Lime

[Hilly]

Would grazing cattle or applying slurry help at all?

Help what ? acidity or magnesium ?

 

[Bald Rick]

Oh i see, i didnt know Anglesey was an Island ! ive never been, ive been to buxton tho Is Buxton Lime calcium lime or mag ? i had some black calcium lime once but cant remember where it was fre.

Full of retired people, Scousers and other tourists but with excellent beaches, mountain views and some good farmland.

Buxton is calcium carbonate. Black lime could be burnt lime from kilns?

Key to any lime is to check it's NV & crush size. Chunky lime wont break down quickly so will be slow to raise pH and perhaps not at all. Remember that pH in non calcareous soils will decline by 0.1 or so every year due to rainfall if nothing else
Using mag lime where the indexes are high will risk locking up some essential nutrients hence the need to test before buying.

 

[GTB]

Help what ? acidity or magnesium ?

Acidity? Just asking in regards @Brisel 's situation really.

 

[Brisel]

The Downs have been covered in sheep since the forest of Cranborne Chase was felled centuries ago. There is so much chalk there I don't think anything will lower the pH. The plough employed since WW2 won't have helped - oxidising organic matter & shrinking the topsoil. I doubt grazing or slurry will have much effect on pH - would pouring a bottle of mineral water in the ocean reduce that salinity? As I mentioned earlier - livestock back on the land will help with a lot of things but not the inherent nature of the soil blended for decades with a mouldboard.

Even where there is acidity you can have a lump of flint (calcium carbonate) right next to it. The only warning here is if you send it to a lab & they grind it all up for testing you frequently get misleading results. Everywhere my pH map shows anything other than a pH of over 7.5 has seen a quad bike & universal indicator testing kit at least every 3 years. The weed spectrum changes as pH falls. It is easier to spot in arable - lot of annual meadow grass or corn spurrey and not a lot of crop means the chemistry set gets dragged out.

 

[Pebd99]

I put on lime this year been a long time since proper lime has gone on. Went onto silage ground that varied from 5.2-5.5. All got 2t/acre. What a difference in the 3 months it's been on. Had a few ton left over so spread on a grazing park, can see exactly where the spreader stopped. Will be a lot more going on this coming year.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

Yet to this day I get people say "we don't use lime, we only grow grass"

 

[Cowgirl]

We've just had a load of calcium lime delivered and I was surprised that it is dark grey (not knowing much about it I assumed it would be paler). The field pH test came back at 5.2 so we're really hoping it will have a good effect on the grass.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

Lime is many colours across the country from bright white through beige and honey colours to pinky red and greys.

Just make sure it's always the best quality you can afford. Beware of cheap lime.

 

[Henarar]

We've just had a load of calcium lime delivered and I was surprised that it is dark grey (not knowing much about it I assumed it would be paler). The field pH test came back at 5.2 so we're really hoping it will have a good effect on the grass.

some of the white stuff is black before they crush it, makes no odds just don't look right

 

[Cowgirl]

Hmmm we weren't really given a choice, so I don't know what is good quality and what isn't - how do you tell? (It certainly isn't cheap!)

 

[Cab-over Pete]

You can ask for a spec sheet. That will tell you all you need to know.

Things have changed a bit but in simple terms you need an NV (neutralising value) over 50%. You want to see at least 40% of the sample passing through a 150 micron sieve and you want a high % reactivity.

Get all that and you've got a decent product.

 

[Hilti]

Hmmm we weren't really given a choice, so I don't know what is good quality and what isn't - how do you tell? (It certainly isn't cheap!)

Wilson of Burnhouse supply the lime ?

 

[Cowgirl]

I'll try to find out more. Supplied by Origin / Soil Fertility.

 

[holywell farmer]

Well I liked it!

I have a customer near Banbury. Several hundred acres of grass for beef cattle to graze, about the same of arable for maize and wheat. He insists on all his pH levels above 6.5 and all his nutrient levels high too. He spent a fortune on lime and Fibrophos with me a few years ago. Now he has levels where he wants them it's an easy job maintaining them, mainly with just manure, which he has a lot of!

If you're passing Banbury on the M40, look across away from town. His bank fields stand out a mile away - literally. I defy anyone not to agree they look superb. He turns cattle out in February and still has them out in early November. Every day under a roof costs him money so he made it his business to grow a lot of grass. And he is bloody good at it.

Lime and fert are very different would say ?

 

[Hilly]

Lime and fert are very different would say ?

Bit like socks and shoes, one dosent go without the other so good.

 

[holywell farmer]

Bit like socks and shoes, one dosent go without the other so good.

My uncle says he is not huge fan of lime very rare when had it spread on the land

 

[Hilly]

My uncle says he is not huge fan of lime very rare when had it spread on the land

His land might not need it, not all land dose, important to get it tested and give it what it needs.

 

[holywell farmer]

His land might not need it, not all land dose, important to get it tested and give it what it needs.

When first had maize back in 2003. Both fields that were be planted with the crop were limed,

 

[Hilly]

When first had maize back in 2003. Both fields that were be planted with the crop were limed,

Be ready for a retest now 4 years ago, keep it topped up little often better than waiting till it needs 3ton acre

 

[holywell farmer]

Be ready for a retest now 4 years ago, keep it topped up little often better than waiting till it needs 3ton acre

He doesn't grow maize any more, this year farm is all grass for first time in decades