Could Alternative Ice Melt Products Be GOOD for Plants?
We probably shouldn’t just come out and call these alternatives ‘good’ because all these things are in their chloride form. But there are some intriguing possibilities. Calcium chloride, for instance. Calcium’s an essential plant nutrient-often lacking in our soils and fertilizers. And, like lime (calcium carbonate), it might lower the pH of our naturally acidic soils a bit, which is good. (Except for azaleas, rhododendrons and other acid-loving plants, of course-use something else near them.) And potassium chloride-potassium (“K”) is one of the big three plant foods that make up the NPK scale-the Dow Jones of Horticulture! And even magnesium is a plant nutrient, although in much smaller amounts than the first two. Now, again-we’re talking about these minerals in the form of a chloride-thank of chlorine here. But there is the tantalizing possibility that small amounts of runoff could have some benefit. Oh, and rock salt is death on a stick to plants. Did I mention that yet? Whatever yo
