When a soil test makes a recommendation for lime, say, for example, 50 lbs per 1000 square feet, how deep are they assuming you are digging/tilling/plowing it in?
If you “double dig” should you double the dose? Since lime doesn’t really “move down” the soil profile much…
The rate would be the same.
Either surface application , or in the plow layer.
In fact it does move down and accumulates in lower layers.
Here ,the layer below the plow line has a higher ph than the plow layer.
I would want to keep new applications in the top several inches
What soil type do you have? My topsoil is loamy, about 12” deep. Subsoil is sandy.
Mostly heavy clay
You could double dig or double the rate and it probably won’t matter. You’ll still be in an area that works. And I think if just a few inches of soil have a favorable pH then the plant will be able to extract the needed nutrients from that zone. With notill farming systems the lime isn’t incorporated but it still does it’s job.
It does, but does it account for soils who have a natural ph damn near the aluminum toxicity threshold like mine? Mine is in the upper 4’s…
The recommendation does account for your current pH. If it makes you feel better apply double and dig it in deep. I think you’ll be fine doing that. In a soil that acidic it will soon drift back to where it is now. You won’t have excessively high pH anywhere for very long.
I need to apply 20 pounds of lime per 100 sq ft to raise PH in my new garden plot. The soil test recommendation tells me to split it to 4 applications over winter/spring. I am trying to figure out why I need to split it and if I can decrease the time between applications by turning the soil after each one (we are having still workable weather and I prefer to do more preparations now than in busy spring). I only found one explanation online - not to shock the soil. But no explanation, what it means from chemistry or biology perspective. Can somebody explain this to me?
Another liming question. I am planting honeyberries next spring and liming their future home where PH is 5.3. The bushes will be growing in 5’ wide rows with 2’ paths between rows. Do I need to lime paths? I do not expect the roots there, but will low PH on the paths affect PH of the the rows overtime?
If it’s ag lime, finely ground limestone, then there’s no need for a split application. Farmers apply several tons per acre as needed in one application. It helps if it can be incorporated into the soil.
If they are talking the quick lime then maybe split would be better.
Use limestone if possible.
It won’t matter. Do whichever you like.
I wish I had that problem.
I have grown corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and peanuts on my farm over the years. It was a moldboard plow farm, then a strip till farm and now a no till farm. Liming requirements haven’t changed much at all with the different soil tillage types. The top 6 to 8 inches pretty much needed the same regular rates every 3 years or so to keep the ph in the range needed.
Lime sown on ground that stays frozen most of winter may take a year to change the ph fully as dissolving and moving deeper in the soil changes in frozen conditions. Generally fall applied lime will be at the right point by 6 months if you have to add a lot to low ph soils.
You would not want to put over 3 tons of lime on top of the ground at once. You have rain run off moving lime away. But most importantly all that calcium changes the structure of the soil leaving a drier zone where the concentrated lime is.
The only lime available for me now is pelleted lime for lawns from hd. I need to do two more applications , can I do them both at once? Last one was few days ago before rain.
Compute the tons / acre.
I looked at that and think it is limestone. In that case, I’d say that it’s safe to apply all at once. Even if it were hydrated lime, this time of year it would probably be safe.
I see you are from Worcester. Got to Lowes there and get Soil Doctor Pulverized Garden Lime in 40 pound bag for $4.38 according to their website they have 84 in stock. You don’t want hydrated and pelletized is never as effective as finely powdered. A 2 cup Pyrex measure hold 1.8lbs of that Garden Lime. Sprinkle it out so it lightly covers the ground. If you are planting a tree, then mix that 2 cups in a hole 2 foot wide by 18 inch deep. That will work out around a ton per acre.
Tractor Supply carries this one:
Thank you, all!
In case anyone is curious what lime cost on an agricultural operation, last month I paid $55 a ton plus $15 an acre to have a truck spread 70 acres. Depending on the soil test I usually get 3/4 to 1 ton spread about every three years to keep my sandy loam around 6.2 ph for corn and soybeans.
The lime is crushed dolomitic lime which is high in magnesium. Pellitized is too expensive and pulverized is impossible to sling out in a spreader.