TOPIC: Planted another 1/2 lb - excellent morning to be out

I called and talked to Terry with usagypsum this evening and he was very nice and helpful (sales person).

I explained how I would be using it and would be top dressing beds out in the woods, just basically broadcasting it on top of the forest floor leaf cover.

He said you could use any of their products for that (granular, pulverized or ultra fine). They all have the exact same chemical composition.

He did suggest the pulverized product because of two things - cost (cheapest) and the product varies in size - some of it is very fine, but other parts are larger too so the very fine would get into the soil quick (first rain or two) and the larger bits would work their way into the soil later on with more rain.

I asked about 20 of the 50 lb bags shipped to the Middle TN area and he took my zip and gave me a freight quote of 225.00

20 - 50 lb bags of the pulverized product at 3.95 per bag = 79.00 + 225.00 shipping (total cost for 1000 lbs = 304.00).

30.4 cents per pound.

I think you said you were getting 25 lbs for 12.00 which is 48.0 cents per pound, or 480.00 for 1000 lbs.

I could save about 176.00 on 1000 lbs of gypsum (compared to the price you are paying).

Shipping cost could be quite different for your or any other location. He did say if you order larger quantities (like 40 bags or 2000 lbs) the freight cost gets lower.

I may just order a couple 50 lb bags now and pay that 18.00 shipping price - just to check out the product.

Then before next falls planting place a order for 20 bags.

TNhunter

TNhunter,
I talked to a guy in TN from a company that sells quality Agriculture grade Gypsum for crops and or Ginseng. They sell it at 24 ton minimum and it is $6 per ton. So that is only $144 for 48,000 lbs of Gypsum bulk. The only thing is he said it takes a large dump truck to get it and they can supply one for a fee if you do not have access to one.
His name is Eric at 931-827-4600 and they are located at 244 Old Highway 49, Cumberland City TN.
That's a lot of Gypsum for sure and I have no idea how much it would cost to haul it. I have no idea how close to Cumberland City you are or if you want a life time supply of Gypsum. lol
Thanks,
Latt

Latt,

Cumberland City is about 85 miles from my home.

I wonder if I drove up there in my Chevy Truck - Silverado 4x4 half/ton - if they could sell smaller quantity - something I could load and haul back home myself.

I will give them a call and check on that.

Thanks

TNhunter

Latt,

I did some checking around on line and found where the Cumberland City site is a producer of synthetic gypsum.

I did not even know there was such a thing as that. Thought it was all mined from the earth.

Synthetic gypsum is a by product of polution control at coal burning TVA power plants.

www.synmat.com/services.html

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) ? Cumberland City, TN
12+ years managing the gypsum wet stack and pond
Dredge recovery of more than 4 million tons of gypsum

The article below does a nice comparison of synthetic and natural and there seems to be very little difference.

Interesting.

TNhunter

ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0020.html

TN,
I read the article and I agree it is certainly interesting, great post. The word Synthetic scares the heck out of me when it comes to spreading it over a natural thing like ginseng. However after reading the article it appears it may be safe. I do know this, the company that sells the synthetic Gypsum that you contacted supplies the the drywall production company right next door to them there in TN. So any reclaimed drywall or pulverized drywall could potentially contain synthetic gypsum which I did not know even existed until now. If it is 1/2 the cost of mined gypsum and the TVA in managing 4 million tons of Gypsum, I bet a lot of drywall manufactures may be using synthetic gypsum in the production of drywall. I bet you could get a big truck load of it for practically nothing. You would have more in gas money for the 170 mile round trip. It doesn't seem possible to get 500 lbs of gypsum for $1.50 which is what it would be if they would sell it like that.
What did the guy say about the safety of Synthetic Gypsum? I know he sells it and he is not going to knock it. But I was just wondering if he elaborated at all.
Thanks for the info.
Latt

Hi tnhunter, havn't had the pleasure of talking with you before,thanks for sharing.Do you by anychance know or does anyone know the name of pearsons,persons book on ginsang. Can't remember the guys name and really need a copy of his ginsang encyclopedia.I haven't been on page for along time now, Is Billy from kentucky still in the woods or Dieselrider learned a great deal from those guy's.Thanks for the help

steeltrap

The book by Scott Persons is the most thorough book on growing seng. I have used my copy for five years now.

Here's that book from Amazon.

www.amazon.com/Growing-Marketing-Goldens...294309047&sr=8-2

classicfur

Latt,

I have not actually contacted the Cumberland City site yet, but may get to that today if I have time (after work). I just saw your post later yesterday evening and started looking into their location and tried to find out a little about them and found that information on the synthetic gypsum.

On that second link/article that I posted earlier (including again below)

ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0020.html

It says this about the difference in gypsum used for drywall and agricultural uses:

==
The final product is available for drywall manufacturing or for agricultural applications. To be acceptable for drywall manufacture, the material must have less than 600 parts per million (ppm) of total dissolved solids in the pore water, and a water content of less than 15% by weight. Material that does not meet these criteria is marketed as agricultural gypsum, and total dissolved solids is the major criterion for diverting material to agricultural uses. Power plant gypsum in Ohio is permitted as a fertilizer material through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and is monitored by the Ohio Department of Agriculture for Ca and S contents.
==

It sounds like to be used for drywall it has to be a little higher grade (more pure ?) and if it does not meet that grade then it can be sold as agricultural gypsum.

Here is map/image I found that shows location of the Cumberland City site and 11 other sites. Looks like there is one over in East TN and several up on the northern border of KY and a few in other States as well.



Steeltrap - looks like Classicfur fixed you up on Scotts Book - I have to agree with him it is a great read and covers all things ginseng and more.

Billy and Dieselrider are still around and posting just not quite as often here in the off season.

Thanks

TNhunter

And here is a table that compares natural and synthetic gypsum on nutrients and pollutants:



TNhunter

Here is another interesting article on synthetic gypsum.

www.americangypsum.com/green/raw-material/synthetic-gypsum/

Typically, Synthetic Gypsum has lower trace metal content then what is typically found in residential soil standards. All of our synthetic gypsum wallboard products are just as safe as natural gypsum and are certified as low volatile organic compound (VOC) products by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.

==

TNhunter