Hydrated Lime vs Agricultural Lime
tom6022
18 years ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
18 years agofliptx
18 years agoRelated Discussions
agricultural lime vs dolomite
Comments (8)Magnesium sulfate (epsom salts) is 10 or 11% magnesium. Calcitic lime can be variable, but let's assume it is 70% Ca. If you mix epsom salts to lime 3:1 by weight, the resulting mixture will be roughly 2:1 Ca:Mg - about 17% Ca and 8% Mg, which is a lower analysis than typical dolomitic lime, but you'd just need to add more - about 2x as much, in fact. Now, having said that, unless you know the Ca and Mg content of your topsoil and compost, I wouldn't automatically add lime. If it were me, and I was building a raised bed, I'd pull a sample for a soil test. Otherwise, you're really just guessing. Now, if you really want to forego the test, I'd add a cup of your lime per cu. ft. of soil - assuming you're going to thoroughly incorporate the lime. If you are going to just mix it into the top 6" of soil, use half that amount. If you end up getting dolomitic lime (which is a higher analysis) cut those recommendations in half....See MoreAccidentally used hydrated agricultural lime - how to fix this?
Comments (42)Greenman28 - that is more lime than I'll use in a lifetime. I have to be honest - I do organic grows, and I really don't pay much attention to PH most of the time. I've had containers that had a little lime vs. another similar planting that didn't, and neither of them held any distinct advantage over the other, when it was all said and done. I'd rather mix a nice rich mix, and barring any super out of whack PH shift, just take my chances. If I had synthetic ferts and a 5-1-1 mix, maybe I'd need to be a bit more studious. But while I DO check PH, I usually don't sweat it. Just not liking the idea of wasting a batch of fine ingredients....See MoreGarden Lime vs "Limestone" for 5/1/1
Comments (9)Yes, soil testing is important, and some of the private labs have the best tests. Yes you can burn stuff with hydrated, but it is fast acting, and if you need a lot of calcium, and you're plant is looking really bad, it can be useful. It's more for advanced gardeners. You can burn your plant with either. The difference is less than stated. Some private labs are expensive, but Logan Labs is reasonable, but you have to know what to do, advice is not very specific or completely lacking. For $50.00 International AG labs will give you organic suggestions to fix any problems. This is more for in ground....See MoreFavorite garden links: rose fragrance, diseases & pests, fertilizer
Comments (51)Got curious about compost tea. This is the second time I checked. Early this summer time I spent 1 hour researching but was disappointed. Here's one link from United Kingdom on compost tea (unbiased, NOT sponsored by compost-tea industry): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/11121288/Compost-tea-does-it-really-work.html " What did they find? In a glasshouse study on lavender and choisya, none of the compost teas had any effect on growth or on susceptibility to botrytis (grey mould) or spider mites. Sometimes plants treated with compost tea were taller, sometimes they were shorter, sometimes there was no difference. Sometimes plants treated with compost tea were of higher quality, but often they weren’t, and treated choisya plants at one nursery were significantly worse. In short, the effects of compost teas were “extremely inconsistent”. Other links from U.S.A: http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/compost-tea-does-it-work/ From University of New Hampshire: https://extension.unh.edu/articles/Does-compost-tea-really-work From University of Vermont: http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/composttea.html Excerpt from above link: " It’s not clear whether it’s necessary to aerate during compost tea production. Aeration can speed up the production time, but it may also add to equipment cost and complexity. There are claims that aeration helps kill off the organisms that can cause illness. Very few studies have compared aerated and non-aerated compost teas. Some recent research. A 2-year study by the Rodale Institute and Pennsylvania State University evaluated the use of aerated compost tea for disease suppression and crop stimulation in grapes, potatoes, and pumpkins. During year one, approximately 50% suppression of powdery mildew was observed in the compost tea treated grape plots. A slight reduction of gray mold, along with an INCREASE in the level of downy mildew, was observed in the compost tea treated plot during the first year at one of the vineyards. Compost tea failed to suppress powdery mildew on Howden pumpkins in year one, but reduced the number and size of pathogen colonies in year two. Compost tea did not reduce severity of late blight on Superior potatoes when disease was present in year two. " http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/composttea.html *** From Straw: FOR ROSES, just spraying with alkaline tap water alone is enough to suppress mildew, as testified by Roseseek (Kim Rupert) in CA and rosarian Dave Boyd in HMF. For mildew, just plain tap-water spray (alkaline pH over 8) is enough to contain mildew, as rosarian Dave Boyd in a dry climate (only 13" of moisture per year) testified in HMF: http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=3.4748...See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
18 years agosleeplessinftwayne
18 years agofliptx
18 years agotom6022
18 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
18 years agobcra5006
18 years agojdwhitaker
18 years agobighornedelk_hotmail_com
15 years agoswanz
14 years agoTony Serhal
9 years agofievel38 zone 6b
9 years agofievel38 zone 6b
9 years agoUser
8 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agorgreen48
8 years agoWoodsTea 6a MO
8 years agolitterbuggy (z7b, Utah)
7 years agolitterbuggy (z7b, Utah)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
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WoodsTea 6a MO