Liquid Lime/Calcium Anybody tried it?

[Lineman North Florida]

Well it's been 10 days and I can actually say that the product has definitely greened up the field, but the big question will be answered when I cut to see if it has helped any with production/tonnage, right now the grass is growing slowly due to 40 thru 50 degree nights but that should change by the end of the week as we are supposed to hit 90 degrees by Friday. I will keep the thread updated.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Well it's been 10 days and I can actually say that the product has definitely greened up the field, but the big question will be answered when I cut to see if it has helped any with production/tonnage, right now the grass is growing slowly due to 40 thru 50 degree nights but that should change by the end of the week as we are supposed to hit 90 degrees by Friday. I will keep the thread updated. View attachment 862562

Do you see a significant difference between the treated vs untreated areas?

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Do you see a significant difference between the treated vs untreated areas?

Yes, substantial green-up , but I will have to wait to pass judgement until I bale, that will tell the tale.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Update , the verdict is still out after my first cutting as I really didn't see big gains in tonnage BUT I can't blame that on the product because I fertilized early because of the early warm weather and then it turned and we had cool nights in the 40's & 50's and a late frost so there was 4 or 5 weeks of wasted fertilize, so this second cutting will be a fair test, I will update again after that, I will say that my grass is green and seems healthier than ever, time will tell.

 

[1 Old Man]

Update , the verdict is still out after my first cutting as I really didn't see big gains in tonnage BUT I can't blame that on the product because I fertilized early because of the early warm weather and then it turned and we had cool nights in the 40's & 50's and a late frost so there was 4 or 5 weeks of wasted fertilize, so this second cutting will be a fair test, I will update again after that, I will say that my grass is green and seems healthier than ever, time will tell.

Thank you for the updates. I'm still interested....but the rain just won't stop. Ground is totally saturated and more rain predicted. My rain gauge today got 2 1/2". I'm so far behind on everything. Good luck with
your 2nd cutting!

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Thank you for the updates. I'm still interested....but the rain just won't stop. Ground is totally saturated and more rain predicted. My rain gauge today got 2 1/2". I'm so far behind on everything. Good luck with
your 2nd cutting!

No problem I will keep you updated, you know how the rain goes, seems like famine or feast but it's going to let up sooner or later.

 

[LDR812]

Lineman - thanks for the update. Speaking of rain - what impact has that had on you? It’s been dry we’re I’m at…

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Lineman - thanks for the update. Speaking of rain - what impact has that had on you? It’s been dry we’re I’m at…

We finally got some rain over a period of about a week during the second week in May, but since then we have had nothing but hay cutting weather for the past 2 weeks and it looks like this week may be the same, dry. I'm not fertilizing until things look more promising for rain, hopefully you and I both will get some much needed rain.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I wanted to update the thread, I am going to say that the product has increased my yield overall, I was averaging about 3.5 rolls per acre before applying the liquid lime and as of my last cutting I averaged 5 rolls per acre, I will update again after my next cutting to see if the results continue. Charlie.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

That's good to hear. I didn't think it would make much of a difference. Even if you have to apply it every year, it would be worth the investment.

What type of grass is the hay? Looks like it might be Coastal Bermuda???

 

[Lineman North Florida]

That's good to hear. I didn't think it would make much of a difference. Even if you have to apply it every year, it would be worth the investment.

What type of grass is the hay? Looks like it might be Coastal Bermuda???

It is Coastal Bermuda, the Alicia variety, one of my neighbors sprigged some Jiggs variety and it has come on as well. I have also been experimenting with a couple of different types of hybrid bahaia , one is Tif-Quick developed by the University of Georgia and the other is Riatta developed by the University of Florida but I can't tell any difference between them at this time, both are about waist high.

 

[1 Old Man]

Lineman N. Fla. Thanks for keeping us posted. So wet here earlier this year it screwed up
everything. Early on a break in the rain let me spray for broad leaf weeds. Then MORE rain.
I ended up "topping" my grass, waiting, and finally cut/bale in August.
I'll try the calcium/liquid treatment again next season. I've been consistently getting
3+ per ac, 5 per ac sounds a lot better! Pic this year of getting hay ready to trailer out.

Question: I had a place several years ago that had bahia. That stuff was thick, stringy and
definitely had to slow a bit when cutting. Off topic, but let us know how the hybrids do.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Lineman N. Fla. Thanks for keeping us posted. So wet here earlier this year it screwed up
everything. Early on a break in the rain let me spray for broad leaf weeds. Then MORE rain.
I ended up "topping" my grass, waiting, and finally cut/bale in August.
I'll try the calcium/liquid treatment again next season. I've been consistently getting
3+ per ac, 5 per ac sounds a lot better! Pic this year of getting hay ready to trailer out.

Question: I had a place several years ago that had bahia. That stuff was thick, stringy and
definitely had to slow a bit when cutting. Off topic, but let us know how the hybrids do.

I can tell you this much about the hybrids , if there is a patch of Argentine bahaia in the same field with it, the cows will walk thru the Tif and Riatta to eat the Argentine but I have seen that with Pensacola and Argentine, these hybrids are unmatched on density and fast growth but preference wise the Argentine is still on top. One more positive on the Bahia is that army worms won't mess with it to much, they will get in it a little but nothing like Coastal Bermuda.

 

[Williy]

We haven't had any rain for quite a while the ground is so dry that when
you step you raise a fine cloud of dust and if you had polished shoes they
would be covered in dust! I tilled our garden and when I went to plant it
was full of grass, weeds almost 10 inches high we had a nice rain over a
month ago.. Now will have to figure out what I will use to kill all this green stuff. I tilled a 6 ft path where there was no grass and planted
potatoes and some corn. My first time planting as I did all the tilling and
helped my wife any way I could but she did all the planting I don't have a
green thumb. So I water every other day as temps here are over 100 deg
every day.
I was going to plant rye grass and then till it under for fertilizer would this
be a good or bad idea?

willy

 

[Lineman North Florida]

We haven't had any rain for quite a while the ground is so dry that when
you step you raise a fine cloud of dust and if you had polished shoes they
would be covered in dust! I tilled our garden and when I went to plant it
was full of grass, weeds almost 10 inches high we had a nice rain over a
month ago.. Now will have to figure out what I will use to kill all this green stuff. I tilled a 6 ft path where there was no grass and planted
potatoes and some corn. My first time planting as I did all the tilling and
helped my wife any way I could but she did all the planting I don't have a
green thumb. So I water every other day as temps here are over 100 deg
every day.
I was going to plant rye grass and then till it under for fertilizer would this
be a good or bad idea?

willy

For a small garden I believe I would just buy a couple of bags of granular fertilizer and side dress if possible if. not I would broadcast it.

 

[RayIN]

Without recent soil testing results, save your money.

 

[Kiwibru]

Forage tests before and after would help define success too. It is all about monitoring the nutrient cycle from soil to crop to manure (assuming livestock consumption), then manure and compost (if stock manure and winter bedding is collected and composted). Without any of this data management is a guessing game.