(Not) Working in Lime

[Stocker Steve]

It appears that the ph on my improved pastures drops about 0.1 per year. I know some folks top dress 1 ton of lime per acre periodically even though the ag experts recommend working it in. I assume the worms and the rain will move lime around eventually...

Have you seen a benefit from using finely ground lime as a top dress?

 

[dun]

In a pastue there is no wya to work the lime in without destroying/distrurbing the existing plants. We put the lime on and watch the soil samples. The ph will improve for several years then gradually start to decline. When it gets around 5.7-5.8 we reapply lime. Commercail fertilizers will lower the ph so even if all else stays the same, if you apply commercial fertilzer it will shorten the timeframe that the lime is effective.

 

[Jogeephus]

Ditto.

 

[Stocker Steve]

In a pastue there is no wya to work the lime in without destroying/distrurbing the existing plants. We put the lime on and watch the soil samples. The ph will improve for several years then gradually start to decline. When it gets around 5.7-5.8 we reapply lime.

How deep to you go with the soil test probe?

How much of a response to you see from top dressing lime?

 

[hurleyjd]

I have been liming for the last two years according to the soil test. On Tifton 85 this spring it showed the need for 1.5 tons to the acre. I had two tons spread. I have not had the resources to afford the high priced fertilizer. I have noticed that the grass is thicker and pretty good. I baled about 2500 lbs of hay to the acre yesterday. Tried to beat Gustav and I did. Somewhere in the past month or so someone posted a chart on liming that showed that at the low end of the PH the grass could only use about a third of the fertilizer as you moved up the PH scale to 7 the grass could use 100 precent of the fertilizer that was available are applied. This has been on pasture and I have seen good results with it. Liming to correct the PH is in my opinion more cost effective than feritlizering. My soil samples are from the first 8 inchs of the soil, the lime is spread on the pasture. I do not remember the particle size of the lime but the smaller the better. I like to use a lime that comes from Georgetown Texas, therefore we call it Georgetown lime. It is a light brown in color. The other lime that is available comes from Oklahoma and is gray and does not have the effect that the Georgetown has. Oklahoma is a little cheaper. The last I had spread was Georgetown an it cost was $48 a ton spread. Also with any legumes that you would want to plant will require a PH in the 6.5 to 7 range to utilize their full pontential. I have been kicking around buying one of the 12 foot Gandy spreaders and buying the lime and spreading it myself. I think that the Gandy is around $3000 now.

 

[Earl Thigpen]

I have been liming for the last two years according to the soil test. On Tifton 85 this spring it showed the need for 1.5 tons to the acre. I had two tons spread. I have not had the resources to afford the high priced fertilizer. I have noticed that the grass is thicker and pretty good. I baled about 2500 lbs of hay to the acre yesterday. Tried to beat Gustav and I did. Somewhere in the past month or so someone posted a chart on liming that showed that at the low end of the PH the grass could only use about a third of the fertilizer as you moved up the PH scale to 7 the grass could use 100 precent of the fertilizer that was available are applied. This has been on pasture and I have seen good results with it. Liming to correct the PH is in my opinion more cost effective than feritlizering. My soil samples are from the first 8 inchs of the soil, the lime is spread on the pasture. I do not remember the particle size of the lime but the smaller the better. I like to use a lime that comes from Georgetown Texas, therefore we call it Georgetown lime. It is a light brown in color. The other lime that is available comes from Oklahoma and is gray and does not have the effect that the Georgetown has. Oklahoma is a little cheaper. The last I had spread was Georgetown an it cost was $48 a ton spread. Also with any legumes that you would want to plant will require a PH in the 6.5 to 7 range to utilize their full pontential. I have been kicking around buying one of the 12 foot Gandy spreaders and buying the lime and spreading it myself. I think that the Gandy is around $3000 now.

Not real sure about the numbers, JD but I think you're right. Last time I tried to fertilize I was told that only about a third of the fertilizer would be used by the plant because my soil was so acidtic(sp). Last time I bought lime it was a lot cheaper than yours at $24/ton spread. It also came from Georgetown.

I need to put more lime out now. I put out 52 tons (two truck loads) on 35 acres of coastal two years ago and probably need to do it again soon. I'm hoping that with the second application of lime it ought to bring me back to neutral for a couple of years.

 

[TSR]

I have been liming for the last two years according to the soil test. On Tifton 85 this spring it showed the need for 1.5 tons to the acre. I had two tons spread. I have not had the resources to afford the high priced fertilizer. I have noticed that the grass is thicker and pretty good. I baled about 2500 lbs of hay to the acre yesterday. Tried to beat Gustav and I did. Somewhere in the past month or so someone posted a chart on liming that showed that at the low end of the PH the grass could only use about a third of the fertilizer as you moved up the PH scale to 7 the grass could use 100 precent of the fertilizer that was available are applied. This has been on pasture and I have seen good results with it. Liming to correct the PH is in my opinion more cost effective than feritlizering. My soil samples are from the first 8 inchs of the soil, the lime is spread on the pasture. I do not remember the particle size of the lime but the smaller the better. I like to use a lime that comes from Georgetown Texas, therefore we call it Georgetown lime. It is a light brown in color. The other lime that is available comes from Oklahoma and is gray and does not have the effect that the Georgetown has. Oklahoma is a little cheaper. The last I had spread was Georgetown an it cost was $48 a ton spread. Also with any legumes that you would want to plant will require a PH in the 6.5 to 7 range to utilize their full pontential. I have been kicking around buying one of the 12 foot Gandy spreaders and buying the lime and spreading it myself. I think that the Gandy is around $3000 now.

Not real sure about the numbers, JD but I think you're right. Last time I tried to fertilize I was told that only about a third of the fertilizer would be used by the plant because my soil was so acidtic(sp). Last time I bought lime it was a lot cheaper than yours at $24/ton spread. It also came from Georgetown.

I need to put more lime out now. I put out 52 tons (two truck loads) on 35 acres of coastal two years ago and probably need to do it again soon. I'm hoping that with the second application of lime it ought to bring me back to neutral for a couple of years.

Golly I just had some spread this past Saturday-the 30th. The cost was $25.75/ton spread here in TN. I though that it was a pretty good deal.

 

[Nowland Farms]

I had 2 tons per acre applied on my fields about 6 weeks ago. Part of my soil samples called for 1.5 tons and the other called for 1.75 tons. Due to the distance I paid $34 per ton spread but that is the going rate here with the fuel cost.

Here is a link I posted earlier this summer which shows the importance of making sure the PH is right for what you are trying to grow.

http://www.modernforage.com/Planting_Soil_Fertility.html

 

[BC]

I do not remember the particle size of the lime but the smaller the better. I like to use a lime that comes from Georgetown Texas, therefore we call it Georgetown lime. It is a light brown in color. The other lime that is available comes from Oklahoma and is gray and does not have the effect that the Georgetown has. Oklahoma is a little cheaper. The last I had spread was Georgetown an it cost was $48 a ton spread. Also with any legumes that you would want to plant will require a PH in the 6.5 to 7 range to utilize their full pontential.

The quality of limestone sold in Texas is quite variable. In simpler terms, all limestone
is just limestone. For the most part agricultural limestone is a by-product from the manufacture
of cement, road base material, calcium oxide or other similar goods.
The quality of limestone is most often measured by two factors. The first factor is the
Neutralizing Value (NV) which is also known as the Calcium Carbonate Equivalent (CCE). This
figure is achieved by mixing the limestone with a known amount of acid and then calculating
how much of the acid is neutralized by the limestone. The laboratories call this a titration
procedure. Pure calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is used as the standard with a Neutralizing Value of
100%. Some liming materials may contain significant amount of magnesium carbonate (MgCO3)
which can cause them to have a Neutralizing Value greater than 100%.
The second factor that determines limestone quality is particle size. Generally, the finer
the particles, the more efficient or reactive the limestone is. Particle size is measured by mesh or
sieve sizes, the larger the mesh number the smaller the particle size. Mesh size is the number of
openings per inch. A 60-mesh screen has much smaller openings than an 8-mesh screen. This is
what makes the difference between regular limestone and Super Fine limestone. The Super Fine
has much smaller particles size and therefore goes to work much faster.
There are some efficiency ratings depending on the fineness of particle size. The fineness
efficiency is multiplied by the Neutralizing Value to produce a single number which rates the
efficiency of limestone. That number is called the Effective Calcium Carbonate Equivalent
(ECCE). This is the number to look and ask for when purchasing limestone.
The ECCE makes it possible to to compare different qualities of limestone to dtermine
which is the best buy for the money.

 

[dun]

The soil test results in MO for lime requirements have ENM/A (effective neutralizing material) per acre.
From the U of MO Extension:
To determine the amount of lime needed in tons per acre, divide the ENM value by the ENM guaranteed by your ag lime dealer. If the soil test ENM requirement is 1,395 pounds per acre and lime quarry guarantees 400 pounds ENM per ton of limestone, then you need 3.48 tons of limestone per acre (1,395 ÷ 400 = 3.48).