Freakin lime!!??!!

   / Freakin lime!!??!! #1  

hunt4570

Super Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2015
Messages
5,845
Location
South Carolina
Tractor
Grand L3540 ,724 loader, bucket, grapple and now forks also! And just for OP.. a pool!
So I had about 7 acres cleared out of my pine woods to turn into my own private hunting field, trying to set it up for turkey, deer, and quail. Just got my soil test back and it recommends 4700 pounds per acre of lime!! Holy camoly!!!!! Thats right at 33,000 pounds or 16 1/2 tons of lime... I have no budget for that!

Any suggestions? don't want to just blow it off as my seeds wont grow well,not sure what to do with it at this point... dang!
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #2  
Have you checked with your local Southern States or other fertilizer/lime dealers to see what they are charging for custom spreading?

I would be inclined to have the lime custom spread at the recommended rate on a portion of the acreage this year. You could then have additional acreage limed next fall as your budget permits. Once you get the pH up, it shouldn't require that much lime for maintenance.

Steve
 
Last edited:
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #3  
fyi.. while not as potent as hi-cal lime.. a dumptruck usually holds 18 tons of limerock.. just sayin...

And it ain't that spendy to get a truck full dumped if you have a way to spread.
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!!
  • Thread Starter
#4  
fyi.. while not as potent as hi-cal lime.. a dumptruck usually holds 18 tons of limerock.. just sayin...

And it ain't that spendy to get a truck full dumped if you have a way to spread.

Interesting thought... is it of a size that could be spread? I suppose I could doll some out using my loader then disc it or something.. AND... would it be absorbed by the soil to be used for its end result?
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #5  
Granual size depends on the crusher who is making it. We use crushed limerock to stabilize roads and make subgrade/finish grade. it can be anywhere from acorn to peanut to rock flour in size... usually a combination of the larger grains with pulverized rock making it kind of like bagged concrete with aggregate. again.. depends on the crusher in your area.

(Limestone) Limerock ( what we call it around here ) is mostly calcite and aragonite, both of which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

Lime rock is even added to animal feed stuffs.
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #6  
you would be wasting your time and money trying to spread it with your loader. Most fertilizer places will rent you a spreader, Truck it in and dump it , use a rented equip to spread it
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #7  
That's just their recommendation based on what you told them you wanted to grow. Since the animals already live and eat what grows in your soil, it might be better to figure out what those plants are and then search out other types of plants that the animals enjoy eating that will do well in your soil. You can add a little bit of lime and get some decent results, but remember, the lime you spread this year will not do anything to what you plant this year, it will take at least 6 months to leach into the soil. I like to lime and fertilize in the spring. This allows the rains to break it down and mix it into the soil for fall planting.
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #8  
I just pulled a MSDS from a bag of hi-cal lime I found on the internet. 96% CaCO3

( Austonville limestone pro cal pelletized lime bags )

so there ya go. :)
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #9  
That's only about 2.5 tons per acre. Around here lime is spread for about $25/ ton. Would recommend at least going with the 2 tons. Here's an article on lime quality http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr106/agr106.pdf and how it's measured. Spreading with a loader would be pretty difficult. Find a dealer that spreads or rent the equipment. Problem is lime equipment is big. Made to hold several tons. So may require 75+hp to pull safely.
 
   / Freakin lime!!??!! #10  
I worked for a fertilizer dealer and we spread thousands of tons of lime every year.

I would suggest you contact a local fertilizer dealer and try to get them to spread it for you. Renting equipment to spread lime is usually not an option. Lime can not be spread with regular fertilizer spreading equipment.

I bet your soil pH is about 5.4 to 5.7 or so. Adding the suggested amount should give you a much better food plot. And, if you add the suggested amount this year, you should not have to add again for 3 to 4 years.

I always recommend adding lime at any time of year that you can get it done, because, as EddieWalker mentioned, it takes some time to react with the soil to change the pH, but it does last a long time.

One other thing, adding more fertilizer to compensate for low pH is somewhat a waste of money, because at low pH, some of the fertilizer is just not available to the plants, no matter how much you put.
 
 
Top