IrishJig

We have one plot with ph of 4.83 and would like to get it up to 6.5. How much lime will we need? I seem to remeber the lime required increases exponentially as ph increases--is this right? Thanks for the help.

RonM

probably need a ton to the acre, should suffice

PILOT

Irishjig Id say you would probably need atleast 3 1/2 to 4 tons to the acre as my soil test report recently recommended ranges from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 tons to the acre with a ph ranging from 5.2 to 5.6. Id say definitely wait until fall or next spring for food plot planting to give the lime a chance to begin working.

IrishJig

Pilot, what type soil do you have in your area--I understand that makes a difference in the amount of lime needed. In central Florida our soil is mostly sandy.

wigmap

Spring 2002 we planted 5 acres. Our soil test said we had a ph of 4.9 and called for 3 tons of lime per acre. We applied 15 tons of agricultural lime through the use of large lime truck which simply drives over the plot and spreads it. Depends on how big your plot is if you need to do this. AG lime works much faster than pellet lime. We tested our ph again in November 2003 which was about 6 months after we applied it and our ph was up to 6.5. Hope that helps.

PILOT

Wow wigmap that shot right up pretty quickly is your soil pretty light and sandy? Ph levels can change faster in light sandy soils verses clay soil. The down side is it will not maintain the higher PH as long as the heavier soil will. My understanding is that aglime actually takes longer to react with the soil than liquid or pelleted lime will as they are ground to a much finer consistency. Irish jig you could always call a lab in your area and explain your situation and they would probably make a recommendation. Florida soil is alot different than IN soil as you know. How big is your plot and is it accessible to a lime truck?

IrishJig

Pilot, we have about 8 acres to do and there is no problem getting a spreader truck to the locations. Although our local Ag office did the soil tests for us, they haven' t been very helpful determining exactly how much lime we need. Based on what I have seen and heard, 2 1/2 - 3 tons per acre sound like the right amount. Thanks for the help all.

greg-dude

pH increases exponentially, not the amount of lime. If you had a soil test done, which is what it reads like, there should be a recomendation of amount of lime needed to adjust the soil to a certain pH. That recomendation will be pounds of active lime needed (I may not be saying this correctly). If you did not suggest a certain type of crop, they may have left the amount of lime needed blank since some plants can do well on acid soils. All lime is not created equal. Some lime from certain areas will not neutralize (or take the soil pH up) as well as lime from other areas. In my area of central MO., the lime generally will be in the neighborhood of 30% active. This means that if the recomendation is for 1 ton of active lime, I would need to apply a little over 3 tons of bulk lime to meet the recomendation.

As far as the amount of lime you need, I would go talk to a local farm coop or better yet an university extention person. Next time you get a soil test done, give them a plant type. Generally they let you recomend several types of plants. If not, I would try to find a different place for the soil test.

1sagittarius

How much lime is dependant on the buffering capacity of your soil. Some soils may only take 1 ton/acre to raise the PH 1 point. Other soils may take 5 tons/acre to move the PH up 1. A soil test report will tell you how much lime you need. It is VERY hard to put down too much lime, most hunters don' t use enough.

wigmap

Pilot,

Our soil is definately not clay, but it is not real sandy either. I would say somewhere in the middle. All I know is 3 tons per acre brought us from 4.9 to 6.5 in 6 months unless the test was incorrect and we had the test completed by our local forestry office so I would assume it is okay. My dates in the original message were spring 2002 and then i said 2003. Both dates should have been 2002.

Our plot is at about 3,000 feet above sea level and we had significant snows this year and we have had only a couple days over 70 degrees this spring. I looked at it on Sunday and it is a bright green compared to the rest of the surrounding field that is just grass. It appears that were are going to have a good plot this year. The deer are already working on it. We plan to spray with herbicide in early May to beat back any weeds and grasses. Good luck everyone.