What’s Lime Got to do, Got to do With It?

Forgive me for the corny title, but we get a lot of questions about lime this time of year. When we say we are going to lime your lawn, we mean that we are going to spread pelletized lime (which is crushed limestone) on your lawn.  Why??? Because crushed limestone will raise the pH level of your soil. When we make fertilizer applications to your lawn, it makes your grass grow, but it also lowers the pH of the soil because nitrogen based fertilizers have a lot of salt in them. Salt will lower the pH, and a low pH will keep the soil from releasing nutrients to the grass. It can be a downward spiral of sorts. We apply enough lime every year to offset the negative effects fertilizer will have. We call this a maintenance dose which is about 10 lbs per 1000 square feet.

Some people have lawns with a really low pH . In that case they may need more than a maintenance dose of lime. Every year we offer to do soil samples for our customers. They only cost about $25 and they tell us what the pH in your soil is as well as the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This not only lets us know how much lime your lawn will need but also if it’s deficient in any of the other nutrients listed. You can find more information on our website about soil testing at the following link. https://www.southernlawnandpest.com/lawn-care/soil-test/

Whenever we see a lawn that has a pH lower than 6, we recommend putting down 40 lbs of lime per 1000 square feet. That is enough to bring the pH up 1 full point. Any more than that and you can shock the soil. So if your lawn has a pH of 5, you’ll need to incrementally raise it over the next two years. Our goal is to get the pH to 7 and keep it there. If the pH is above 6 then you really won’t be able to tell a difference, so we recommend staying with the maintenance dose.

Here is a link to a great article by Mississippi State University on Why Your Soil Needs Lime.

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