IL Trophy Hunter

If lime is needed on my spots what is the best/easiest way to apply it on 1/2 - 1 acre plots without hiring an ag outfit with a lime spreader to do it. Most of my spots are in out of the way locations that basically a pickup is the biggest thing that can get to them.

Dan O.

Depending on what your liming rate is going to be you can use a fertilzer spreader on a tractor, a small one on an ATV or even one that fits in the truck bed.

Dan O.

IL Trophy Hunter

That sounds great however I've heard that the lime will not spread well out of spreaders such as those you mentioned. The spreader I have has an agitator in it do you believe that it will do the job?? It's a pull behind type ATV spreader.

Dan O.

I've only spread at the rate of a couple of tons per acre for small (few acres) areas. I used a 3 point hitch fertilzer spreader that held 300 kg (660 lb) per load. I had to use the mixing wheel that attaches at the bottom of the cone shaped spreader to keep the lime flowing but it served the purpose. I would suggest not spreading on a very windy day.

Dan O.

1sagittarius

IL Trophy Hunter, for lime, having the agitator inside the hopper is almost required. The finer the lime(which is good), the more it tends to cake up. The more the bottom of the spreader is cone shaped the better. Your pull behind spreader will work ok for 1 acre plots, but if it is of the rectangular type it will cake up some what on the sides and inside corners. The bumping and shaking as you go will help shake it down. The more humid the day, the more it may want to cake up in the spreader.

timbercruiser

It is a little more expensive, Wal Mart is the cheapest place I have found it, but you can use the pelleted type lime and it will spread easily in one of the 3-point hitch type of fertilizer spreaders. We use the local Farmers Co-Op trucks to spread our seed and fertilizer and you would be surprised at the places those wide tired trucks can go.

farm hunter

As messy as it can be, for an acre, you may find shoveling it off the back of a truck will be the way to go. I do not know how big your spreader is, but 2-3 ton per acre to spead can be very common. It will take a long time with a small spreader. Since liming is not an exact science, an even enough spread can be acheived with a shovel. Apply 1/2 the reccommended amount, then plow. Disc once - then apply the second 1/2 - and disc well, till the seed bed is level. If you can find a spreader that will handle over 500 lbs, then I'd go that route.

boltman

In my area (mississippi), you can get the lime spreader buggys filled with crushed lime from the co-op pretty cheaply. They are buggys that hold around #7000 of lime if filled and all you have to do is pull them behind a truck or tractor to spread the lime. The co-op rents the buggy's for around $30 per day. It's much, much cheaper than using pelletized lime. That assumes that you have a truck or tractor, and that you can get to the place you want to spread the lime with the truck or tractor while towing the buggy. I would only consider using the pellet type lime if I absolutely could not get to my plot with one of the rented lime spreaders.

lawnfarmer

If you are thinking of getting your lime and spreader from the local co-op, be sure you know what you are getting into. Last year I spread 1 ton to the acre, on three acres. Never haveing done it before I called the co-op and ordered it. When I hooked up to it there was faint laughter. I had to tow the spreader with 6500# of lime 15 miles of very hilly, winding, country road. It was the hardest I've ever worked my 3/4ton Chevy PU. Took almost 1 1/2 hours to get it to the field. Lost my sanity several times. My wifes fingerprints are still in the dashboard. The seat cleaned up o.k. though. Next time I will only haul 3000# and make 2 trips if necessary. The fertilizer and spreader was a piece of cake. Farming is sometimes quite an adventure. terry<img src=icon_smile_clown.gif border=0 align=middle>

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lunchbucket

If your tractor has a PTO you would be wise to get a lime mule for about $35.00 - $65.00 for the the first buggy full and about $30.00 for the next buggies.

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