Food Plots School Me on Lime

[Spurhunter]

I just got my soil sample results back from Whitetail Institute. They say I need 2700# of lime on my four 1/4 acre plots. How do I achieve this? How expensive will it be? All I've ever done is put out Triple 13 or Triple 15. I know nothing about lime.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

What does your access look like? I'd wager to say a co-op truck won't come out to spread that little amount. You could see if they have a buggy you could rent. They can mix your fertilizer in with the lime also (however I've never done that).

Ag lime starts working in the soil after about 6 months and lasts much longer than pelletized lime. Pelletized lime takes less time to get activated in the soil (about 3 months) but doesn't last as long.

We got ag lime spread earlier this spring and it was $34 a ton, but that's in bulk - we had many new fields made. I'd say call at least 2 co-op's in your area and see if they rent out a buggy and get a price for what you need.

 

[BSK]

What was the pH of the soil?

I know it sounds crazy, but in acidic soils, lime is FAR more important than fertilizer. In fact, in VERY acidic soils I won't even add fertilizer until the pH gets in the mid 5s. When soil is acidic, the nutrients of fertilizer become ionically bound to the soil particles, and even if they are in the ground in abundance, plants can't utilize them. Only after the soil is neutralized will those nutrients be released for plant usage. Bottom line is, if the soil is very acidic, adding fertilizer is flushing money down the drain. Always lime first until the pH is somewhere in the 5.3 to 5.5 range, then start adding fertilizer.

 

[Boll Weevil]

I would say google "Nutrien Ag" for the one nearest where you need the lime but 2700# isn't even a full buggy so doubt they'd bite. Tractor supply generally has what's known as barn lime (not the pelletized) $3-4 per 50. Assuming about 60 bags per pallet that's 3000lb.

Not sure what kinda truck you got but have'em set the whole pallet in the bed and you're good to go. Drive right to your plots and scatter away. You'll look like Casper the Friendly Ghost when you get done but it's do-able.

 

[BSK]

Not sure what kinda truck you got but have'em set the whole pallet in the bed and you're good to go. Drive right to your plots and scatter away. You'll look like Casper the Friendly Ghost when you get done but it's do-able.

But if you do this, wear a mask. Inhaling lime dust can permanently burn your lungs. VERY caustic. Ask me how I know...

 

[Spurhunter]

What was the pH of the soil?

Active soil pH on the 4 plots was 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.6. Desired pH for what I want to plant is 6.5.

 

[Spurhunter]

But if you do this, wear a mask.

First "doctor" Fauci tells me to wear a mask, then Dr. Whitetail! I'm going to trust Dr. Whitetail on this one though.

 

[TNTreeman]

Lime is like flour in a cake. Sugar is like fertilizer. Add all the sugar you want but if the flour isn't right your cake will not be good. Lime is cheap and if the PH is right your plants will utilize the fertilizer to its fullest.

 

[BSK]

Active soil pH on the 4 plots was 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.6. Desired pH for what I want to plant is 6.5.

Really, that's not terrible. I've seen a LOT worse. A little fertilizer will help at those pH levels, but I would still spend the majority of my budget on lime until I got all the fields up to at least 5.5

 

[Boll Weevil]

Have someone drive, sit on the tailgate, and go to town. It ain't exact but if you're gonna disk it gets the lime spread so it can be incorporated into the soil.

 

[megalomaniac]

Active soil pH on the 4 plots was 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.6. Desired pH for what I want to plant is 6.5.

Start with 500lbs pelletized lime on each small plot now. Recheck samples on plots in the spring and probably add another 500lbs. You should be good for next fall.

 

[WG3]

you can check to see if your local coop has a product called calcium enhancer. a 50# bag will equal roughly 200# of pelletized lime and start taking effect in about 6 weeks. also you can not mix ag lime and fertilizer in the same, they will spread different.

 

[BSK]

you can check to see if your local coop has a product called calcium enhancer. a 50# bag will equal roughly 200# of pelletized lime and start taking effect in about 6 weeks.

The Dickson Co-op was selling it this spring. I used quite a bit of it.

 

[vonb]

I'm trying liquid calcium this year for the first time. Instead of adding pelletized lime via a truck months ahead of time, the liquid calcium can be applied at the time of planting via ATV sprayer and absorbs immediately. The product I'm using is DeerGro PlotStart:

What is PlotStart - DeerGro Food Plot Spray

www.deergro.com

I'm in no way affiliated with them and have never used the product. However, if this works, it'll be the only way I add "lime" to my food plot in the future.

 

[skipperbrown]

You can buy pelletized lime by the pallet, 50 40# bags, and get a price break at most farm centers. It isn't the cheapest solution, but you can easily spread it yourself with a tractor or pull behind spreader on your own convenient time schedule. Ag lime requires a special spreader. We hired a guy with a lime buggy to spread our food plots about 15 yrs ago. He brought the lime in a dump truck and it was wet. I remember him climbing into the buggy multiple times and pushing the lime down to the belt with his feet. Better him than me, I remember thinking.

You are smart getting a soil test and amending your soil. It makes a huge difference in your food plot success. You will want to tailor your fertilizer mix to match your soil requirements. It may call for mixing 6-12-12 with 15-15-15 or others to get the nutrients you need.

 

[Shooter77]

I just got my soil sample results back from Whitetail Institute. They say I need 2700# of lime on my four 1/4 acre plots. How do I achieve this? How expensive will it be? All I've ever done is put out Triple 13 or Triple 15. I know nothing about lime.

Is that 2,700 per plot (1/4 acre) or all plots (1 acre)??

I spread 1,480 lbs last year of 40 lb bags with a Echo push spreader on my 5 plots. Sucked big time but it's all i had. Didn't have ATV or tractor to use. Had to carry the bags 30-60 yards from the truck, then spread it. Seemed to help big time, all my plots were 6.8-7.4 this spring when I did the soil test.

 

[BSK]

I remember when Biologic sold a mixture of 20-20-20 and quicklime. A tad expensive, but that stuff would get a food plot in shape quick!

 

[BSK]

Is that 2,700 per plot (1/4 acre) or all plots (1 acre)??

I spread 1,480 lbs last year of 40 lb bags with a Echo push spreader on my 5 plots. Sucked big time but it's all i had. Didn't have ATV or tractor to use. Had to carry the bags 30-60 yards from the truck, then spread it. Seemed to help big time, all my plots were 6.8-7.4 this spring when I did the soil test.

I did 4,000# in 40 lb bags both this spring and last fall. Really sucked, but at least I had a UTV spreader. But that's a lot of bags to carry by yourself. And each one from the loading dock to the truck, then from the truck to the ground, then from the ground into the UTV bed, then from the UTV into the spreader. No wonder I now have back problems.

 

[Spurhunter]

Is that 2,700 per plot (1/4 acre) or all plots (1 acre)??

2700# total for all 4 plots

 

[Shooter77]

2700# total for all 4 plots

shew thats a lot of lime for 1 acre. I thought spreading 1480lbs sucked...lol if you can get a buggy from coop to these plots do that, if not, your going to need lots of 40lb bags with some type of hand or ATV spreader. Like someone else said, you can get discounts on pallets of it. I was buying it at TSC for 3 for 9 but them days are over. it's 5.99 a bag last time i was there.