Lime For My Lawn

robertc65

I was told that since my soil is acidic I should apply a generous amount of Lime with a spreader to increase the PH. My question is, a friend who thought he was doing me a favor unloaded 20 bags of Barn-Grip Lime Stone on me recently when cleaning out an old barn. It says on the bags Lime Stone so he thought it was what I needed. Seems to me that this stuff is to keep your cows and such from falling down in the slop. I don't have cows, horses or even a chicken for that matter so am I just stuck with a lifetime supply of barn-Grip or can I use this on my lawn. It's basically a gray powder. The stuff I saw at Home Depot is pelitized. Worst case I'll put it in baggies and sell it on ebay as SuperBowl dust.

Rob

Peladu

It may be good stuff, but first you have to tell me, what does it taste like?

dougchips

Pellets are good but the powder is more fun when it is windy out!

Gordo

The powder activates quicker. My yard loves the power with magnesium fortification.

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robertc65

I'll give it a taste tonight and let you know if i like it. I'll snort it to to see if I catch a buzz. So this barn-grip stuff if really just Lime stone ground into a powder. There's not something else in there that will kill my grass is there.

Gordo

Test an inconspicuious area with a little.

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Terrence

You don't "fruit" the beer as a man,
and likewise, you don't "fruit" the lawn.

rjordan392

Check the lime bags to see what kind it is. There are three kinds of lime. The safest one's to use are calcite, which is crystallize calcium carbonate and the other is dolomite which is calcium magnesium carbonate. The third type called slaked or hydrated lime should be handled only by professionals who know how to use it. All three types will burn the lawn if misused but the hydrated lime is not as forgiven. If you are not a professional, I would not use it. The rule of thumb for application is 50 lbs per 1000 square feet. This represents 5% of the area. If your calculations call for more lime to raise the pH, then add more at 6 month intervals.

Gordo

That hydrated stuff is the bomb. I put it on in the rain. Next day, the grass turned a deep green.

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robertc65

Are you saying that Lime is never a good idea?

Rob

robertc65

I never would have guessed, but it tastes like chicken.

Rob

robertc65

I just called Thomasville Lime and Stone Company the makers of Barn-Grip and was informed that it's OK to use on your lawn but it will take longer to breakdown. Thanks for all the comments here.

Rob

ccld

Try only a small area very sparingly = if ya just gotta try something or anythang. BUT my suggestion is to get a soil test first and on the results, usually a indication of what composites are either too high or too low and what the ideal for your soil should be. From there you can ask your local master gardener at nursery what you can use to get the desired results. Hope this helped you = AK

mdvaden

There is also a fast break-down pellet kind called Calpril or "Cal-pril" - something like that spelling.

If you have dense clay soil, lime can also chemically aggregate the soil and improve it's soil structure. Meaning that it can be fine to apply a bit more than needed for mere pH adjustment alone.

That was in my college textbooks, and confirmed by the instructor, and the department head of another college's horticulture program too.

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