Liming Grassland ?

[Tha Ulsterscot]

My cutting land needs some lime applied this year, so the question is would I be better to use pelleted lime each year or go the traditional route and get the ground lime put on? How much pelleted would need to be applied annually to maintain the PH.

 

[john432]

Truth is that the only reason pelleted lime is sold ...is that fertiliser salesmen can make a decent commission on selling the product! And sadly dont care about what's best for the farmer and his land. Look at the analysis, no better than fine ground limestone, and 5 times the price of ground limestone. Do your own research, and dont listen to bulls**t from sales people.

 

[Brisel]

Prilled lime has a place but as above, ground limestone is the best product and best value. It's not like a lime spreader isn't going to be able to travel on grassland, unless it's waterlogged.

In answer to your question, it's around 500 kg/ha to maintain pH depending on soil type, acidity. I think that's 4 cwt/acre in old money.

 

[2wheels]

My cutting land needs some lime applied this year, so the question is would I be better to use pelleted lime each year or go the traditional route and get the ground lime put on? How much pelleted would need to be applied annually to maintain the PH.

ground limestone every time!

 

[A1an]

How long is a piece of string.

It all depends on your soil. Soil analysis is worth every penny.

 

[ollie989898]

How much lime do you need?

Pelleted lime is hugely expensive considering it is the exact same stuff pressed into a pellet.

Ground lime is just that, stuff dug out of the ground and ground down. It can't be any simpler. I don't know why people even consider trying to do the job themselves, I've known a chap try to save the spreading fee by using a dung spreader. It's not worth it. Get the stuff bought and tipped up and pay the paltry fee to have it spread.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I would be inclined to use ground limestone and I was told not to put on more than two tons/acre, as any more than that it can tie up trace elements

 

[ollie989898]

That is right, you don't really want to apply more than 2 tonnes in one go. If you must then split the dose and plough down the first one.

 

[Chae1]

Pelleted lime has its place in my opinion. The pelleted lime rep at groundswell was a to$$er though. Really pushy and questioned why anyone would use ground lime.

Personally i use ground lime on all our secure ground.

For ground that i could get booted off at short notice i use pelleted on ploughing. I put on 250kg/ha. I believe this is enough for maintenance.

 

[Boohoo]

I want ground limestone but I can see I'm going to end up with granulated unless it dries up soon. Our local granulated limestone manufacturer claims 50kg/acre raises ph by 0.1. Independent recommendations are difficult to find but Teagasc say you should put granulated on at a third of the rate of ground but split over 5 years. So if you need 3 ton/acre of ground limestone, a third is 1 ton, split over 5 years is 200kg/acre/year of granulated lime.

 

[Boohoo]

@Tha Ulsterscot have you done any soil tests? We tested a few weeks ago and found pH higher than expected. Was £9 per sample through DAERA.

 

[NH8360]

I have two fields tested just over 6 in the winter. I have slurry out a few weeks ago should I spread ground lime when ground dries or would I be better wait to the autumn?

 

[Sharpy]

I have some granulated lime sitting for a specific job , bought for its quick action and logistical reasons despite owning a limespreader. Nv printed on the bags is 57%, exactly the same as ground limestone at a quarter of the price. Put 2 tonne of ground limestone on now if soil analysis says you need it, less if you need less. The granulated lime is handy for a crop needing instant effect ( due to the fine grind) like barley going yellow due to acidity, but won't last.

 

[Quaddog]

I think liming is an under used resouce these days. Used to be a lot of it done years ago. I reseeded a field last year and gave it two tons to the acre. Definitely got to get it tested first, the lime reps used to do it free, but otherwise buy a test kit. They’re cheap and easy to use. Always used lime dust but then we’re surrounded by limestone quarries (Derbyshire)

 

[Brisel]

Agreed. Sort the pH first or you're never going to get much response to other inputs.

Your output is limited to the lowest common denominator, in this case it's pH.

 

[ollie989898]

I have two fields tested just over 6 in the winter. I have slurry out a few weeks ago should I spread ground lime when ground dries or would I be better wait to the autumn?

Get it on when it's dry. It takes time to work.

 

[ollie989898]

I think liming is an under used resouce these days. Used to be a lot of it done years ago. I reseeded a field last year and gave it two tons to the acre. Definitely got to get it tested first, the lime reps used to do it free, but otherwise buy a test kit. They’re cheap and easy to use. Always used lime dust but then we’re surrounded by limestone quarries (Derbyshire)

Better to send to a proper lab. The old test kit is alright but if you are going to walk the fields you might as well get P and K and S etc done at the same time.

 

[Brisel]

Better to send to a proper lab. The old test kit is alright but if you are going to walk the fields you might as well get P and K and S etc done at the same time.

Make sure the sample is free of stones when you send it to a lab. You can have acid soil with inert alkaline stones that get ground up in the lab which distorts the results. I had a SOYL test done on flinty clay cap in NRM showing 8.1 but having found clubroot in osr, with universal indicator it retested at 5.8!

 

[ollie989898]

Make sure the sample is free of stones when you send it to a lab. You can have acid soil with inert alkaline stones that get ground up in the lab which distorts the results. I had a SOYL test done on flinty clay cap in NRM showing 8.1 but having found clubroot in osr, with universal indicator it retested at 5.8!

Absolutely, don't want stones or worms or big lumps of organic matter in it.

 

[SilliamWhale]

How long is a piece of string.

It all depends on your soil. Soil analysis is worth every penny.

Its sort of is. If you sent the same sample to different labs you could get different results!