Freakin lime!!??!!

[hunt4570]

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!

 

[smstonypoint]

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

 

[Soundguy]

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.

 

[hunt4570]

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?

 

[Soundguy]

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.

 

[bucktaker]

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

 

[EddieWalker]

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.

 

[Soundguy]

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.

 

[farmer2009]

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.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

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.

 

[Soundguy]

depends on what lime he gets.. peletized is different from powder is different from crushed limestone.

Where I live, an extension agent will rent equipment to spread ( or plant trees, or cut fire brakes via trailing plow ), very very cheaply or free.

might check. If you can get the spreader free, and have a loader to load it and a tractor to pull it.. then a load of crushed limerock will undoubtedly be your cheapest route.

 

[MMagis]

If you’re planning a food plot, particularly one that you carve out of a bunch of pines, lime should be the very first thing on your budget list. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. There’s no getting away from it, and if you try to skip it you’ll be very disappointed in the effort and money you’ve spent so far. 2.5 tons/acre isn’t all that bad, but a lot of work by hand. Talk to the local co-op and see about renting their buggy. You can ask about having it spread too, around here it costs about $30-$40/acre. Not bad for only 7 acres, though it adds up quick if you have a lot of ground to do.

 

[Will_C]

Definitely try to see if a local business would spread it for you. If they can access the plot, the cost isn't that bad. If that isn't possible, just spread what you can afford to and what you are capable of- I have been adding a 1000 lbs an acre a year to my plots, using bagged lime and a shovel.

Will

 

[Soggy Bottom Outdoors]

I'm with farmer2009 2.35 tons per acre is common on the red clay of KY and I have gone as high as 5 ton. I had 40 acres done in 2013 at $16 per ton lime/spreading. It may be hard to get someone to do just a 7 acre job. None of the fertilizer plants in my area have "buggies" that will spread "ag lime" or crushed limestone rock. They are for fertilizer, don't even try it. Now for plan "B", most fertilizer plants carry or can get "bulk" pelleted lime. This will spread in a "buggy" or most 3 point hitch spreaders if you got bagged "pell lime"(dont let it get wet). About 500lbs per acre is a common recomendation, about $200 a ton. Needs to be done every year.

 

[crackerjack222]

I am going to take a different tack.... What will the lime do for your pine trees. My experience is that pines like an acidic soil. Will raising the ph damage the pines?

 

[Soundguy]

Try a spreader truck, roller chain and spinner.. Will need well sorted and evenly crushed but not powdered limestone . Most places that do tack, prime and asphalt will have a spreader truck ( to put out sand over temp prime )

 

[japody]

I'm with farmer2009 2.35 tons per acre is common on the red clay of KY and I have gone as high as 5 ton. I had 40 acres done in 2013 at $16 per ton lime/spreading. It may be hard to get someone to do just a 7 acre job. None of the fertilizer plants in my area have "buggies" that will spread "ag lime" or crushed limestone rock. They are for fertilizer, don't even try it. Now for plan "B", most fertilizer plants carry or can get "bulk" pelleted lime. This will spread in a "buggy" or most 3 point hitch spreaders if you got bagged "pell lime"(dont let it get wet). About 500lbs per acre is a common recomendation, about $200 a ton. Needs to be done every year.

Wow. You gets are getting by cheaply. We paid $44/ton last fall. That's the going rate around here.

 

[AaronS]

Wow. You gets are getting by cheaply. We paid $44/ton last fall. That's the going rate around here.

Very dependent on how far or close you are to a quarry. My hunting property is about 10 miles from a quarry and there is a local independent tri-axle driver that will deliver and dump a load of ag lime at the farm for $225 (roughly $10 per ton). The challenge for me is finding someone to spread it.

 

[hunt4570]

My problem right now is finding a supplier/spreader guy. Just like building contractors here.... there are none!

Still searching!

 

[farmer2009]

South Carolina should have enough farm ground to have lime spreaders. A farm store would know who to call. Here we have guy's that that's all they do is spread lime. But there business is full enough they don't advertise. They are just known.

If you can't find any after the combines start rolling take a drive and look for the cloud of dust. Or stop and ask a farmer. You may find they own one and would be interested or at least willing.