Use of lime, and how long it takes to correct pH?

alright so I've ran into a little issue. I was planning on going in the ground this year, and correcting any pH imbalances with lime. Well I found last week, the area im looking at is littered with wild onions, which turns out they favor acidic soil low in organic material. Not so good for cannabis. Well after a little reading Im hearing lime should be applied in the fall to ensure it has a full effect, as its very slow releasing. Im looking at Espoma garden lime now, just worried the lime won't correct the pH in time for planting. The espoma lime is pellitized, which i believe is faster acting. I want to get them in the ground by the beginning of june, If I can get lime worked into the soil within the next 2 weeks, will it be enough time to take effect? I have to figure the exact ph yet, but I know the lower it is, the longer it may take to correct. If needed I can have the plants in containers for awhile until the lime has worked. But anywhere from 5-8 weeks, should that be long enough to correct it? Id like to avoid them being in containers any longer than the beginning of july if possible

Those pellets are not good IMO. More like slow release...

You want powdered lime, like baby powder consistency.

And this will be fast acting, cheap and easy to use.

Some people even make a liquid lime slurry to water in for fast results.

But also, don't assume anything about your soil, get a simple test before you put out as much lime as you THINK you will need.

Rising Moon said:

Those pellets are not good IMO. More like slow release...

You want powdered lime, like baby powder consistency.

And this will be fast acting, cheap and easy to use.

Some people even make a liquid lime slurry to water in for fast results.

But also, don't assume anything about your soil, get a simple test before you put out as much lime as you THINK you will need.

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I know I need to find out the exact ph , but the soil has to be acidic, to what degree idk. I plan to find that all out, Just dont want to dig and prep holes, only to find out the pH is still very low in the soil when I'm ready to plant. So Im looking for pulverized limestone, correct? And with having smaller particles would the pH correction last 4-5 months?

Get powered dolomite if im not mistaken it a 5 lb bag for 50ft mix it in the land really good water after and let it compostGet 7.0 bufferd lime mj liked soil p.h between 6.5 -7.0the cant go wrong it shouldnt matter really wat ur ph is its not going over 7 but as far as how long i would say u might have to reapply it if u do the whole veg season right before flower but I'll water with it then

Lime pellets are made from calcitic and/or dolomitic lime and a binder. When they get wet they disintegrate. Pellets\granules are made for easy outdoor application in a rotary or drop spreader. They will take a bit more time to break down and supply minerals or neutralize pH, however I knew of at least one grower here (Wetdog) who uses the pellets after soaking them in water first and separating the binder which will form a layer on top, if I am not mistaken. For outdoor application, if you are spreading on the surface it is best to do it before a heavy rain.

Oyster and eggshell (pulverized) are also slower, longer acting forms of calcitic lime. The most immediate acting dolomite\calcitic lime would be micronized or "Extra Fine" pulverized-powdered lime. It will act to neutralize acidity and supply some Ca and Mg almost instantaneously.

Some growers use both micronized\powdered as well as pellets or pulverized oyster\eggshell. This is the kind I use that comes in a big 50 lb bag.

You'll be shooting in the dark if you don't know the properties of the soil you're trying to amend. There are a bunch of options listed above but what I suggest is getting the soil tested. It costs about 30$, will take less than a week with a good lab, and tell you exactly what you need to apply.

The things that are most important to know are:
-pH
-Base cation saturation (ratio of Ca:Mg:K:Na etc.), you want roughly 70% Ca, 10-15%Mg, 5%K
-Cation exchange capacity (ability of the soil to exchange the elements listed above with plants)
-Organic matter (above 10% if possible)

Caution

If you indiscriminately apply stuff to the soil you could make it worse. An example of this would be applying dolomite lime to a soil that already tests high for Magnesium. Adding more Mg to this type of soil would lead to poor infiltration and poor root growth/unhealthy plants as a consequence.

That being said you are probably ok adding some quick lime to the soil if you are confident that there is a low pH. BUT, I don't know what type of soil you have in your area.

Another thing to note: If you fix the base cation saturation of soils they will often automatically correct the pH.

I would say amend your soil so that you get a good food web, soil system going. Once you have the soil back to life the oh will balance itself out..

If I remember correctly acidic soil is due to anaerobic conditions and soil that doesnt have good drainiage. The anaerobic bacteria population are thriving more then the beneficial ones. Either way as long as you get it back to a healthy living soil it'll balance itself out.

Don't forget that the micro colonies themselves will regulate the pH of the soil to their needs.

Bacterial colonies generally will lower your pH, while fungal activity will raise it.

The good news is once you get a balanced soil and let the colonies come to an equilibrium your pH should stay quite stable.

Mr.Marijuana420 said:

alright so I've ran into a little issue. I was planning on going in the ground this year, and correcting any pH imbalances with lime. Well I found last week, the area im looking at is littered with wild onions, which turns out they favor acidic soil low in organic material. Not so good for cannabis. Well after a little reading Im hearing lime should be applied in the fall to ensure it has a full effect, as its very slow releasing. Im looking at Espoma garden lime now, just worried the lime won't correct the pH in time for planting. The espoma lime is pellitized, which i believe is faster acting. I want to get them in the ground by the beginning of june, If I can get lime worked into the soil within the next 2 weeks, will it be enough time to take effect? I have to figure the exact ph yet, but I know the lower it is, the longer it may take to correct. If needed I can have the plants in containers for awhile until the lime has worked. But anywhere from 5-8 weeks, should that be long enough to correct it? Id like to avoid them being in containers any longer than the beginning of july if possible

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I use the Espoma garden lime it works pretty quickly and be careful not to add to much cause then it will make it too alkaline. I use around 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil.

Also you could brew the garden lime tea in sock inside a bucket with water to break it down more and add it to the soil for even quicker results. I've used the garden lime for my ph up in my garden for a couple of years. It also has calcium and magnesium the plants can't take advantage of that.

Mr.Marijuana420 said:

alright so I've ran into a little issue. I was planning on going in the ground this year, and correcting any pH imbalances with lime. Well I found last week, the area im looking at is littered with wild onions, which turns out they favor acidic soil low in organic material. Not so good for cannabis.

Click to expand...

Do a soil test instead of relying on a myth. With a soil test from a grant supported University they can tell you how much lime to correct for a specifc ph and whether dolomite or quick lime needs to be used (MG versus Ca levels vary).

If you do it soon and you mix it into the soil it can be effective.

If you cannot afford to test your soil with a lab, then get some do it yourself pH, alkalinity and EC tests. Its not that hard to figure out a decent guestimate.

AliCakes said:

Don't forget that the micro colonies themselves will regulate the pH of the soil to their needs.

Bacterial colonies generally will lower your pH, while fungal activity will raise it.

The good news is once you get a balanced soil and let the colonies come to an equilibrium your pH should stay quite stable.

Click to expand...

Bacteria tend to produce alkaline bio-slime, raising pH (if only in their immediate vicinity).E.g. Azotobacter will grow at lower pH but nitrogen fixation is best carried out at around 7.2 pH or even slightly higher.

Fungi produce enzymes and organic acids that tend to lower pH.

PurpleBuz said:

Do a soil test instead of relying on a myth. With a soil test from a grant supported University they can tell you how much lime to correct for a specifc ph and whether dolomite or quick lime needs to be used (MG versus Ca levels vary).

If you do it soon and you mix it into the soil it can be effective.

If you cannot afford to test your soil with a lab, then get some do it yourself pH, alkalinity and EC tests. Its not that hard to figure out a decent guestimate.

Click to expand...

are you guys retarded or something,(not all of you, just the ones saying Im randomly amending my soil) I stated the entire area is littered with wild onions, like every square inch. Wild onions favor acidic soil, thats fact. Given that these things are everywhere, in the exact area I want to plant, I can use a little common sense to say, "you know that soils probabably acidic". I dnt need a fuckin soil test for that. Im not gonna go dumping unequated amounts of lime into my soil either, as I said I still need to test for exact pH, but I can be certain its gonna need adjusting.

BTW, dolomite limestone is calcium magnesium carbonate whereas calcite or calcitic limestone is calcium carbonate (no Mg). Quick lime and hydrated lime are quite a bit more dangerous and easier to over-do.

" Wild onions favor acidic soil "

Just because a plant is naturally prolific doesn't make it so. In fact wild onions will grow well in a wide soil pH range from acidic to alkaline, and could be prolific in the area just because other natural plants in the area couldn't tolerate the soil.

If you know everything then why did you ask for help? I explained how lime calculations are made by horticulturalists and farmers and I answered your question on whether its too late or not.

and you call me retarded ... some one relying on a myth to asstimate soil pH geesh.