crab meal vs. oyster shell

[hyroot]

You and I aren't going to get along. Do me a favor, why don't you change the wiki page on liming if anyone can change the info? It's not quite that easy. If that's the best argument you can come up with for your position on liming, I rest my case.

I never once said anything about liming. I said crab meal had n,p,cal, mag and chitin and not a ph buffer / regulator. Then you argued about it having cal. I never said it didn't. You don't know how to read.

with wiki. You click on the source tab.then the code page opens up and you can rewrite anything. Some pages require you to make a wiki account. Alot don't..

why don't you make a nutrient tea with crab meal (Neptune brand) periodically check ph.. Grow some plants for once.

 

[Pattahabi]

I never once said anything about liming. I said crab meal had n,p,cal, mag and chitin and not a ph buffer / regulator. Then you argued about it having cal. I never said it didn't. You don't know how to read.

with wiki. You click on the source tab.then the code page opens up and you can rewrite anything. Some pages require you to make a wiki account. Alot don't..

why don't you make a nutrient tea with crab meal (Neptune brand) periodically check ph.. Grow some plants for once.

You're amusing. Here's some reading for you. I'm still waiting for any resources to back up your crab meal claim.

Soil pH and Liming - Iowa State University

And a couple of picts.




Peace,
P-

 

[Schwagstock]

You're amusing. Here's some reading for you. I'm still waiting for any resources to back up your crab meal claim.

Soil pH and Liming - Iowa State University

And a couple of picts.

View attachment 3177820
View attachment 3177821

Peace,
P-

I think what he is meaning is that crab meal although not necessarily a buffer, does contain calcium which, calcium does help to buffer, though not a buffer itself it does help in the process.

(I too have noticed from personal experience if I add the crab meal to my teas the ph tends to go upward to 6.7 from 5.9)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3040.1984.tb01428.x/abstract

Abstract. Calcium is the soluble cation that occurs in largest amount in most soils. It does not take part directly in the proton transfer reactions involved in pH-buffering, but it provides the cation charge balance for these reactions. It is also the complementary cation in formulations of chemical potential for many other ions in soils. The presence of free calcium carbonate in calcareous soils. The presence of free calcium carbonate in calcareous soils ensures a very high soil buffer capacity; dAB/dpH ≃ 1000 Eq. m−3.

In acid mineral soils, dissolution and precipitation of aluminium ions contribute to the buffering processes, but most of the buffering in non-calcareous soils is caused by specific ion adsorption at variable-charge sites, in particular those associated with the dissociation of humus acids. Typical buffer capacity values of non-calcareous soils vary from 10 Eq. m−3 for sandy soils to 100 Eq. m−3 for peats. The pH changes associated with buffering are produced by leaching of calcium from soil, or by adding calcium to soil in liming materials.

 

[Pattahabi]

I think what he is meaning is that crab meal although not necessarily a buffer, does contain calcium which, calcium does help to buffer, though not a buffer itself it does help in the process.

(I too have noticed from personal experience if I add the crab meal to my teas the ph tends to go upward to 6.7 from 5.9)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3040.1984.tb01428.x/abstract

Abstract. Calcium is the soluble cation that occurs in largest amount in most soils. It does not take part directly in the proton transfer reactions involved in pH-buffering, but it provides the cation charge balance for these reactions. It is also the complementary cation in formulations of chemical potential for many other ions in soils. The presence of free calcium carbonate in calcareous soils. The presence of free calcium carbonate in calcareous soils ensures a very high soil buffer capacity; dAB/dpH ≃ 1000 Eq. m−3.

In acid mineral soils, dissolution and precipitation of aluminium ions contribute to the buffering processes, but most of the buffering in non-calcareous soils is caused by specific ion adsorption at variable-charge sites, in particular those associated with the dissociation of humus acids. Typical buffer capacity values of non-calcareous soils vary from 10 Eq. m−3 for sandy soils to 100 Eq. m−3 for peats. The pH changes associated with buffering are produced by leaching of calcium from soil, or by adding calcium to soil in liming materials.

Thanks schwag! I appreciate the information. While the article does say that calcium does not take part in the buffering, it does say calcium carbonate ensures a very high soil buffering capacity. If I am not mistaken, crab meal is a source of calcium carbonate:

The main straight liming agents, Limestone, Calcite (aka Agricultural Lime), Oyster shell powder and Crab meal are sources for Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). All are pure Calcium Carbonate with the exception of Limestone which can have a Mg level between 2 – 3% depending on the specific mine, country of origin, etc.

Certainly love to discuss things like this with people that are willing to site sources and have an intellegent conversation.

Much respect,
P-

 

[Schwagstock]

Thanks schwag! I appreciate the information. While the article does say that calcium does not take part in the buffering, it does say calcium carbonate ensures a very high soil buffering capacity. If I am not mistaken, crab meal is a source of calcium carbonate:



Certainly love to discuss things like this with people that are willing to site sources and have an intellegent conversation.

Much respect,
P-

You are correst, crab meal contains calcium carbonate (and most crabs in general) Often eat a delicacy sand which is comprised mostly of calcium carbonate, thus making the amount of carbonate within them extremely high based from there diet..

I too enjoy partaking in intelligent conversations..and kinda remember getting the old huge ass hounding from the teachers back in the day about always citing the work, they brainwashed me kinda hard...:/
It should be noted I really wanted to post a picture of some harvard professors smoking pipes in the 50's with drinks in hand having conversation with it saying I to enjoy having intelligent conversations...(But I dont know how the fuck these people do it, and I probably would waste too much valuable life on it..

 

[hyroot]

Thanks schwag! I appreciate the information. While the article does say that calcium does not take part in the buffering, it does say calcium carbonate ensures a very high soil buffering capacity. If I am not mistaken, crab meal is a source of calcium carbonate:



Certainly love to discuss things like this with people that are willing to site sources and have an intellegent conversation.

Much respect,
P-

I'm surprised you didn't attack him for something he didn't say.. And it seems you were in the wrong twice hmmmm.

again I never once said anything about liming yet you kept on going back to it. And yet were wrong.

@Schwagstock. Thank for clearing that up. Some people have to argue for the sake of arguing.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

perhaps it's the old-school hippie in me, bit of a pacifist, but I've read both of your guys' posts before, and I think you BOTH know how to grow great herb, this argument seems to over correct wordings...
crab or oyster can alter your ph, I don't have much problems using crab meal ( I haven't used oyster) but I only use a small amount, I prefer to use it instead of dolomite because of the trace minerals etc.
It's not worth it guys, we should save the arguments....
I bet if you two smoked a fattie, all would be just fine in minutes

 

[Schwagstock]

I'm surprised you didn't attack him for something he didn't say.. And it seems you were in the wrong twice hmmmm.

again I never once said anything about liming yet you kept on going back to it. And yet were wrong.

@Schwagstock. Thank for clearing that up. Some people have to argue for the sake of arguing.

HaHa I think everyone can admit we've all at one point or another smoked so much that we act a tad crazy, or even forget to cite something, or even are just so stoned that we say what we truly feel or think we remember as correct but it ends up just being as hazy as the bud you smoked smelled I believe this moment everyone is having is possibly a "everyones to fucking high" to understand thus we argue in confusion cuz no one understands what anyones getting at tis true though u both keep it dank

 

[Nullis]

Oyster shell flour is predominately calcium carbonate, just like egg shells, and it cotains virtually no magnesium. Dolomitic limestone has something like 6-12% magnesium.

Ca, Mg and K are 'base cations', simply put they are the most prevalent and exchangable cations in the soil. Good base cation saturation will counteract acidity and these cations tend to associate with oxides and carbonates, which increase alkalinity. Crab meal sources tend to contain from 15-25% calcium, and K is also a base cation.

I would use both crab meal and dolomitic limestone.

With teas, especially the bacterially dominated type, the pH is always going to raise over time no matter what you put in it. Most bacteria produce an alkaline bio-slime.

 

[NyQuilkush318]

Oyster shell flour is predominately calcium carbonate, just like egg shells, and it cotains virtually no magnesium. Dolomitic limestone has something like 6-12% magnesium.

Ca, Mg and K are 'base cations', simply put they are the most prevalent and exchangable cations in the soil. Good base cation saturation will counteract acidity and these cations tend to associate with oxides and carbonates, which increase alkalinity. Crab meal sources tend to contain from 15-25% calcium, and K is also a base cation.

I would use both crab meal and dolomitic limestone.

With teas, especially the bacterially dominated type, the pH is always going to raise over time no matter what you put in it. Most bacteria produce an alkaline bio-slime.

Hey bro i use limestone to oyster shell to raise my ph up in soil an it worked great

 

[NyQuilkush318]

[QUO="Pattahabi, post: 10598425, member: 682510"]Thanks schwag! I appreciate the information. While the article does say that calcium does not take part in the buffering, it does say calcium carbonate ensures a very high soil buffering capacity. If I am not mistaken, crab meal is a source of calcium carbonate:



Certainly love to discuss things like this with people that are willing to site sources and have an intellegent conversation.

Much respect,
P-[/QUOTE]
Bro would it be best to break the lime stone up to rock dust or just leve it hold as a stone in ur soil

 

[Pattahabi]

Bro would it be best to break the lime stone up to rock dust or just leve it hold as a stone in ur soil

Definitely more surface area is going to make it easier to break down. While crab meal will act as a pH buffer, a powdered oyster shell would do a better job. I agree with Nullis, I use both crab shell and oyster shell in all of my mixes. Plain dolomite lime can work, but the amount of Mg is out of balance. If I were to use lime, it would be calcitic or agriculteral lime, and really I would use oyster shell and crab meal over lime anyday.

 

[NyQuilkush318]

Definitely more surface area is going to make it easier to break down. While crab meal will act as a pH buffer, a powdered oyster shell would do a better job. I agree with Nullis, I use both crab shell and oyster shell in all of my mixes. Plain dolomite lime can work, but the amount of Mg is out of balance. If I were to use lime, it would be calcitic or agriculteral lime, and really I would use oyster shell and crab meal over lime anyday.

The shells

 

[NyQuilkush318]

[QUOT"NyQuilkush318, post: 10606860, member: 845790"]The shells[/QUOTE]
I use lime an limestone an oyster shell soil ph is a bitch

 

[Nullis]

Definitely more surface area is going to make it easier to break down. While crab meal will act as a pH buffer, a powdered oyster shell would do a better job. I agree with Nullis, I use both crab shell and oyster shell in all of my mixes. Plain dolomite lime can work, but the amount of Mg is out of balance. If I were to use lime, it would be calcitic or agriculteral lime, and really I would use oyster shell and crab meal over lime anyday.

Dolomitic lime isn't out of balance or anything, although magnesium contents will vary. Dolomite lime is a limestone with roughly equal parts, or something like 54% calcium carbonate to 46% magnesium carbonate (~22% Ca : 11% Mg). Pure dolomite is relatively rare, though.

For example, this stuff that we use on the garden is labeled "Calcitic\Dolomitic". So, according to the label there is minimum 30% Ca, and 3% Mg or 10:1. Even if that were higher, I am not sure the ratio of Ca\Mg in applied materials or even ultimately in the soil matters substantially as long as they are both present.
Check this out: http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/support/library/ff/Ca_Mg_ratio.htm

Note the CaCO3 equivalency or CCE is 95%. The provided Ca\Mg carbonate values apparently account for 87% of that, perhaps a tad more, while the remainder must be from oxides or potentially other mineral carbonates/oxides. The other "impurities" could be other mineral substances with no liming effect, or even hydration.

CCE is basically a standard for the purpose of comparing liming materials, to aid in determining the amout of a particular material to apply. The CCE of a material compares it to pure (100%) calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Different liming materials are more/less able to neutralize acids, e.g. pure magnesium carbonate is a tad more effective at 118% CCE.

I don't use crab meal directly, although it is in soil\compost that I sometimes buy. But, I did a little research and I was able to find a CCE for a pure crab shell meal (43.9%), then I found a paper on a method for processing the shells for chitin and other materials that confirmed ~41% CaCO3 is typical for crab shell.

So yes, ground crab shell could be up to about 44% as effective as the same amount of a (near) pure CaCO3. The only other thing I can think of you would have to consider is the partical size of the crab meal, which might not be as finely ground as lime and thus really not quite as effective.

 

[Pattahabi]

Dolomitic lime isn't out of balance or anything, although magnesium contents will vary. Dolomite lime is a limestone with roughly equal parts, or something like 54% calcium carbonate to 46% magnesium carbonate (~22% Ca : 11% Mg). Pure dolomite is relatively rare, though.

For example, this stuff that we use on the garden is labeled "Calcitic\Dolomitic". View attachment 3180387So, according to the label there is minimum 30% Ca, and 3% Mg or 10:1. Even if that were higher, I am not sure the ratio of Ca\Mg in applied materials or even ultimately in the soil matters substantially as long as they are both present.
Check this out: http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/support/library/ff/Ca_Mg_ratio.htm

Note the CaCO3 equivalency or CCE is 95%. The provided Ca\Mg carbonate values apparently account for 87% of that, perhaps a tad more, while the remainder must be from oxides or potentially other mineral carbonates/oxides. The other "impurities" could be other mineral substances with no liming effect, or even hydration.

CCE is basically a standard for the purpose of comparing liming materials, to aid in determining the amout of a particular material to apply. The CCE of a material compares it to pure (100%) calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Different liming materials are more/less able to neutralize acids, e.g. pure magnesium carbonate is a tad more effective at 118% CCE.

I don't use crab meal directly, although it is in soil\compost that I sometimes buy. But, I did a little research and I was able to find a CCE for a pure crab shell meal (43.9%), then I found a paper on a method for processing the shells for chitin and other materials that confirmed ~41% CaCO3 is typical for crab shell.

So yes, ground crab shell could be up to about 44% as effective as the same amount of a (near) pure CaCO3. The only other thing I can think of you would have to consider is the partical size of the crab meal, which might not be as finely ground as lime and thus really not quite as effective.

I agree with everything except the first sentence. Dolomite has a 2:1 calcium magnesium ratio. Where as Calcitic lime has a 6:1 ratio. Now, I'm not one who really cares a whole lot about that because I have very high cec soil. But what I was saying is, make sure you are not using straight dolomite lime. I do not shop lime products, so I can't tell you how many are a blend and how much is pure. EWC and quite a bit of organic matter is already going to be high in Ca and Mg. My fear is people are getting crazy with the dolomite lime for pH buffering and 'magnesium hungry' strains. Seems like a carryover from the hydrostore bro science to organics. I use some rock dust, oyster shell, a little crab meal, and call it a day. Imo these amendments bring more to the plate then dolomite lime. Of course there are 100 ways to skin a cat. This is just the method I use.

Here’s the deal on liming agents.

Calcium Carbonate Amendments

These are the 3 major forms of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)


Limestone – (this is what chemical reps refer to as Agricultural Lime) and will usually have a Calcium Carbonate level between 83 – 95% depending on which specific mine the product is coming out of. Limestone (Agricultural Lime) will also have a small amount of Magnesium (Mg) – about 3 – 5% depending again on which mine is the source

Calcitic Lime – this is pure Calcium Carbonate – usually around 95% and contains no traceable amount of Magnesium

Oyster Shell Powder – another pure form of Calcium Carbonate. This product is NOT from oyster shells from Happy Hour at Red Lobster. This is a specific product that is mined in the San Francisco Bay and has been since the 1920′s. This is the product most often used by poultry producers, worm operations, etc. It carries a label showing 96% Calcium Carbonate
When figuring the amount of actual Calcium (Ca) when using the carbonate limes, take the total amount and multiply by 38.5% and that will (approximately) give you the actual Calcium levels.

Dolomite Lime – Calcium Magnesium Carbonate contains elemental Calcium (not Calcium Carbonate) so the numbers on the product will reflect the actual Calcium levels. The Magnesium Carbonate component is tightly bound to the elemental Calcium resulting in a much longer time period required for the Calcium to become available.

Gypsum – Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate contains both Sulfur Oxide and elemental Calcium. When broken down by microbes the sulfur releases Hydrogen (H) which will lower the pH (if necessary) and also contains Calcium which can raise the pH (again if necessary) – see Base Saturation and CeC

A typical liming agent used by organic farmers is something like this:
2x Calcium Carbonate
1x Dolomite Lime
1x Gypsum

Mix and add at the same rate if you were using a single agent.

At HomeDepot last night I looked at their products in the nursery section.
Soil Sweet – Dolomite Lime and it was less than $6.00 for 25 lbs.

Super Sweet – Limestone at around the same price

Gypsum – $8.95 for 50 lbs.

Choose your poison.

Peace!
P-

 

[NyQuilkush318]

Can your soil ph be at 6.9QUOTE="Schwagstock, post: 10598466, member: 873848"]You are correst, crab meal contains calcium carbonate (and most crabs in general) Often eat a delicacy sand which is comprised mostly of calcium carbonate, thus making the amount of carbonate within them extremely high based from there diet..

I too enjoy partaking in intelligent conversations..and kinda remember getting the old huge ass hounding from the teachers back in the day about always citing the work, they brainwashed me kinda hard...:/
It should be noted I really wanted to post a picture of some harvard professors smoking pipes in the 50's with drinks in hand having conversation with it saying I to enjoy having intelligent conversations...(But I dont know how the fuck these people do it, and I probably would waste too much valuable life on it..[/QUOTE]
C

 

[Nullis]

AFAIK there are few pure sources of dolomite lime on the market. Agricultural or garden lime is virtually all calcitic or dolomitic. Dolomitic is distinguished from dolomite, it does not contain as much Magnesium and the analysis I presented is typical of a dolomitic lime: not out of balance at all, 12% MgCO3, 3% Mg (10:1 Ca:Mg).

But that begs the question, what would the 'correct' ratio be? And what about the total ratio of Ca to Mg in the soil itself? Since we'd have to consider everything else in the mix. According to my resarch, though, it really doesn't matter so much.

In the mid-1980's the University of Wisconsin conducted research into the effect of Ca/Mg ratio on alfalfa growth. They found that while the Ca/Mg ratio in the plant tended to reflect the soil Ca/Mg ratio, the plant content of these nutrients was affected much less and in no case did the soil or plant ratio affect yield. In this work the plant Ca and Mg contents were never below the respective critical levels for each nutrient, even though the soil Ca/Mg ratios ranged from 2.28/1 to 8.44/1. They concluded that, assuming there are adequate levels of Ca and Mg present in the soil, variations in the Ca/Mg ratio over the range 2 to 8 have no effect on yield.

In 1999 the University of Missouri, Delta Research Center published the results of an investigation into the effects of soil Ca/Mg ratio on cotton. They amended plots with gypsum or epsom salts to create soil Ca/Mg ratios between 3.8/1 and 11.7/1. They found that cotton yields were not significantly different between treatments.

McLean, et al in Ohio, could find no specific cation ratios that predicted sufficiency or shortages of K, Mg, or Ca in several crops (Table 1). Notice that for all crops the Ca/Mg ratios of both the high and low yielding groups have essentially the same ranges. There is no trend or bias in the relationships between the Ca/Mg ratio and the relative yields of any crop. This indicates that the soil Ca/Mg ratio had little or no effect on yield and the researchers concluded the same.

From: http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/support/library/ff/Ca_Mg_ratio.htm

The information in the following quote isn't strictly correct. Most notably, the descriptor "elemental" is used incorrectly.

Dolomite Lime – Calcium Magnesium Carbonate contains elemental Calcium (not Calcium Carbonate) so the numbers on the product will reflect the actual Calcium levels. The Magnesium Carbonate component is tightly bound to the elemental Calcium resulting in a much longer time period required for the Calcium to become available.

Gypsum – Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate contains both Sulfur Oxide and elemental Calcium. When broken down by microbes the sulfur releases Hydrogen (H) which will lower the pH (if necessary) and also contains Calcium which can raise the pH (again if necessary)

Dolomite lime does not contain "elemental" Calcium, neither does Gypsum (which is hydrated calcium sulfate or CaSO4·2H2O, period.) That is not how gypsum works, and in fact gypsum itself is not a good liming agent (it is typically used to add Ca to soils that already have a high pH).

In chemistry when something is "elemental" that means it is in its most basic, most naturally stable form. Elemental oxygen is diatomic O2 (an oxygen double bonded to an oxygen) while Ozone is another (triatomic) elemental allotrope of Oxygen (O3). Elemental Chlorine is most typically diatomic Chlorine gas Cl2, elemental Hydrogen is H2 (Hydrogen gas) while elemental Sulfur is more typically octatomic S8 (8 atoms of Sulfur each single-bonded in cyclic conformation). S2 is very rare, since S=S [double] bonds aren't strong like O=O bonds are. The most stable elemental S8 occurs as orthorhombic crystals.

Dolomite as a mineral is usually expressed CaMg(CO3)2, or (CaMg)(CO3)2 and referred to as calcium magnesium carbonate. It does not contain elemental Calcium 'tightly bound' to anything. As a matter of fact, elemental Calcium does not exist in the natural world. Dolomite is actually referred to as a double carbonate salt. The crystal lattice structure is trigonal-rhombohedral, just like calcite, except that the Calcium and Magnesium ions are alternating in the lattice. Sometimes instead of a magneisum ion there is an iron or magnanese here or there, giving the material a different color.

Coot was wrong, unfortunately, and that wouldn't have been the first time.

 

[Pattahabi]

AFAIK there are few pure sources of dolomite lime on the market. Agricultural or garden lime is virtually all calcitic or dolomitic. Dolomitic is distinguished from dolomite, it does not contain as much Magnesium and the analysis I presented is typical of a dolomitic lime: not out of balance at all, 12% MgCO3, 3% Mg (10:1 Ca:Mg).

But that begs the question, what would the 'correct' ratio be? And what about the total ratio of Ca to Mg in the soil itself? Since we'd have to consider everything else in the mix. According to my resarch, though, it really doesn't matter so much.


The information in the following quote isn't strictly correct. Most notably, the descriptor "elemental" is used incorrectly.

Dolomite lime does not contain "elemental" Calcium, neither does Gypsum (which is hydrated calcium sulfate or CaSO4·2H2O, period.) That is not how gypsum works, and in fact gypsum itself is not a good liming agent (it is typically used to add Ca to soils that already have a high pH).

In chemistry when something is "elemental" that means it is in its most basic, most naturally stable form. Elemental oxygen is diatomic O2 (an oxygen double bonded to an oxygen) while Ozone is another (triatomic) elemental allotrope of Oxygen (O3). Elemental Chlorine is most typically diatomic Chlorine gas Cl2, elemental Hydrogen is H2 (Hydrogen gas) while elemental Sulfur is more typically octatomic S8 (8 atoms of Sulfur each single-bonded in cyclic conformation). S2 is very rare, since S=S [double] bonds aren't strong like O=O bonds are. The most stable elemental S8 occurs as orthorhombic crystals.

Dolomite as a mineral is usually expressed CaMg(CO3)2, or (CaMg)(CO3)2 and referred to as calcium magnesium carbonate. It does not contain elemental Calcium 'tightly bound' to anything. As a matter of fact, elemental Calcium does not exist in the natural world. Dolomite is actually referred to as a double carbonate salt. The crystal lattice structure is trigonal-rhombohedral, just like calcite, except that the Calcium and Magnesium ions are alternating in the lattice. Sometimes instead of a magneisum ion there is an iron or magnanese here or there, giving the material a different color.

Coot was wrong, unfortunately, and that wouldn't have been the first time.

You are correct, it is very dependent upon what is already in the mix, which comes back to the first question of why you would be adding lime to your mix in the first place?

I'll leave the exact chemistry terminology up to people that know better then I. And as I said before, I'd use some rock dust, oyster shell, a little crab meal, and call it a day. Imo these amendments bring more to the plate then dolomite lime. Of course there are 100 ways to skin a cat. This is just the method I use.

P-

 

[st0wandgrow]

AFAIK there are few pure sources of dolomite lime on the market. Agricultural or garden lime is virtually all calcitic or dolomitic. Dolomitic is distinguished from dolomite, it does not contain as much Magnesium and the analysis I presented is typical of a dolomitic lime: not out of balance at all, 12% MgCO3, 3% Mg (10:1 Ca:Mg).

But that begs the question, what would the 'correct' ratio be? And what about the total ratio of Ca to Mg in the soil itself? Since we'd have to consider everything else in the mix. According to my resarch, though, it really doesn't matter so much.


The information in the following quote isn't strictly correct. Most notably, the descriptor "elemental" is used incorrectly.

Dolomite lime does not contain "elemental" Calcium, neither does Gypsum (which is hydrated calcium sulfate or CaSO4·2H2O, period.) That is not how gypsum works, and in fact gypsum itself is not a good liming agent (it is typically used to add Ca to soils that already have a high pH).

In chemistry when something is "elemental" that means it is in its most basic, most naturally stable form. Elemental oxygen is diatomic O2 (an oxygen double bonded to an oxygen) while Ozone is another (triatomic) elemental allotrope of Oxygen (O3). Elemental Chlorine is most typically diatomic Chlorine gas Cl2, elemental Hydrogen is H2 (Hydrogen gas) while elemental Sulfur is more typically octatomic S8 (8 atoms of Sulfur each single-bonded in cyclic conformation). S2 is very rare, since S=S [double] bonds aren't strong like O=O bonds are. The most stable elemental S8 occurs as orthorhombic crystals.

Dolomite as a mineral is usually expressed CaMg(CO3)2, or (CaMg)(CO3)2 and referred to as calcium magnesium carbonate. It does not contain elemental Calcium 'tightly bound' to anything. As a matter of fact, elemental Calcium does not exist in the natural world. Dolomite is actually referred to as a double carbonate salt. The crystal lattice structure is trigonal-rhombohedral, just like calcite, except that the Calcium and Magnesium ions are alternating in the lattice. Sometimes instead of a magneisum ion there is an iron or magnanese here or there, giving the material a different color.

Coot was wrong, unfortunately, and that wouldn't have been the first time.

Jesus H Nullis. You know your chemistry! I take it you have a degree in the field??