Just applied eight tons of pulverized ag lime to four fields this past weekend. Broke down this winter and purchased one of the 500 lb. drop-spreaders sold at the St. Clair Farmers CO-OP and spread it myself. Great investment, in my opinion. Re-loaded lime onto a tarp-covered trailer with front-end loader, then loaded spreader at each field. Not a bad system, and very satisfying day. Our fields have been what I consider A+ for attraction for years, but not perfect on Ph. For the guys who have taken the time to start and keep on top of the Ph fight, what is the attraction difference y'all see? Is it noticeable, hardly recognizable, or off the charts good?

I did a little experiment with my garden spots last couple of years. I got the soil ammended last year and the production doubled atleast. Almost no disease in my tomatoes. Everything overall just looked much better. Ive never really done a before!/after before that but it made a huge difference in my garden. That being said, there is a thousand reasons for crop failure. Theres alot of reading you can do on fertilizer utilization when your ph is off. Some crops will absolutely not grow if the ph isnt right.

Specifically, my question is pointed toward deer attraction, sightings, numbers of animals on a plot, etc. Thanks!

I limed two sandy food plots that I had and normally you would have to fertilize them three times a year to keep them green but this time of the year they have about died but after I started pouring the lime to them I can fertilize twice a year and they still look good and stay pretty and growling up into the summer. I’d say it definitely works

The better your ph is in your soil, the better the forage will taste so yes it will help. Thats a fact. More deer will come to a foodplot with proper balanced soil. 257wbymag and CNC would agree on this.

I agree with jwalker. My club put out 22 tons of lime last spring on 20 green fields. We try to put out lime at least every four years. Forage taste better and contains nutriments a lot better and a lot longer due to liming. If you want to offer nutrition to the deer and not just food, lime your fields.

When do u lime generally and do you prepare your field any? If you don’t hav tractor - can you just cover the ground w lime - I heard U could use palatized lime - I never put it out - usually been in a club

It gets fairly scientific pretty quickly, but pulverized has the greatest longevity and is many, many times cheaper. Pelletized is certainly easier with less mess, but fades almost yearly; noted from the times we've tested Ph. Soil contact by harrowing would be the preferred method for integration into the soil, which is absolutely necessary. Spreading it on top of the ground would be a waste of cash. From what I have studied, it normally takes 18 months to 2 years to maximize the intended affect on the soil. I'm only curious about the attraction, since we've never limed "perfectly" as we have this year. I will report back after this season and the next, Lord willing. For the time of the year, it's always about getting the lime in whenever you can and as soon as you can. I am highly curious about this and it should be fun to watch.

Great info Big HH - thank you

Our soil analysis always recommends a ton of lime per acre. The club just doesn’t have the budget for it. In the past we’ve just applied two bags of lime per bag of seed and the deer always eat it. This year we are going to apply the recommended ton/acre ratio to just the middle of our fields and stay away from the tree lines. We should be able to see the difference I’m hoping.

Lime is probably one of the most important things you could add to a plot yet its one of the most underutilized due to the difficulties most folks have in getting it to their plots

Can barn lime be used in food plots ?

I think lime is the key ingredient. Acidic soils are bad

I’ve never found an effective way of spreading 3,000# of lime per acre.

I have and lime will definitely help.

If a man can get the bulk load to his farm, the machinery and implements I've talked about can go to any plot we've had in 30 years of hunting. Trailer, tractor with front-end loader, lime drop-spreader from St. Clair Farmer's Co-op, two shovels, and a tarp. All but the drop-spreader can be rented. Save up on the drop-spreader. I purchased the 500 lb. model. Hired an independent dump-truck owner to deliver the lime from a fertilizer company in town. Any of the Co-ops would load similarly. The advantage with this approach is that you can lime small plots about anywhere and do it well. The spreader trucks and buggies need easy, dry access and big turnaround areas. Finished harrowing lime in to last two plots today. Hope this helps.

Can you tell us more about the spreader you bought? I wouldn't think that the co-op makes it, so what is the name and model number on it? How much did it cost? Got a picture?

Having a load delivered and spreading it yourself is the only way to get it to small plots, but I have never found a decent spreader that doesn't cost thousands of dollars. Thanks!

I think what he is talking about is a Gandy Drop Spreader or something similar to that type spreader. Several companies have made these through the years including Deere. You can get one at a farm auction for about $2 but they go for $1k on Craigslist and I'm not on Facebook but I am sure you might see one there. You can also look on TractorHouse or Fastline. Sounds like the St. Clair Co-Op might have new units you can purchase.

They certainly work. They don't hold a whole lot in terms of pounds of lime at a time.... so if your lime pile is far away you'll make a lot of trips to spread a couple 1,000lbs at 500 lbs a tote but that's not real that bad if you don't mind a little work..

We put 20 tons of lime in the ground last year across all our acreage. The difference in deer in our plots really surprised us. We thought the plots would look better, greener and such. They did, but when the late fall and winter came the deer absolutely hammered out plots. I honestly got nervous because they ate them to the ground. There was no doubt it made a huge difference for us. We followed the AU soil lab's recommendations to a T. I'll be doing that again every year.