Howdy from Wyoming, USA

[jacobnlynn]

Hi, I live in Pinedale, WY USA. Altitude of about 7,200 feet... we're a high-altitude desert. I have had a very hard time adjusting plant-wise to the new climate. I used to live in Florida until 3 years ago when I married Jacob and moved out here. My trees died that we planted last SPring. The soil in my yard is terrible hard clay. It is Spring melt-off right now.. the clay is awful.. it sticks to your shoes until it's like walking with cement blocks on your feet... it trips me all the time! Face first into mud. I miss my Florida garden. If it weren't for the mud I think we'd be just fine for growing aspens. Two years in a row my tomatos have frozen in September (with 2 tarps over them at night) before I got tomatos. This year I got a big greenhouse (not much... basically just a tarp)... I'm hoping to get the garden started earlier this year... get something from it this year. My bunnies have been hard at work making me good garden soil. I'm hoping for a good planting season for 2006.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi there - I guess you are the lynn bit of jacobnlynn? Welcome to the site.

Love hearing from folk in other countries and continents. It's so interesting. Gardening in the climate change (or just living even!!) must be hard to adapt to. I'm sure you will get there eventually.

Anyway your poor frozen-in-september tomatoes will at least make the Scottish contingent on here happy that their weather is better than someone elses!

[Shirley]

Hi Lynne - and welcome to the forum.

M3 is right.... hopefully we won't get frozen tomatoes in September here in Scotland!!

I bet it is beautiful where you live though Lynne, and mud is supposedly good for the complexion - think of that when you fall face first next time

Good luck with this years toms... it will be interesting comparing notes through the year

[Wombat]

G'Day Lynne,

Welcome to the site! Sounds like you have some interesting problems! We have clay here too and use gypsum to break id down but sounds like you may need it by the tonne!

Nev

[ina]

Hi Lynn, good to meet you!

Yes, some people pay a lot of money for mud baths... But at least they have the choice of time and location, then. And yes, I do think your weather can safely be classed as worse than ours! We've already had one day of sunshine this week, so can't complain. My tomatoes last year weren't even ripe before October. And that was in the polytunnel - but at least they didn't freeze. I do think in these kinds of climates you need protection for your plants, if you want to get anywhere near growing your own veg.

[Andy Hamilton]

Hi Lynn and welcome on board.

I certainly don't envy your growing conditions there, it sounds like you have a bit of a task on your hands. Good Luck, and welcome to the forum.

[jacobnlynn]

Thanks for the welcome... hope to find that gypsum next time I get to a store that sells gardening stuff (minimum of 100 miles away from me)... we're in the middle of nowhere... but the scenery is beautiful. I have a nice picture on my website http://www.geocities.com/countrychicke We have mountains that are just stunning... the snow stays on the peaks all year long.

What is gypsum? Is it ok to grow vegetables in... or is it just something you'd put on pathways? ~Lynn~

[ina]

Wow - what stunning scenery! We do have a hill at the back of our house, too... But today it's hiding in the clouds. Been raining all day. (And the hill is nowhere as high as yours, or as rocky!)
Don't know about gypsum, you'd have to work some into the soil to break it up. Wombat would know more about quantities etc.

[The Chili Monster]

Hi Jacobnlynn

Gypsum is the more common name for a mineral compound called calcium sulphate dihydroxide, or sulphate of lime. Gypsum is generally found underground near deposits of limestone or other minerals formed by evaporation. One of the most common forms of raw gypsum is a pure white crystal called alabaster. Another form of unprocessed gypsum forms in desert terrain and its crystals resemble the petals of a flower. For this reason, many people refer to this form of calcium sulphate as the 'desert rose'.

[Muddypause]

What is gypsum?

IIRC, in its purest form it is called Plaster of Paris, and is also used to make blackboard chalk. It occurs naturally, and is also a byproduct of powerstations - scraped out from the cooling towers, and made into plaster for interior walls.

I imagine it's use for soil improvement would be similar to lime, since both are a form of calcium. But Nev will be able to give you the full story.

[ina]

Oh, and gypsum is used in the food industry: A friend of mine has a job with a local company that makes ready-mixes for catering - since she's been reading the ingredients, she's gone off a few things! I think that was a cake topping of some kind that she discovered gypsum in...

[Muddypause]

When I was a kid, my mum always used to joke about other people's cake icing being made of Plaster of Paris. Except I don't think it was a joke.

[Wombat]

G'day all,

Yep, gypsum is naturally occurring calcium sulphate or plaster of paris. The term "lime" covers a number of calcium compounds and these will have the same effect, but gypsum won't raise your soil pH. The deal is that the clay is usually a "sodium" clay with very small particle size. Calcium clays are much larger in particle size so when you add the calcium compound it causes the clay to break up and make digging, watering and adding organic material much easier.

I personally dust the area over until it is white then dig it through, but the only reference to agricultural scale additions are 2 tons per acre.

Nev

[gunners71uk]

hi there welcome