I have salt in my garden soil..how to get rid of it?
Question:
Answers:
First have you had an accurate soil test done to identify the agent as salt? Call you County Extension Service (assoc. with State Colleges) and ask for a soil test kit. Follow the directions. This will assist you in finding out the nature of the soil, the elements in it and those missing, and recommendations for additives.
If you are sure it is salt question how it got there to begin with. You need to be proactive before you are reactive! Part of the proactive process would be to incorporate Granular Gypsum into the soil at the highest manuf. rate immediately. You need to incorporate this to at least four to six inches to take it away from base root growth. Gypsum, at this max rate, will allow water to flow more freely and thus leach the soil of the toxin.
Now devise a plan to keep the salt from being present. The Gypsum will provide residual protection for a few years.
Are you dumping snow that has been treated with Rock Salt or De-Icer in the bed? If using a spreader for such compounds are you using a narrow or wide swath spread? Do you have a solid barrier (ties, wall, etc.) around the bed to prevent the infiltration?
Apply the Gypsum now and water at a rate of one inch per week for the next two months (adjust for rainfall). In the fall apply the minimum manuf. rate on top of the bed. I suggest you also apply the minimum along a three foot length from any paving onto turf. You do not have to water in the fall.
People generally move snow to the sides for a path. When you have a bed you move the snow on the steps, as is possible given depths, toward the main walkway, and not toward the bed. One snow and de-ice is OK, but the de-icer is residual. Continued movement into the beds equals continued increase in the de-icing chemical accumulation.
If you find you have to move the snow, sleet, and ice to the side don't worry. Clear the area you are going to have to use of any perennials or shrubs. This will become your annual bed! Still use the Gypsum in the entire bed, however, in the spring you can incorporate some Sphagnum Moss, a bit of top-grade topsoil, and have a splendid display.
Again, get a real soil test. The Agent will help you through all the steps. It cost about $20-$25. In the end you will have in your hands not only the salt, if any, content but the total needs of your bed along with recommendations for the solution. Hope it helps. I am at gjgjobs@yahoo.com.
Water. Water is the primary technique for removing or leaching salt from your garden's root zone. No additive or soil amendment is going to remove salt. Adding Gypsum may aid in displacing salt from some types of clay soils, but Gypsum does not work on all types of clay soils. Here is an article by Colorado State University on the proper techniques for leaching salt from soil: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/...
Here is a good article that explains why gypsum only works on sodic clays and not dolomite limestone based clays: http://www.weedpatch.com/article_gypsum.
More Related Questions & Answers...