Guys, I need to be schooled in lime, so I seen in the qdma about liquid lime. It starts working quickly,but it doesnt last long. One seed store here has quick lime($11-50lb) and said it starts working in 2 weeks. The co-op acted like they didnt know what I was talking about, But has pellet lime, And powder. Also something about lime that been in a pond.for about $5 for 50lb. I've tried researching this but there isn't alot of info on it. I did find out its potentially dangerous to handle. This is for foodplots and will be spread by hand.Please, tell me everything I need to know on this subject.

Did you do a soil sample?

Yes, get a soil sample from Auburn University. You can find out information from AU's website. You'll have to Google it.

Anyway, having a balanced soil pH is the BEST thing you can do for whatever you plant. Lime pays!!! And, the best time to lime?!?!?!? It's as soon as you can!!! If you need to that is.

I havent done a soil sample, wasnt sure if I was gonna get the property this year, but I can tell you it has never been limed, its sandy,too. Gonna go up there this weekend and do soil sample. But while I was there I wanted to go ahaed and lime (after the sample) but didnt know what kind of lime to use.

Soil test is recommended. If you don't test, then a good rule of thumb is to apply 1.5 tons/acre of lime annually in sandy soils of the Lower Coastal Plain.

Basic slag starts working fast but its hard to put out I normally mix it with fertilize so it will hit the ground and not just turn to powder and go up in the air

I've used fast acting lime and it did raise the ph pretty quick, it will on your plots. Ph improves faster in sandy soils. If i remember right 1 bag treats 5,000 sq.ft Pennington makes it, if i'm not mistaken. 9 bags will treat 1 acre, according to your starting ph.

I can't really provide any feedback on the quick lime. I've never used any of those products. Let me say that any lime, quick or not, will leach through sandy soil faster than other types of soil. Don't get too caught up in that. Any product you use is going to have to be reapplied every year or two.

You said "spread by hand". Does that mean slinging it out with a hand scoop of some kind? Again, I've never used the quick lime stuff, but the pelletized lime may be your best bet for trying to get even coverage by slinging it out. My thoughts are that the pellets will scatter better and more evenly.

yep, by hand. All them warnings I read had me a little worried. I might go with the pellets beacause of that. But wasnt sure how long it would be till it took affect. I know it will help in the long run(I guess) but want something that'll benefit me this season too.

Lime spread by hand = Tommy John surgery!

If possible i would get with a co-op that can spread ag lime. We tried quick lime and pelletized lime for years and never got any improvements at all in the ph. We were putting out pallets of the bagged pellet lime (you will never forget the smell and powder) with zero results. We gave up for a while, our land is very remote and we didnt think we could get someone to spread the ag lime. When we finally got a co-op to spread ag lime it looked like it had snowed 3" when they were done. The next year we had dramatic improvements and long lasting results. I think the quick lime and pelletized lime is more for garden and lawn applications. When you have fields that are going to be disced and planted i believe the ag lime is the way to go.

Other people may have completely different results, but that is what we found. We wasted a lot of money on pelletized lime and it was a miserable job. Especially when a few bags get wet.

I have one plot, .6 acres, that I put 900# of pelleted lime on it two years ago and it didn't increase my ph at all after a year.

The finer the lime, the faster it will work, that's a fact. Think of the pellets as tiny balls. Only the outside surface of the ball that's touching soil is actually going to work to reduce your pH. The pelletized takes longer because the "ball" needs to break down into powder to take full effect. There are definitely pros and cons to each. If you're forced to use pelletized, consider plowing or discing the ground first but leave the lime on the surface so rain can hit it and help you break the pellets into powder. Just a thought.

I woukd take the time to do a soil sample. Not sure how many acres you are trying to lime, but could get quite expensive with any "fast acting lime" (don't have any experience because wouldn't be feasible at our place). We did one a few years back at a club I was in that called for 3 tons/acre in Coosa county. Basically we were wasting money on fertilizer the few years before we did it. Call the co op and just get a lime truck out if this is possible on your property. You have time to get a soil sample if you went this route because you want derive much benefit in your planting this year anyway. Just my opinion

Quick lime is processed through a kiln and is used in the pulp industry to process wood. It is not made to be used for ag purposes, although it should help adjust soil ph. It is a chemical lime, and will give you a chemical burn - especially when exposed to wet skin (sweating) or eyes. Stick with ag lime.

I've always used bags of Pelletized lime because it is easier to spread on my small quarter to half acre plots. Either way it takes 6 months to work. Don't use liquid lime. Check the CCE number on bagged Pelletized lime or lawn lime to know how much to use. The standard one I've bought at AL coops is 90 or 95% CCE which is good. Some are 70 CCE which means it has less effective Calcium carbonate amount so you have to use more. Bulk lime is usually cheaper if you have to spread a lot. One place near me was charging $27 a ton a $7 a ton spreader buggy rental fee. Just remember you need something big to move that buggy in your plot. That's the main reason I just use bagged.