Topic: do you lime your soil and when?

[dirtyfingernails]

a lottie neighbour limed the beds for his brassicas last autumn - life was hectic then so we didn't get round to it - is it too late to do it now and is it worth it anyway? last year we didn't lime and had very disappointime cauliflowers (they were very small and mottled with dark brown) and swedes (lots of leaves but no roots to speak of) but lovely red cabbage and sprouts

and similar question re manure - is it still ok to dig it in now or too late?

thanks

[Rose.mary]

Better late than never!
But never together

Rosemary

[Tee Gee]

This might help http://tinyurl.com/yf7byh and as Rosemary says never muck & lime at the same time.

Personally I would only lime the areas where you are going to grow brassicas(the cabbage family) but not where you are going to grow potatoes.

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

Just thought I'd re-open the liming debate I have a few questions.

I'm currently clearing beds and have been slowly digging in manure and council compost as I go.  Ideally I want to lime at some stage too as we have soil that is quite clay.  Now, the question is - how long should I leave a manured bed before I lime it?!?  I am intending to keep these beds free over the winter by the way.

Psi

[GRACELAND]

Personally I would only lime the areas where you are going to grow brassicas(the cabbage family) but not where you are going to grow potatoes.

AGREE

and put on after winter digging  :)

[1066]

thanks for re-opening this one!
I've been trying to figure out the where and when of lime (also on clay)
Having watched what goes on around our site people seem to lime in early spring (I guess after the winter digging and the muck adding stages), but don't actually understand the reasons  ::)

1066

[Fork]

I lime when Im planting.

[GRACELAND]

t’s usually best to lime your soil in the autumn and allow it to work its way into the soil over the winter. You do not want to lime when you have crops in the ground as the lime may well damage the crops Since brassicas like both high amounts of nitrogen & humus as well as a high pH, manure in the autumn for them and lime in the early spring,


Liming while plants are growing may harm those plants, so wait until after the garden season. It is best to add garden lime in the fall and let it break down over the winter. Planting two to three months later will allow the soil pH to adjust.

Lime (which is alkaline) and fertilizer (which is acidic) do not play well together, so add them to the soil at different times. The exceptions are manure or organic matter. These can also be added and worked in during the fall or winter.

Sprinkle the lime over the soil surface and rake it into the top couple of inches, letting it naturally work down to the root zone by spring. Do not till it deeply into the soil, it will leach down soon enough.

A soil test will tell you how often to lime, but usually every couple of years is sufficient.

[chriscross1966]

I lime when Im planting.

Ditto.... I don't dig a bed through where brassicas are going (especially brussels) .... whatever was iun there before (generally potatos the previous year and salady things if an early crop went in this) will have had plenty of much, come brassica planting out then I scrabble some lime around on the surface of the row and dust the planting holes (dust, no more). We don't seem to suffer clubroot on our soil but I'm not taking chances..... it should be a couple of years before that patch sees spuds again so it shouldn't cause me too much hassle with scab.....

chrisc

[davyw1]

 I think GraceL has put it about right.
You should really have your soil tested before liming or at least every 3 years. Lime is slow to react so if you lime in the spring then then you will not see any results till about half way through the growing season. Also you if you want to apply fertilizers in the spring you cant add the lime, nitrogen and lime neutralize each other and turn into ammonia.
To much lime can have a negative rusult.

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

ok dudes

What say I dig in a load of muck and council compost now and over the next month, leave fallow/green manure and then in March lime a little - is that going to present a problem?  I will not lime a spud bed at all but will lime brassica, roots, legumes and alium beds a little.

Sound do-able?!?

Or is lime over-rated and ought I just be content digging in some manure and council compost along with home made compost?  Does this remove the real need to lime is my question I guess?

Psi

[davyw1]

ok dudes

What say I dig in a load of muck and council compost now and over the next month, leave fallow/green manure and then in March lime a little - is that going to present a problem?  I will not lime a spud bed at all but will lime brassica, roots, legumes and alium beds a little.

Sound do-able?!?

Or is lime over-rated and ought I just be content digging in some manure and council compost along with home made compost?  Does this remove the real need to lime is my question I guess?

Why not do a soil test then you can then you can either be positive about what you want to do....or.....dont do a soil test and remain indecisive.

Psi

[artichoke]

I was very disappointed, when I came to transplant healthy looking brassica seedlings, that they all had clubroot already. This was to be my Year of The Brassica. The firm advice then from fellow plot holders of great experience who have WONDERFUL ranks of huge and beautiful brassicas of all sorts was to do this:

Raise seedlings in pots.

Scatter lime in their holes when planting out.

So that is what I will do. I am manuring steadily at the moment, so that should not be a problem by the time I plant my pot-raised seedlings.

Like others, I am not clear what, apart from brassicas, needs lime.

[Flighty]

Artichoke you may find this useful.

http://www.allotment.org.uk/fertilizer/garden-lime.php

[artichoke]

Thanks, I'm looking at it.

[JIS]

I mix a small handful of lime in the hole just before planting (recently the PSB). I mulch the entire bed with a thin layer of strawey manure, leaving about a 10 inch gap around each PSB. May not be right, but it's the way I've always known to do it.  ;)

I'm watching this thread with great interest !