How Much Lime to Apply
You’ve read about all the advantages of liming soil for both agricultural uses and for gardens and lawns. You tested the pH levels of your soil and saw that it is too acidic and you’re ready to apply limestone to get it back to a more balanced level. But how much limestone do you need? Can you put too much lime on your lawn or field? When figuring out how much limestone you need, there are several things to consider.
Important Factors for Calculating How Much Limestone You’ll Need
The first thing you should do is measure the current pH level of your soil. If you plan to apply lime to your yard or garden, a do-it-yourself pH test from a hardware store will do the trick. If you’re treating several acres of fields, having the soil professionally tested may be helpful. You should also know what pH level your soil should be — a level between 6.0 and 7.0.
The size of the area to be limed is another important factor. You may be liming many acres of farmland or a very small patch of garden. The size of the area will help determine which form of limestone to use. You can use either powdered or pelletized limestone. The two forms work the same, except that pelletized limestone is powdered lime mixed with an binder to form pellets, and is typically cleaner and lest dusty to handle.
The texture of your soil is one last thing to consider. The denser the soil, the more lime you will need. The amount of limestone you use will depend on three basic soil types: sand, loam and clay.
Once you have determined these factors, you can calculate an estimate of the amount of lime you’ll need.
How to Calculate the Amount of Lime to Use
If you have your soil testing professional conducted you can refer to their liming recommendations based on the results to know how much to apply to your area.
If you are calculating the amount of lime for a large area, you will determine how much lime to use per acre of land. If you need to lime a small area, you can calculate the amount of lime per square foot.
You’re probably liming a large area, unless you wish to treat a very small garden plot. Use pelletized lime for large applications because it is easier to work with. Here, is the approximate lawn lime application rate, how much limestone you’ll need to raise 1.0 pH level for every 1,000 square feet for the different soil types:
- Sand: 25 pounds
- Loam: 75 pounds
- Clay: 100 pounds
These amounts can vary pending other factors in the soil.
This may seem like a complicated process, but liming your fields, lawn or garden will improve the quality of the plants that grow there.
Baker Lime aims to educate all interested parties about the benefits of liming and to provide the highest-quality products, no matter how you use them. For more information about limestone or to request a quote, contact us today.
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