Soil pH for Bahia

[jsm]

Hello,
I am hoping someone can help me with a soil pH question. I have about 12 acres I want to disk and seed in bahia next spring. I took a soil sample and the pH came back at 5.2. The soil is a sandy loam.

Is this too acidic for bahia? The soil sample report listed a liming requirement of 1ton/acre. However, I don't want to make it too alkaline, since I have read bahia likes a more acidic soil.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Thanks,
Joseph

[JSCATTLE]

5.5 to 6 is the recomended ph . If you did a soil sample and it said 1 ton then I'd put 1 ton .

[Caustic Burno]

I have found my bahia thrives in 6.0 to 6.5, when the ph fall's below 6, I see thining and weed growth in those areas.
Now know this planting Bahia seed today you are not going to have pasture tommorrow. Bahia seed can lay dormaint for year's if condition's are not right, secondly make sure you buy acid washed seed.
For our area I would plant a 50/50 mix of Bahia and Common bermuda. The bermuda will jump cover the ground and make for great grazing until the bahia take's it over.

[dun]

If you put down on the form that went with the sample that you're going to plant bahia then the recomendations are for that. If you put down something else, i.e. corn, fescue, whatever then the recommndation is for that.

[JSCATTLE]

I have found my bahia thrives in 6.0 to 6.5, when the ph fall's below 6, I see thining and weed growth in those areas.
Now know this planting Bahia seed today you are not going to have pasture tommorrow. Bahia seed can lay dormaint for year's if condition's are not right, secondly make sure you buy acid washed seed.
For our area I would plant a 50/50 mix of Bahia and Common bermuda. The bermuda will jump cover the ground and make for great grazing until the bahia take's it over.

That's what I normally do if I'm spreading seed . It seems to work well and the Bahia will take over in a couple years ..

[jsm]

All,
Thank you for the replies. The idea of mixing in some common bermuda seed sounds like a good plan. I do have a question about the lime application.

Would it be best to go ahead and apply now? Or wait until the fall? This would be for a spring planting.

Also, is there any specific lime I should ask for? What do most companies typically offer? Just reading some stuff on the internet, it seems there are mutliple different kinds with different CCE ratings and such.

Thanks in advance!

Joseph

[jsm]

All,
Thank you for the replies. I am going to follow the suggestion of planting a 50/50 mix of common bermuda and bahia. That makes alot of sense.

Thanks,
Joseph

[dun]

The ton per acre is for a specified CCE.

[jsm]

Thanks. I talked to a couple of places that apply lime and one of them told me their CCE rating was something like 101 or 102, so that nearly exactly matches the 100 rating that was specified on the soil sample report. I think they should be able to just apply with no CCE adjustment.

Thanks again to everyone for their help!

Joseph

[Caustic Burno]

Thanks. I talked to a couple of places that apply lime and one of them told me their CCE rating was something like 101 or 102, so that nearly exactly matches the 100 rating that was specified on the soil sample report. I think they should be able to just apply with no CCE adjustment.

Thanks again to everyone for their help!

Joseph

Where are you at as I am sure JSC or I could aim you in the right direction.
If you don't want to post it on an internet chat board pm one of us.

[dun]

I forgot to address the timing of putting down the lime. Lime takes sometime before it starts doing any good, I would put it down now and give the soil sometime to get adjusted before I seeded in the apring. It also depends on how you're going to seed. You don;t want to work the soil much after you put the lime down or you stand a chance of the lime being below the root zone.

[jsm]

Dun. Thanks. As for the method I was going to use for putting the seed down next spring, I was going to disk 2 times, drag it with some old telephone poles, broadcast the seed (maybe with some sand or cottonseed hull), then drag something like an old piece of chainlink fence over it to cover the seed.

Would I be OK to lime it now, letting it leach until next spring, then do my disking?

Thanks,
Joseph

[hooknline]

No need to disk, wakes up too many weed seeds. Lime this fall, put seed down next spring, pull a harrow across it, then roll it to make good soil contact.
Then pray for rain

[B&M Farms]

Its okay to lime it now and don't wait any longer than 6 months prior to seeding. As stated earlier, if you disc the field, be prepared to spray weeds until the grass has time to choke them out.

[jsm]

All, thanks for the replies. I think I will go ahead and get my lime put down now, so it will be ready for planting next spring.