Thread: Anyone Familiar With This Stuff?

I had some that was used during the floods as a disinfectant i think..

Poon cow probably translates as white cement, so it is probably lime based.

Mrs says boon cow is gypsum.
Could be anthrax though.

Originally Posted by Necron99

Mrs says boon cow is gypsum.
Could be anthrax though.

Anthrax!

I think this Poon or Boon Cow label is a generic thing. Whether or not it's Lime, Gypsum or whatever, it's supposed to good for the yard. We'll see. The dogs have already started to chew on the bags!

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Lime, Gypsum or whatever

Yep, it alkalises the soil, and also helps keep it loose. Generally good stuff, unless you've already got alkaline soil.
^ mildly so, because of it's alkalinity. Try not to handle it with bare hands, unless you like cracked dry palms.

Boon Mee will be fine. The puppies, though, might not be too happy if their eyes/nose are full of it.

Thanks, boys!

I moved the stack of bags to a higher location. These two month old Bangkaew pups are into everything.

Looks like 50kg of coke.
Nice.

Uses of gypsum

Gypsum is used in a wide variety of applications:

Gypsum board is primarily used as a finish for walls and ceilings, and is known in construction as drywall or plasterboard.
Plaster ingredient (surgical splints, casting moulds, modeling)
Fertilizer and soil conditioner: In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Nova Scotia gypsum, often referred to as plaster, was a highly sought fertilizer for wheat fields in the United States. It is also used in ameliorating high sodium soils.
A binder in fast-dry tennis court clay
As alabaster, a material for sculpture, especially in the ancient world before steel was developed, when its relative softness made it much easier to carve than stone with available tools.
A wood substitute in the ancient world: For example, when wood became scarce due to deforestation on Bronze Age Crete, gypsum was employed in building construction at locations where wood was previously used.
A tofu (soy bean curd) coagulant, making it ultimately a major source of dietary calcium, especially in Asian cultures which traditionally use few dairy products
Adding hardness to water used for homebrewing
A component of Portland cement used to prevent flash setting of concrete
Soil/water potential monitoring (soil moisture tension)
A common ingredient in making mead
In the medieval period, it was mixed, by scribes and illuminators, with lead carbonate (powdered white lead) to make gesso, which was applied to illuminated letters and gilded with gold in illuminated manuscripts.
In foot creams, shampoos and many other hair products
A medicinal agent in traditional Chinese medicine called shi gao
Impression plasters in dentistry

Is this stuff gypsum or lime powder?

If it's boon khao, it's hydrated lime - in the past, I've bought it and used it myself. Gypsum in Thai is yipsam (ยิปซั่ม).

Dictionary says bpoon kao is lime.
Missus says its the same stuff kids use in school to make plaster, which would tend to make it gypsum, but the thai word for that is Fon Dtao Hoo.
So lime.
My missus rarely knows what the fuck she is talking about.

Originally Posted by Necron99

Dictionary says bpoon kao is lime.
Missus says its the same stuff kids use in school to make plaster, which would tend to make it gypsum, but the thai word for that is Fon Dtao Hoo.
So lime.
My missus rarely knows what the fuck she is talking about.

Thanks, man!

Rub some on your gum before you go chucking all that over the lawn

Originally Posted by Necron99

Dictionary says bpoon kao is lime.

My handy dandy dictionary says the same .... ปูนขาว (Bpoon Khao). Lime.

According to my wife you should mix this with the soil, it keeps the snakes and some insects away.

^
In progress as we speak.

Thanks to all who have responded.

Declined the suggestion of rubbing a bit on my gum though!

Oh well, legends had lime used for a quick decomposing of corpses

And all the time the burning lime
Eats flesh and bone away
It eats the brittle bone by night
And the soft flesh by day
It eats the flesh and bones by turns
But it eats the heart away

The Ballard of Reading Gaol – Oscar Wilde 1898