrients, by other either organic or chemical supplements. It increases water retention as it fills valuable soil pores and decreases aeration. The question I would beg of myself is: Why choose to use it, knowing there are other organic alternatives with better structural stability and that what it adds nutritionally can be replaced very simply with 1 or 2 fertilizer additives that will be required regardless of whether compost is used or not. If I had to use compost in a container soil, I would limit it's presence, along with peat, in my own bark-based soils to Al...See MoreZeolite as a soil amendment
Comments (24)Most everything I find on the use of Zeolites as soil amendments is by those with a vested interest in selling the product. Most of the research on use of Zeolite indicates that in soils lacking adequate levels of organic matter they can be beneficial and in soils contaminated with toxins they are useful. However, I can find nothing that tells me that in soils with adequate levels of organic matter adding Zeolite actually does much to make that soil any better then the organic matter....See MoreLet's talk soil amendments, e.g. pumice, pine fines
Comments (12)Hi Lynn: Thank you for sharing your experience with gypsum. EarthCo. also recommended gypsum for my soil ... never mind that I'm next to a limestone quarry, plus a gypsum plant. Bluegirl wrote in another thread on how she broke up her clay with gypsum. I have similar success using gypsum to break up my rock hard-clay. I get gypsum for $7 for 40 lbs. bag at my local feed store. It's quite acidic (has a higher % of sulfur), and burns my hand. So I always wear gloves when handle gypsum. The Encap sulfur sold at Menards $6 for a tiny 1 lb. bag contains a good % of gypsum .. I no longer buy that sulfur bag, since gypsum is cheaper, plus U. of CA at Davis documented that 1 lb. of gypsum is equivalent to using 5 lbs. of sulfur. I agree with their research. I put tons of that Encap sulfur on my clay ... did nothing, until months later, and tons of rain (at pH 5.6) ... then the soil finally crumble. With gypsum, it takes a few days to make my clay fluffy. Many sites and U. of Extensions alert that superphosphate harms the mycorrhizal fungi that help roots to obtain phosphorus & other nutrients from soil. However, Roses Unlimited recommended putting triple super-phosphate NPK 0-52-0 in the planting hole. So I put that stuff inside the planting hole of Queen of Sweden, plus sulfur. The flowering is 1/2 the rate of other roses without superphosphate. That's for 2 consecutive years. Last month I dug up Queen of Sweden, the root is woody & fibrous and reached down below. But there's an absence of secondary roots, or cluster-network. I didn't put superphosphate in Honey Bouquet, and when I dug that up, there's the fibrous brown woody main trunk, plus a vast network of secondary roots. Honey Bouquet gives 3 times more bloom than Queen of Sweden, at 1/5 the size. One of the danger of superphoshate is it also contains the toxic chemical cadmium, that would be poisonous is absorbed in edible plants. Plants can only utilize a small percentage of given phosphorus, the rest is quickly bound up with other elements in alkaline condition. When I use superphosphate in soluble form, as in MG Bloom Booster, it's really hard to dissolve. So I put vinegar in the bucket ... yet I still get phosphorus crystal stuck at the bottom. See below link of Australian Agricultural field study that showed APP (ammonium polyphosphate in fluid form) surpasses granular phosphorus. There's another Australian study that showed that the use of granular phosphorus over a span of 5 years did not increase their wheat yield much. I tested SOLUBLE Bloom Booster NPK 10-52-10, similar to APP, and the result was very good, if I use at 1/4 dosage. Too much chemical phosphorus can burn roots. Just a little bit helps roses with wimpy roots that can't acid-phosphatase, such as Jude the Obscure. Most roses don't need Bloom-Booster, they can secret acids to unlock phosphorus-tie-up in alkaline clay. It's the wimpy own-root like Jude the Obscure that has to be spoon-fed due to my alkaline water at pH 8. I use soluble fertilizer for pots, since pots leach out nutrients with our rain. In my alkaline dolomitic clay, no need for chemical fertilizer. My clay is fertile, with plenty of bacteria to fix nitrogen (air is composed of 78% nitrogen). I don't fertilizer my 26 trees, yet they are taller than 2-story house, plus lose leaves every winter. See picture below of my center garden, zone 5a Chicagoland: Here is a link that might be useful: APP fluid fertililzer surpasses granular phosphhorus This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Sun, Dec 8, 13 at 14:53...See MoreKitty Litter Suggestions, Please?
Comments (31)I, too, use the World's Best corn litter. It does have some residue dust...but far less than the clay litter. I switched to this litter as soon as I discovered it. After watching my "little" darling...[seen below creating a Kodak Moment in my laundry basket]...cleaning herself after a difficult "movement"...seeing her helplessly ingesting some of the clay...I went on a hunt to find a litter less harmful to her intestines. It took her no time at all to adjust to the corn and...to me...she seems much happier with it. She'll be 14 this summer...and she weighs a healthy 12 lbs. So...the old adage that you can't teach an old cat new tricks obviously doesn't apply to my furry companion. ;-) Anne...See MoreMoses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA
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Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA