Sulphur (S) – Soil Health and Your Health

Soil: Sulphur is essential for our detoxification systems and in a world with 74,000 registered chemicals we need all the sulphur we can get! Sulphur is stored in humus, so in soils with low organic matter we need to add sulphur each season.

Cow manure contains good levels of sulphur, but luxury levels of sulphur can be obtained from other natural products. If you have a heavy clay soil then gypsum should be used. It is the sulphur component of this material that bonds with the soil tightening minerals to create leachable compounds. You will also be delivering good levels of sulphur to your garden.

In Plants and Pets: Sulphur imparts flavour to fruit and vegetables and it is the main component of strong smelling onions and garlic. It is sulphur that makes members of the allium family so protective for our health.

Two essential amino acids are sulphur dependant and this mineral offers a big boost to all root crops (particularly potatoes).

Your pets will also benefit from sulphur. One of the most effective treatments for ticks and fleas involves a raw egg and a tablespoon of coconut oil fed to the dog each day (eggs are an excellent source of sulphur). Alternatively, you can feed dogs elemental sulphur every two or three days at rates of half a teaspoon for small dogs and a whole teaspoon for a large dog. You don’t need to poison your dog with toxic chemicals to prevent parasites!

Link: Nutri-Store Gold

Essential Oxygen (O)

Most beneficial microorganisms require good levels of oxygen to thrive. In fact, it could be argued that oxygen is the most important element in biological gardening. Aerobic soils are richly supplied with oxygen while anaerobic soils lack this element.  Earthworms create pathways for oxygen to enter the soil and calcium opens up (flocculates) the soil to let it breath. Gypsum can break up heavy clay soils to sponsor better oxygen intake, while compost can improve you soil to create a highly desirable crumb structure.  Light tillage with a fork can also help aerate soils.

Getting your pH right!

The first step to getting the pH ( figure expressing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a logarithmic scale on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acid, and higher values more alkaline) of your soil right, is to measure the soil’s pH. This is as simple of making a50/50 mixture of soil and deionised water, waiting 5 minutes and then dipping a pH strip into the mixture. These inexpensive strips are available from Plant Health Solutions in a form that measures finer graduations than normal. You are seeking a pH of 6.4 for optimal plant health growth. It is always important to try to understand why your soil is acidic or alkaline.

The best option is a soil test so there is no guess work involved. If you have acreage, a soil test can be worth its weight in gold. It is common to waste huge amounts of precious time, driving blind in an acreage gardening project, when a soil test would immediately clarify options and strategies.

If you can’t justify a soil test then these guidelines may assist you to diagnose the source of your pH imbalance:

If you have a light, sandy soil that is acidic, then you probably need a mixture of calcium and magnesium (dolomite) to correct the imbalance.

If it is heavier soil with more clay component then you probably need limestone to alkalise the soil and you might choose to include some gypsum to help break up the clay. If the soil is heavy and alkaline, then there is probably too much magnesium and sodium, so gypsum is the correction of choice.