Pelletized Lawn Lime

Acidic soil locks up nutrients that plants need, even when you feed them well. These limestone pellets help neutralize that acidity, so the fertilizer you put down has a better chance to do its job.

The pellets spread easily and dissolve quickly. They fit a lawn, a vegetable bed or the soil around a fruit tree or shrub, and they add calcium and magnesium, two nutrients plants use in quantity.

Highlights

• Helps neutralize acidic soil
• Pellets that spread easily with a broadcast spreader
• Dissolves quickly once it reaches the soil
• Adds calcium and magnesium
• Made for lawns, gardens, trees and shrubs

Why lime, and why test first

Lime does not feed plants on its own. It changes the soil so that the nutrients already there, and the fertilizer you add, can be taken up. Sandy soils in the Panhandle drain fast and tend to run acidic, so lime is often part of getting a lawn or bed to perform.

A soil test from your county extension office tells you the soil's pH and how much lime it needs. Lime without a test is guesswork, and too much lime can push soil above the range many plants prefer. Test first, then follow the soil test or the chart below.

Finely ground limestone works fast but is dusty and hard to apply. These pellets are finely ground limestone bound with an organic binder, so they flow through a broadcast spreader and dissolve when they get wet, so the lime goes to work right away.

At a glance

How to use it

Start with a soil test before the first application, so you know how much lime the soil needs. Then use the soil test, or the rates below.

1. Rule of thumb without a soil test: 40 to 80 lbs per 1,000 sq ft for the first application, then 20 to 40 lbs per 1,000 sq ft to maintain pH.
2. On sandy soil, raising pH to 6.5 takes about 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft from pH 6, 45 lbs from pH 5.5, 65 lbs from pH 5, 80 lbs from pH 4.5 and 100 lbs from pH 4.
3. Spreader settings: a broadcast spreader set at 90% open applies 40 lbs per 1,000 sq ft (make two passes at right angles to apply 80 lbs); set it at 66% open to apply 20 lbs.
4. If you will till it in, wet the area thoroughly 30 minutes before tilling.

Spread the pellets evenly with a broadcast or drop spreader, overlapping passes so no strip is missed. Keep the pellets off paved areas and sweep up any that land there. Lime needs time to change soil pH, so apply it ahead of planting rather than on planting day.

Good to know

• Write down how much you spread and when, so the next lime is planned rather than guessed.
• Apply lime and fertilizer on separate passes instead of mixing them in one spreader hopper, since mixing lime with some nitrogen fertilizers can cost you nitrogen.
• Rinse the spreader after use so the lime does not crust in the hopper.
• Pair it with the fertilizer you already use for lawns, gardens or shrubs. Lime goes down first, and the fertilizer goes on its own pass.

Cautions

DANGER

Causes damage to lungs through prolonged or repeated exposure via inhalation.

Do not breathe dust. In case of inadequate ventilation wear respiratory protection. Dispose of contents/containers in accordance with local regulations.

PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING: This product may contain small amounts of crystalline silica (CAS 14808-60-7), a common mineral found in natural sands and stones. Prolonged inhalation of airborne silica dust may cause cancer or lung disease. AVOID BREATHING DUST.

Test the soil this fall and get the lime down ahead of spring planting.