permaculture

["Lisa Rollens" <rollens@fidnet.com>]

Those cute little packets of dessicant are great for putting with seeds you 
want to save and store.  Put them in a warm place-oven with light on, or in 
sun-for a while to redry them.

Lisa, in the Ozarks, MO, USA


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Meng Lei" <earthpassengers@gmail.com>
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 9:14 AM
Subject: Re: [permaculture] gypsum on crop soils


> Two somewhat related questions:
> 1) Does anyone know what home/garden use there is for the little
> packets of moisture absorbant material ("lime dessicants") that come
> with so many store-bought foods (especially in asia/humid climates).
> It says "do not eat" on the package, but i wonder if it's safe to put
> in the garden as "lime".
> 2) Are rotted old packages of unused "plaster of paris" safe/wise to
> apply to soil in the garden?
> Thanks in advance to anyone with a clue...
> Peter Morehead
> Earth Passengers
> Taiwan
>
>
>
> On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 01:04:24 +0000 (UTC), robscott@freeshell.org
> <robscott@freeshell.org> wrote:
> > Gypsum occurs naturally as Hydrated Calcium Sulfate (CaSO4 2H2O) which
> > precipitated out of saline water over millions of years and was deposited
> > as sediments which are mined today. Board production involves heating
> > mineral gypsum to 250C to release the H20 as steam. (This is H20 from the
> > age of dinosaurs!) H20 can be readded and the gypsum is thus easy to
> > transport as a mineral rock, powder, or paper bound construction board.
> >
> > In Northern Illinois gypsum is applied to peanut fields becuase peanuts
> > deplete soil calcium. Peanut plants need calcium so that the nuts can 
> > fill
> > the pods. Farmers export calcium every year by exporting the peanut crop.
> > So they apply calcium every year, but they don't apply lime (CaCO3)
> > because it will raise pH. Instead, farmers use gypsum, which supplies
> > calcium without altering pH. This is important because they are adding
> > calcium every year. They refer to gypsum as "land plaster" !
> >
> > I say it is safe to recycle gypsum board into crop soils, so long as it
> > isn't treated with rot-resistant chemicals or covered with paint.
> >
> > Rob Scott
> > Urbana Permaculture Project
> > Urbana, IL
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