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Connecticut

I thought I would throw this out there.
My soil test has come back and it says I need to add lime. PH is very low.
At the the end of the season I added some lime,but not enough, tilled it in and planted Winter Rye which is 2-3 inches tall.
I guess I have three options to try to get the soil right for next year.
1) Leave the Rye but top dress with the Lime now and till in spring leaving the Rye to grow.
2) Ad the lime and till in the Rye now leaving no cover crop but giving all winter for the lime to work.
3) Wait till spring, Most likely late March or early April and add the lime then and till in with the Rye.

What would you do ?

11/17/2011 8:27:48 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Hopefully someone w/ accurate info, will help out here, but my guess is that top dressing w/ lime now...would be better than waiting? Lime, I think takes some time to do it's job!!! (Raising PH). I have rye planted in a new patch...still waiting for soil test results...but am sure I will have low PH? So's that's what I will be doing...unless someone tells me I am an Idiot!!! It has happened before!!!! Grow em BIG!!! Peace, Wayne

11/17/2011 3:27:44 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

Skier, you should lime now as it may take a few months to break down, make sure that you till it in.
You can reapply rye and it may have time to grow.

11/17/2011 4:12:53 PM

Connecticut

Tom, Thanks, I will probably do that because the deer are eating the rye anyway.

11/17/2011 9:36:59 PM

Muddy Waters

I would not sweat the PH thing mine was 8 in the spring,now its 7.4,brought down with sulfur.I had a good year anyway,I think some of these standards are old school,Im sure the genetics of plants have changed.They said my PH should be 6.5 or lower for melons.Everything you read is not always true.

11/18/2011 7:09:45 AM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

No matter how you dice it up, if you dont balance your soil, you can have a good season, but I can bet it would have been better had the soil been balanced, and sooner than later, your desired crop will not perform or yield as well.
Although you can adjust the PH in the spring, why would you want to risk having the lime not fully break down?
The standards for a banced soil are far from old school..lol, there are thousands of farmers in the USA alone that lives depend on these "standards" not to mention the 312,507,944 people in the U.S. that depend on the crops to survive.
There are however variations that can still work, but if you have the time and resources to correct it why not make things right?
I agree, not everything you read is true.
Dasnowskier, if you want to send me your soil test results, I'd be happy to read it and make recommendations, we provide this service free of charge for all growers.

11/18/2011 3:40:08 PM

Northern Cambria, Pa.

You should add half of the recommended amount now then check it again in the spring. If what you have already added is about half then don't do anything until you test again in the spring. If still very low in the spring, add the other half and till it in as early as possible. If just slightly low in the spring, don't add any more. It is easy to overshoot the mark since it takes so long to work.

11/18/2011 4:36:09 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Hey, Tom...soil test results should be back soon!!! Look for my reorder of Rye!!!! LOL Peace, Wayne

11/19/2011 2:43:58 AM

Connecticut

Amelio,
What is "Fly ash"? They don't sell hard coal here in the US.
It is interesting to see the difference between German solutions and American. I think they may get the same results from different directions.

11/19/2011 8:40:06 AM

Western PA

Dasnowskier,

As lcheckon indicated, lime takes a while to fully incorporate into the soil.

I have been battling a low ph for years now and one thing I do know is your soil test might indicate a low ph level but if you have added lime in the past year or so your ph could still be on the rise. I have overshot my target ph by looking at a test result I pulled in the spring which still indicated a low ph when I added lime the fall before.

Best bet is to add the recommended and sit on it for a year before making anymore ph adjustments.

I have directly applied lime on top of the cover crop with no issues, if you use the very fine milled lime which is like a powder and apply the recommended on top of the cover crop it will work it's way into the soil over the winter and you can keep your cover crop intact.

Good luck

11/19/2011 11:27:46 AM

that way <<<<<<

Dave...consider hard coal as "just coal" here in the states....the coal you know. Consider flyash to be the ashes after you burn your coal.

11/19/2011 1:26:03 PM

Long Island,New York

In the United Sates, hard coal is anthracite coal...a partially metamorphosed bituminous coal...harder and cleaner burning and likely what dave will encounter in a coal stove/burner at home. Hard coal (anthracite)burns cleaner than bituminous and is too expensive for coal fired generation plants.

11/19/2011 5:23:39 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

So the coal Santa leaves in my stocking is OK? I my self would be reluctant to put coal ash on my garden...wood ash in small quantities yes

11/19/2011 5:37:51 PM

Connecticut

I think I will stick with lime. Maybe the Pennsylvania or West Virginia growers have easier access to coal and fly ash.

11/19/2011 7:13:50 PM