Calcium in Soil

[HoofTrimmer]

Since our sandy soil is not keeping minerals like it needs to I had a thought. How about spreading oyster shell throughout the garden? The kind like you supply for your chickens. It wouldn't wash away for a long long time, so maybe no more blossom end rot.

Sounds like a good idea to me...

HoofTrimmer

 

[A.T.Hagan]

My understanding of the way calcium in the soil works is that it is slow, slow, slow in actually incorporating into the soil chemistry. The usual form of calcium applied to the soil is lime - calcium carbonate - which is also what oyster shells are composed of. Being discrete chunks I think the ground oyster shell would be years breaking down to the benefit of your soil chemistry unless you have especially acidic soil in which case you'd need a huge amount of oyster shells to be of any benefit for an area larger than a window box.

There's a fellow posting with the handle "Cabin Fever" over on the Homesteading Today board who is a soil scientist. He's discussed lime and soil several times that I know of. You might try PM'ing him with your question.

.....Alan.