Soil Doctor: Pulverized Garden Lime Benefits and Usage Guidelines

Soil acidity can reduce crop production by directly affecting roots and changing the availability of essential nutrients and toxic elements.

When it comes to your lawn, the ideal soil pH level is slightly acidic to neutral, between 5.8 and 7.0.

Acidic soils, commonly found in areas with heavy rainfall or high levels of organic matter, can hinder nutrient uptake and lead to poor grass health.

Lime, sometimes called garden lime or limestone, can be applied to the soil to help increase the soil pH and make those nutrients more available.

Test Before Adding Lime.

Before you add any lime into your yard, make sure that you submit a soil sample to your local county extension service for testing.

The soil report you will receive from them will tell you how much lime needs to be added to your soil-something an at-home soil pH test from your local garden center can't do.

The amount of lime needed to correct the soil pH will depend on your soil type (how much sand and/or clay is present in the soil).

Why Add Lime?

When the soil pH becomes too acidic, though, certain nutrients needed for proper growth-such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium-become unavailable to the lawn, so the grass is unable to grow properly.

Lime treatment helps neutralize the acidity, bringing the pH back to a more balanced state.

What Type of Lime to Buy.

Limestone can be derived from either calcitic lime or dolomitic lime.

Calcitic lime is the preferred type, thanks to the added plant benefits provided by the calcium.

There are several types of calcitic lime products available, including agricultural ground limestone, pulverized limestone, and pelletized limestone.

While both pulverized and pelletized limestone will change the pH of the soil relatively quickly, pelletized limestone is the easiest to apply.

Pulverized limestone is also very dusty.

Pelletized lime comes into contact with fewer soil particles than finely ground lime; as a result, soil pH changes are slower with the pellets.

For example, Pelletized lime is convenient for homeowners because it's less dusty and easier to spread, but it is more expensive than powdered lime.

Hydrated lime is the powdered kind and reacts faster than ground limestone.

Hydrated Lime: Also known as slaked lime, hydrated lime reacts faster than ground limestone.

Pel-lime (granular lime) is finely ground lime material compressed into pellets or granules to reduce dust associated with very fine particle size.

Pellets dissolve in water and the particles quickly disperse and neutralize soil acidity.

The pellets move more slowly than finely ground lime, so soil pH changes can be slower.

Other types of lime include hydrated lime (the powdered kind) and ag lime.

The same effects.

Exactly how much lime to apply is shown on your soil test report as pounds of pure calcium carbonate to raise pH, but liming materials are not pure calcium carbonate.

Look for the "calcium carbonate equivalent" on your lime product's bag label, which will vary depending on the liming material.

How to Apply Lime.

Lime should only be applied to a dry lawn, and never to a lawn that is dormant, wilted, or stressed.

Limestone is most effective at changing the soil pH when it is mixed in with the top 5 inches of soil, which means it's easier to adjust your soil's pH before planting grass seed or laying sod than it is to add it to an established lawn.

Once you've applied lime to correct your soil's pH, chances are you will not have to re-lime for several years.

Before adding lime to an established lawn, aerate the lawn with a core aerator to open up space for the lime to move into the soil.

Next, using a drop or rotary spreader (never lay down lime by hand), apply the limestone to your lawn.

If you don't have a spreader, check out the Scotts® Turf Builder® EdgeGuard® Mini Broadcast Spreader for smaller yards, or the Scotts® Elite Spreader for larger yards.

Apply half while walking over your lawn in one direction, then apply the other half in a direction that is perpendicular to your first.

This will ensure that every part of your lawn is covered with lime.

According to a University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service publication, if your soil test results call for less than 50 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet, it can be applied in a single application, either in the spring or fall.

If you need between 50 and 100 pounds of lime, apply half in the spring and half in the fall.

If you need to add more than 100 pounds of lime, apply 50 pounds in the spring, 50 pounds in the fall, then retest the following spring and add more lime if needed until you reach the desired soil pH.

Never add more than 50 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet in a single application.

After you've applied the lime, immediately water your lawn to rinse any extra lime off the grass blades to prevent leaf burn.

When to Add Lime to a Lawn.

Lime can take several months after application to break down and change your soil pH.

A good time to test your lawn's pH and adjust it (if needed) is when your soil begins to warm in the spring.

Lime can also be applied in the fall. The benefit of adding lime to your soil in fall is that both the freeze-thaw cycles and the abundant rain and snow common during the fall and winter months will help break down the lime and start raising the soil's pH.

Lime should never be applied to a lawn that is stressed or dormant, so don't apply lime during summer or winter.

Maintaining Your Lawn's pH.

Allow the lime to work for several months, then have your soil professionally tested again.

Going forward, check your soil every 1 to 2 years to see if it is becoming too acidic.

Maintaining a lush, green lawn often goes beyond regular mowing, fertilizing, and watering. The health of your soil plays a crucial role in the overall vitality of your grass.

One of the most effective ways to enhance soil quality and ensure your lawn thrives is through lime treatment.

Lime treatment involves the application of lime (calcium carbonate or dolomitic lime) to your soil.

Acidic soils can hinder nutrient uptake, making lime a natural method to adjust pH and improve growth conditions.

Understanding how lime works into the soil helps you understand its effectiveness.

Initial Reaction: Once applied, lime begins dissolving slowly when it comes into contact with moisture.

Neutralization of Acidity: As lime dissolves, it reacts with acidic components in the soil, such as hydrogen and aluminum ions.

Integration into Soil Layers: Lime doesn't just stay on the surface after application; it moves down into deeper soil layers with the help of water and soil organisms.

Time Frame: The speed at which lime works depends on several factors, including the type of lime, soil texture, and climatic conditions.

Generally, the full effect of lime treatment can take several months.

To ensure success, lime recommendations consider depth of incorporation; often the top 7 inches are targeted for pH adjustment.

Incorporating lime in no-till systems can be challenging since the lime moves slowly and interacts primarily with the surface layer.

Soil texture and depth of incorporation influence lime effectiveness, with deeper incorporation requiring higher rates or longer times for full effect.

Table IV. Adjustment of lime rates for different depths of incorporation.

Table I. Examples of approximate lime required to raise the pH of soils of different textural classes.

Table II. Rate adjustment for ECCE different than 60 percent.

Table III. Neutralization values for various liming materials and their fineness factors influence effectiveness.

Table IV. Depth of incorporation affects lime rate adjustments in practice.

Effective calcium carbonate equivalent (ECCE) is the measure of the effectiveness of liming materials and is calculated as the product of the purity value (CCE) and the fineness value divided by 100.

The neutralizing value, or CCE, is the amount of acid on a weight basis that a given quantity of lime will neutralize when dissolved.

The soil-test report will indicate which lime should be used, and a magnesium fertilizer could be used instead of dolomitic lime if magnesium is needed.

Other benefits of lime treatment include enhanced nutrient uptake, improved root development, strengthened plant defenses, and increased soil microbial activity.

Different soil types require specific considerations when applying lime, with sandy soils benefiting from improved nutrient retention and clay soils from improved structure and reduced compaction.

Table I. Range of soil pH. Most field crops perform best at a soil pH between 6.0 and 6.8.

These ranges provide the best balance of available nutrients, though optimum pH can differ by crop and region.

When soil pH is too low, minerals such as molybdenum and others can become less available, and aluminum toxicity can limit root growth.

Soil pH and Ac value are often used together to calculate lime applications, especially in North Carolina where Ac measures exchangeable acidity.

Stratification of pH can occur, particularly in no-till sandy soils where long-term ammonium-based fertilizers have been used.

A single deep tillage pass may be needed to alleviate a deep acidity layer and improve lime effectiveness in such cases.

Before applying lime, it is important to understand the differences between various types of lime: calcitic lime, dolomitic lime, pelletized lime, hydrated lime, and liquid lime.

Each type has different implications for calcium and magnesium supply, application rate, dust, and speed of action.

In summary, lime treatment is a simple, natural method to balance soil pH, improve nutrient availability, promote robust root growth, and support resilient turf and crops when applied based on soil tests and site conditions.

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