Lisa,
Bentonite can indeed be used to retain water in sandy soils. Mix 5-10%
bentonite with your sandy soil (bentonite and soil must be as dry as
possible. Calcium bentonite differs from sodium bentonite in that it swells
much less ie holds less water than sodium bentonite. Neither the sodium nor
the calcium in the bentonite is available to the plants because it is bound.
In addition Bentonite is a clay and so soil micro-organisms and bacteria
cannot metabolize it so nutrients or sodium build up is not really an issue.
Btw, Bentonite is also used as a detox food supplement for the above reason.
Finally, on the whole heavy metal content is neglible in the source that I
use - Greek and Bulgarian bentonite. I can't speak for bentonite sourced
elsewhere.
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