You're doing the right thing. If the grass is still growing then I would suggest stopping mowing. Tall grass survives heat and drought much better than short grass.

That's not a mushroom. That's another species of lichen. Can you give us a close up picture of some of the leaves still on the tree, a picture of some fine twigs still attached to the tree, and a picture of where the tree enters the ground?

@danielj_2009 and others around the stove, I got to thinking about what you said about speed of lime and particle size. Besides any physical leaching due particle size, I wondered if particle size and speed and amount of change might be the biggest influence on quantity of lime that gets recommended. The quotes you gave above refer to 25lbs for some limes but warn against exceeding bag rate for the "new fast acting" limes. Is the grind that big of a factor? I had my doubts. So I did a search to find the chemical analysis of lime products. To my disappointment, most products don't provide one. Most just say "derived from limestone." That could include a lot of different components. Finally, I found this: http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/41/417ecb06-d1a5-40cb-975a-78de1d1028f2.pdf PENNINGTON ® FAST ACTING™ LIME Plus AST ® GUARANTEED ANALYSIS Calcium (Ca)............................................................................................. 24% Magnesium (Mg) ...................................................................................... 6% Calcium Oxide (CaO) ............................................................................... 30% Magnesium Oxide (MgO)......................................................................... 15% Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) ................................................................ 55% Magnesium Carbonate (MgCO3) ...........................................................30% Moisture (maximum) ................................................................................ 1% Calcium Carbonate Equivalence (CCE) .................................................... 90%* Neutralizing Value 90% Calcium Carbonate Equivalence (CCE) Derived from dolomitic limestone F525In Florida, this product requires 2000 pounds to be equal to one ton of standard liming material. That is a fair amount of calcium oxide (quick lime) and magnesium oxide. Both are extremely caustic, meaning among other things, they destroy living tissue. I know from personal experience that quick or "hot" lime will burn the heck out of your skin. I think the oxide content of the Pennington fast acting lime might help explain some of the difference in lime amount recommendations (from 6 up to 100lbs) and why the manufacture of this product advises 6-10lbs. Makes me question what the other fast acting (or other) lime products contain when the say "derived from limestone." Just another brick for the wall even if it doesn't clear things up. Update: http://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/LightningLimeFactSheet1.pdf http://encap.net/lawn-mineral-nutrients/fast-acting-lime/#tab-id-3 http://www.solu-cal.com/media/pdf/msds-sheets/11010%20Solu-Cal%20Calcitic%20Lime%20SDS%202015.pdf http://www.acgmaterials.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Product-Data-Sheet-MINI-PRILLED-LIMESTONE-112116.pdf http://www.jonathangreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/magicallabel.pdf http://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/limestones.pdf

i once read you need a whopping 20# / 1000 sq ft and even then it is, at best, half as effective as chemical pre emergent. good organic fertilizer though. in my area, it is not cheap. i would rather use soybean meal for fertilizer.