Q: Have you any thoughts on digging used kitty litter (without the solids) through the garden? I've been doing this for a while and it seems to improve water retention. Marg - Runcorn
A: The kitty litter that you mix in with the soil actually breaks down into 'compost' ... So that is really what you are doing ... composting your soil, and compost assists in water retention.
Just be a wee bit careful though, and don't put too much of it around a single plant.
What can happen if you do that is that raw litter, raw saw dust, raw (fresh) grass clippings etc. draw nitrogen FROM the soil in the process of breaking down into compost.
The bacteria and other microscopic beasties in the soil require nitrogen whilst decomposing raw material, and they get it from the soil. If too much of the raw kitty litter etc. is dug into the soil around just one particular plant most of the nitrogen in the soil at that point gets used up in the decomposing process at the expense of the plant.
The plant can turn yellow due to a lack of nitrogen, and even die in severe situations. This phenomenon is referred to as 'Nitrogen drawdown'.
If you are spreading the kitty litter around fairly thinly ... There will not be a problem, as the 'nitrogen drawdown' is then not pronounced. It is because of 'nitrogen drawdown' that material must be composted BEFORE it is dug into the soil.
