Prelude8626
Member
all. Quick questions regarding line help. My soil sample called for 800 pounds of ag lime for my 1/4 plots. If using pelletized lime how much should I use?
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Pelletized lime help
- Thread starter Prelude8626
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Prelude8626
Member
5.3 on both plots.
I a,ways put down the same amount of pelletized as is required of ag lime. I have heard you can use less but it would just be slightly less...
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X-farmerdan
Well-Known Member
We beat this question to death over and over. The simple rule of thumb is, and I don't want to start a long discussion/argument, 800 lbs of ag lime is 800 lbs of pellitized lime. Pellets are just ag lime with some binder to hold the small particles together.
Prelude8626
Member
then that is the plan! With the pelletized will I need to redo it every year?
THE LLC
Well-Known Member
No different than regular ag lime. Mine lasts about five years on my sandy loam.
Jason Broom
Well-Known Member
That depends on the actual particulate size of the pelletized lime you apply, and the soil it is being applied to. On my beach sand properties in northern Michigan, I top-dress lime and know that it will move through the top 6" of "soil" very quickly, regardless of particulate size. On heavy clay soils, which are common in Georgia, it can take much longer for lime to get down to the level where roots benefit from it, unless you incorporate it properly.
All lime has been ground to a certain size, whether it is bulk ag lime or a form that is pelletized for convenience in spreading without heavy equipment. Most folks presume pelletized lime has been ground very fine, but that is not always the case. Some pelletized lime is no finer than most of the ag lime you can get. What's worse is that almost all ag lime is ground to a known particulate size, but a lot of the pelletized lime is not labeled sufficiently, so you just don't know.
Another very important thing to look at it is your current calcium to magnesium ratio in your soil. This will help you determine whether or not to apply a calcitic lime or a dolomitic lime. Both have more calcium than magnesium, but dolomitic lime has more Mg than calcitic lime, helping bring these two nutrients into balance. This will go a long way toward improving not just the pH in your soil, but the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), which is the true measure of how well your ground will grow stuff.
MarkDarvin
Well-Known Member
Big part of that will depend on what you do each year. I've held some white clover on target for 6 years with one lime application, and that is on a soil with a 7.5 CEC. It got a good dose of P, K, and lime when I planted it. Since then, it's only gotten an annual application of gypsum. I tested that soil last summer to see if my pH had fallen outta range, and it's still a 6.4.
For me, it's probably time to do a little lime maintenance just to bump that back up, but the house isn't on fire. Now, if you come in with annual shots of acidifying phosphorus and nitrogen, you will probably hasten your pH drop. That's not necessarily bad either if you're working on tightening up your soil.
