Here's my take on the agricultural sulphur/ferrous sulphate and iron chelate. Agricultural or elemental sulphur will provide more acidifying power per pound of material applied, however the soil microbes have to convert it from the sulphur form to oxides of sulphur, which can then act to acidify the soil. It takes time for the acidification to work and it will occur over a period of time, you have to get the sulphur into the ground for the microbes to attack, and the effect will be a bit longer acting. The larger the sulphur particles you spread, the slower the process. Elemental sulphur is relatively cheap so is often used agriculturally. We generally use sulphur strictly as a fertilizer to replace what the crops are removing from the soil, being leached away, or tied up into mineralized compounds, plus it is relatively low volume. As a fertilizer, we often apply it at 30 lbs/acre. Another option is to use gypsum, calcium sulphate, which is commonly used to treat highly alkaline/saline soils as it is quite cheap, acidifying, and provides additional calcium. (In moister climates where soils are more acidic, they do the opposite, applying lime -- calcium carbonate-- to raise the pH). When applying gypsum, we would apply it on the order of 1000-2000 lbs/acre or more. With ferrous sulphate, you have moved up a step in cost but you are providing sulphate ions (or is it anions?) that will provide the acidifying effect, and because it is already converted to a soluble and ionic form, it will work quite quickly. At the same time, you are providing free iron that the plants can take up and the acidifying effect of the sulphate slows the process of tying the iron up in the soil. Many soils, particularly in alkaline areas, have plenty of iron, but it is tied up in the soil and unavailable to plants, and that is the situation here. We have a lot of red soils, the red coming from oxidized iron (rust). There is no deficiency of iron but it is mineralized and unavailable. Combine that with a pH of around 8 or higher and there are a lot of plants that will die of iron deficiency. Conifers, golden willows (lost a row of them in the cemetery to that, and nearly lost the spruce trees), petunias, raspberries, and even kentucky blue grass where the lawn is only sprinkler irrigated, for example. With iron chelate, you have a form of iron that is more available to plants, however it is relatively much more expensive. The chelate can be absorbed into the leaves if used as a foliar spray, though too strong a solution will burn. Because it can be pretty well directly absorbed by the plants, it can have an almost immediate effect on new growth. I've seen it recommended to water the ground with the iron chelate, but I think it tends to get tied up in the alkaline soil fairly quickly (I think the chelate breaks down fairly quickly, then the high pH ties up the iron again, and you need large quantities which become quite expensive. I had always had recommendations from the extension service to use iron chelate for iron deficiency, but later I was advised to use the ferrous sulphate by a professor for the combined free iron/acidifying properties. When I used the iron chelate, I never had much in the way of results unless I sprayed weekly at least, and that just doesn't happen with me. With the ferrous sulphate, I could spread it once and see lasting effects for anywhere from the remainder of the summer to several years. Part of my lawn is watered with a sprinkler using well water which is very high in lime. Gradually it turns yellow and thin with iron chlorosis. Fertilizing with nitrogen had no effect. Add some ferrous sulphate and in a week it was turning green, growing like it was badly overfertilized, and the stand thickens up. One year my supplier stopped carrying the ferrous sulphate but had ferrous gluconate and said it was much easier to use and worked the same--so I wondered but tried it. Think I still have most of the bag. It showed no effect on the plants, smelled like molasses and had no irritating dust so I found a new supplier for the ferrous sulphate (I'm not going to apply it if I don't get results). I don't fully remember my chemistry from school, acids/bases, oxidizers/reducers, strong vs. weak acids & bases & the chemical reactions that take place when these chemicals are placed in solution and I'm sure there are those out there that can more than adequately cover the subject (not that I'd want to learn it all over again, though!) I mainly try to cover some of the principles and describe what has worked from experience. Plus, I've never tried to grow blueberries as trying to provide an acid environment in my soil seems like too high a maintenance. Overall, what is being dealt with here is that in drier climates, the soils tend to have a large reservoir of lime and an alkaline pH. Acid loving plants may not need acid to live, however they consume quantities of minerals which are mineralized and unavailable at high pH, but become readily available at lower pH and blueberries have adapted to soils where these minerals are readily available. Trying to lower the pH of the soil to create an acid one suitable for blueberries is very hard, because to make the soil acid you have to essentially eliminate the alkaline lime in the soil, and it will take tons of amendments to do that. To compensate, you remove the soil, replace it with organic matter which is naturally acidic, then work to counteract the ongoing process of your climate and geology from turning the new acidic, organic soil back into an alkaline, mineralized soil and add a few of the more important nutrients the plants need so that they are readily available, even if the pH is a little higher than the plant desires. One last caveat--in acidic soils, NEVER add ferrous sulphate for an iron deficiency. You don't need more acid (unless you actually want a more acidic soil). Use iron chelate or the ferrous gluconate. Sorry this is much too long, but hopefully it explains the basis of my thoughts so you can judge for yourselves what is best in your situation.

Jessaka, First of all, when anyone who gardens chemically criticizes any part of an organic gardening program, I just ignore their comments. If they don't garden organically, then how do they know? For the opinion of experts who garden organically, you could go to the Organic Lawn Care forum and ask this question there if you want to. 2. I have never seen any research or reports that support her claim. But, I haven't seen any research or reports that say molasses does not cause fungal growth either because it is hard (almost impossible) to "prove" a negative. 3. On a personal basis, I have never had any fungal issues in the lawn or in the garden that I believe resulted from the use of molasses or sugar, either dried or liquid, either alone or as an ingredient in Garrett Juice. 4. Fungi exist EVERYWHERE. Even though our clay soil is dry 98% of the time in the summer, if we get an inch or two of rain and the ground is wet for a day or so you'll see a green fungal growth appear on the surface of the clay. What causes it? Well, either the fungi live on the soil surface and grow when wet, or the fungi is in the rain. So, maybe someone has blamed the appearance of fungi on the use of molasses, but the odds are the fungi was already there to begin with OR was in the rain OR had airborne spores that landed on the area and sprouted. Odds are, though, the fungus wasn't "caused" by the use of molasses. The use of sugar or molasses does drive fire ants away. It has been observed and documented by many, many people who use molasses or sugar in home gardens and in commercial gardening or farming. The reason is that fire ants thrive in poor soil (for example, heavy clay with little organic material or extremely fast-draining sandy soil with no organic material). Molasses/suger stimulates microbial activity and that is what drives the ants away--the healthier soil. When we lived in Texas, some massive lawn problems emerged in the 1980s that caused lots and lots of damage to turfgrasses. One of them was called takeall patch, at the time, but there were others as well. When all was said and done, the primary causes were too much chemical fertilizer and too much irrigation and, especially, the combination of too much fertilizer and excess irrigation, and most especially that combination during periods of peak heating. Howard Garrett (a Texas organic gardening guru, aka The Dirt Doctor) had it figured out WAY BEFORE any of the chemically-oriented horticulturalists. He was the first one, as I can recall, who realized these lawn problems that were wildly rampant there at that time were being seen only on chemically-maintained lawns. In the early 1980s, when I was starting to move towards a more organic way of veggie and fruit growing, but not yet maintaining the lawn organically, we had some of those fungal issues on our own St. Augustine lawn. When I dropped the chemical usage, went organic, and stopped overwintering, those fungal problems stopped pretty much overnight and I haven't had any since. So, all I'm saying is that based on what I've observed in my lifetime, fungal diseases occur much, much more commonly on chemically-maintained lawns than on organically-maintained ones. And, it isn't just on lawns. In the D-FW metro area, Red-Tipped Photinias are completely overused and are everywhere. They have severe foliar issues there and, guess what? Those fungal issues with their foliage exists in the same conditions that cause lawn fungal problems. Imagine that! Dawn

Zeolites are molecular sieves, crystalline materials with a porous atomic structure. The zeolite's nanoscale pores provide an immense amount of void space. In addition, the void space exhibits an ionic charge that allows it to bind water molecules conditionally. Zeolites can hold water very tightly, but will release water readily in response to subtle environmental changes. In industry, zeolite beds capture water from wet gas streams. At several atmospheres of positive pressure, a zeolite will bind the water content in a gas stream, allowing the dry gas to pass. Zeolites have large surface areas and a large capacity for adsorption. However, when the pressure is dropped, just slightly, zeolite can quickly release this same water content. The equilibrium condition toggles based on a minor pressure adjustment. The benefits of zeolites are (1) a high holding capacity, (2) a tight binging of water in wet environments, (3) a rapid release of water in dry environments. Furthermore, these materials are durable and their porosity is molecular. When the material is crushed, it reveals additional surface area. Expanded shale is not a true zeolite. It is a haydite material, possessing the same crystalline structure but lacking the ionic interactions. The absence of ionic exchange is not necessarily a bad thing. It seems true zeolites can force salts out of the water (hence the sieve term), while haydites do not exhibit enough ionic potential to squeeze salts from solution. At high salinity, water won't enter the haydite; it will flow from the haydite to dilute the salt. I've attached an interesting article on "bonzai mediums", including mediums that behave like expanded shale. The applications may seem very specific, but the article details a plethora of sophisticated soil amendments. Expanded shale looks like a great product. I'm down the street from a major producer, and I'm tempted to drive over and ask them about it. A local garden show, Gardenline, has verified that expanded shale can be used as a topdressing on existing lawns. Has anybody used shale for amending hard clay and turf drainage issues? I'm looking for a top dressing recipe and a rate of application.

So glad this thread is still here. Did a whole house renovation 8 years ago and just bought a new (to me) house, and about to do it again. Stuff that has held up well and I will definitely be looking at closely again this time around are: - Rohl fireclay sink (nice and quiet, plenty big to hide lots of dirty dishes in the sink; I might get 2 this time!) - Pacific Crest cabinets (despite some issues in their shipping (some banged up cabinets when they arrived), the company stood behind their product and made things right and they have held up quite well -- and everyone comments on how nice they look) - Prefinished hardwood floors (wouldn't get Brazilian cherry again because they are too sensitive to light, but with two 50-60lb dogs running around, they have held up remarkably well, especially compared to friends who had site-finished floors. now I just need to find another wood species I like as well) - Kohler Vinnata faucet (after all this time, I looked around at faucets again the other day and this is still the most gracefully sculptural faucet profile; also I had no problems with this at all.) - GE Monogram 36" range, 30" fridge, island hood (the range cooked great and was a breeze to clean, the fridge had no issues whatsoever with the icemaker/water dispenser, and the range, though a real b*tch to install has been a real workhorse around our house; surprisingly had very few issues with these appliances) - Miele dishwasher (this is the one with the top silverware rack; it was called Incognito back 8 years ago and don't know what it's called now. It cleans great and once we figured out how to use the salt/softener thingy left no streaks on our glasses) - Kinawa white granite (husband likes the veins in this and I like whiteness, and we this is as close as we can get to white carrara w/o the maintenance headaches) - Never M-T soap dispenser (what a great tip I got from this site 8 years ago. I give this to friends now, and they think it's genius) - Air Switch for disposal (another great tip I got from this site; likely ubiquitous now but it's still wonderful) - Kohler's Memoirs collection stately pedestal and drop-in sinks, and toilet (very classic looking) Looking forward to another fun remodel