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| Hi all. I'm confused. I had my soil tested at a local garden center and they told me my soil had a pH of 5. They suggested I buy 40 pounds of pelletized lime per 1000 square feet. I asked them if this would harm the new grass seeds I just planted and are currently growing and I also put out some starter fertilizer. They said it would not harm my new grass. In addition, and this is the part I'm questioning most, is that they recommended lawns in my area be limed every year.
I have been reading up on this all day so I'm know what I'm doing before spreading the lime. I read that over-liming is bad ( which I assumed would be based on my knowledge of pH in reef aquariums ). I was told that there is a lot of chirt in my soil so maybe that is how I can get by with using lime once a year? I live in northwest GA and a lot of soil has plenty of clay content. Just need some more advice before I destroy my soil. Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| If you need lime and you have not gotten a detail soil test to determine what other soil amendments you may need then only apply calcitic lime. Do not apply Dolomite Lime (which is what they are probably trying to sell you). A detail soil analysis will include calcium and magnesium levels. Dolomite Lime has magnesium in it and too much magnesium is bad for your soil. Calcitic lime has no magnesium in it. |
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- Posted by northwestGAHomeOwner none (My Page) on Tue, Oct 4, 11 at 20:38
| I think it is Dolomite because the bag says it contains Magnesium and Calcium. It only say 'lawn lime' on the front though. I bought one of those soil test kits that will test pH, N, P, and K too but I guess I'll have to find my local extension and send off a sample :D Thanks for the input! |
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| If you do have a pH of 5 then you do need to raise that. Lime takes many months to affect the change so do not think it will happen overnight. You can apply it later this fall/winter if you like. I found Pennington Fast Acting Lime, which is calcitic, to be a good choice. It cost more but you do not need to use as much compared to Dolomite. If you do eventually find that you need some magnesium then Dolomite would be okay. Also, you always want to spread out the lime and fertilizer applications by a few weeks. You end up losing some of the N when applying them together. |
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