Can I lime after I planted?

[SD51555]

Hey team,

I'm heading out to the property this weekend. Now that I understand my soil PH and the buffer, I want to put down some lime to get that process going. I did a spray and pray over the 4th of july of radish and rye.

Can I/should I broadcast lime now? Would it hurt anything now? I'm hoping we'll get rain between now and then to wash the dust off the new plants.

 

[bueller]

It depends on the type of lime and how you intend to spread it. If you are using lime pellets and don't mind driving or walking over your plot while using a broadcast spreader you can do it. I use the shovel and throw method with a trailer full of ag lime and then drag the plot to spread it around afterwards. I would not do this on a plot that is growing.

IMO, if your plot is looking good I would wait to lime. If your plot is poor looking then go for it.

 

[SD51555]

I like that answer, and a very good point. I don't know what it looks like yet. I'm gonna pick up 3 bags of pell lime just in case. My plot is 1/6th of an acre, so that should give me a 900 lbs/A rate. If it looks good, I'll use it on the other spray and pray we're doing this weekend.

My initial thought is to use my over the shoulder seed spreader to put it down. Haven't taken it outta the box yet, but that's the current idea.

 

[wiscwhip]

The lime will have little too no effect this year if not incorporated.

It will have even less affect sitting in the bags. SD, get as much pell lime down this weekend as you can afford to take with you and have time to spread on as much area as you can cover. It still takes plenty of time to react even when it is incorporated. Do not wait, if you wait to spread it next year you will get the same scenario as MoBuck stated above, "That lime isn't going to do much to help you anymore this year." And the cycle goes on and on. You can take that advice with a grain of salt if you like, but it is coming from someone who started out with ph in the high 4's, and it took us 10 years of lime just about every spring to get that number into the low 6's on our sand.

 

[tooln]

I'd say better late than never. It may not help this year but will for next.

 

[wiscwhip]

I'm sorry MoBuck, I did not intend for it come across that way at all, although it does sound a bit like that. I was just trying to point out that waiting benefits no one while putting it on will at least get the process started, whether it is incorporated or not.

 

[sandbur]

I don't recall saying he should not put it down.

By all means, he just should not expect any increase in PH for a few years.

I have not done the testing, Mo...but I will put my foot in my mouth....

I suspect that pel lime can have an affect on pH when spring melt occurs if you have the lime down and it is level ground. I t might only be the very top part of the soil profile, but some of the clovers with shallow roots could benefit.

pel lime now and nor rain will not help until it rains, or MAYBE as the snow melts.

And I guess I might add, this is on light porous soil with good drainage.

Right or wrong?

 

[SD51555]

I appreciate the feedback guys. I'm not concerned at all with benefits from this year. I'm kicking myself I didn't lime right away. While I was struggling to understand the relationship between PH and buffer PH, my soil wonk told me not to worry about it. When I realized I had a favorable buffer, I didn't realize that I still had quite acidic soil. My concern was whether or not getting my existing plot forage covered in pell lime dust would hurt it or the favor-ability to the deer.

I just got up here, and from the sounds of it, it doesn't look good. Prolly not enough pray in the plan. I'll check it out tomorrow, and if it looks like a bust so far, we may try to burn it off and then lightly reseed. I picked up my 150lbs, so we'll start at a rate of 900 lbs/A and retest again mid summer 2015 when we terminate (if we have something to terminate) and put in the fall plot. I want to keep an eye on that PH and my nitrogen levels.

I got 100lbs of nitrogen/A down via AMS and want to see how well we do uptaking that into plant tissues and putting back down via quick decomposers like the radish, and slower like the rye. From there I hope to keep a legume in the rotation to eliminate the need for more N application.

We'll see....

 

[foggy]

I can not say right or wrong for any soil other than what I have worked with. But fertilizer transfer when not worked in the ground is very minimal on my ground for the first year or two. Put your fertilizer in the ground and it will break down to become usable a lot faster.

One thing I have done is give the new land I start with everything (fertilizer wise) possible financially according to the soil test. It makes working with the ground so much easier too deal with. By having your PH in check as soon as possible you will save money on fertilizer costs and it will make weed killing so much easier. JMO

I've put down allot of lime....have a very good PH currently.....and don't have too big of issue with weeds. I dont understand your last point above: "and it will make week killing so much easier". Enlighten me how this works??

 

[foggy]

Some Pre-Emergent herbicides, (Triazines) are more readily available the higher the PH.

OK....probably if I used 'em. ;) More to learn.