adding lime to change soil ph

melungeonman said:

I don't know why you would say you shouln't use hydrated lime. I, As well as many coutless gardeners and farmers have been useing it for years for this very thing. "Horticulture Hydrated lime", comes from many suppliers such as Hi yield. It can be purchased In ANY nursury or grow shop. I stock it an my shop, What it does,..It, Counteracts or neutralizes soil acidity, reducing the solubility of substances wich may be toxic to plants. Also it increases availability of phosphorous, molybdenum, and a few other elements found generally in sour (Acidic)soil. Also, you can look this up as well on your computer. It, also Increases microbial activity in productive soils, as well as Increases nitrogen fixation by legumes! The later two are things that your dolomite lime will NOT do. peace

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I also advise against hydrated lime although you are absolutely correct about the gardeners and farmers using it forever.

The simple fact is, most of the people asking questions here either have zero experience growing anything, or very little experience. Hydrated lime is not for inexperienced growers or gardeners.

Dolomite or Calcitic lime being just crushed/powdered limestone is next to impossible to over apply and the noobs love to over do everything. I've grown stuff (not mj), in crushed limestone. Drainage sucked, but nothing got burnt.

Hydrated will also not keep the soil buffered. It's a quick fix for those who know how to use it, but so so for the long term.

BTW, a couple weeks ago I saw 100lb bags of hydrated Dolomite lime at Tractor Supply. Go figure.

Hydrated lime has its place, it's just not with this crowd and grow styles.

Wet

Facts are I've been using domonite lime to lower my res ph for years. It doesn't take much to bring the ph to 5.5ph. Domonite lime can be overdone.

It's not making any sense to me how hydrate lime would increase micro-nute availability, microbial activity or nitrogen fixation any more than dolomite would. In general, microbes don't like any sudden changes in pH. N-fixing microbes have to be present in the soil and themselves certainly don't come with the hydrated lime... they just tend to function best with a pH of 7 or higher, which can be achieved with dolomite lime. Of course bacteria also make bio-slime that is alkaline, and this protects them even when other areas of the soil aren't exactly neutral.

elemental sulfur is what ya need. a few tbs.worked into/watered into the soil.

bird mcbride said:

Facts are I've been using domonite lime to lower my res ph for years. It doesn't take much to bring the ph to 5.5ph. Domonite lime can be overdone.

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???????????????

Since dolomite has a pH of 7, I'm curious how it got your res down to 5.5? It's used to raise the pH of acid soils, not lower it.

Wet

What the hell is lime doing in a res anyways?

I traded in ph down for domonite lime bought from a lumber yard and refined plant ash to ph up in my res.

when i ready my soil, i add a handfull of dolomite lime, and one of epsom salts. most all potting soil has been ph balanced. i us ph up/down, for adjusting my water after ferts or what ever (or not) go in. i bring it to aroound 6.4. the digital testers are the best. i think i paid like 70. my ph runoff is often low. like under 6! i think this is just the salts clearing out on flush.

bird mcbride said:

I traded in ph down for domonite lime bought from a lumber yard and refined plant ash to ph up in my res.

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As me and others have said though, dolomite lime will never ever lower your pH. It also doesn't dissolve very well in water, such as in a reservoir, so how this could be working for you is quite confusing.

Alls I can tell you is go to the lumber yard, pick up some dolomite lime and try it with your ph tester. You can get it in different mesh sizes.

Mesh size has little to do with it, that would only pertain to how fast acting it is (micronized = faster acting). I've tested dolomite lime mixed in water before and the pH was 8 or above.

kingofqueen said:

Umm lime is acidic it lowers the ph of akaline soil etc. That's one of the reasons we use dolomite lime in our soil .
Sulpher is akaline it raises your soil ph . Where do you get your info from ? All he needs to do is top dress with dolomite lime and water with ph'ed water .

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I have never posted before but you're ignorance makes me smile and finally break my silence. Lime raises ph or makes soil less acidic as it is a base or alkaline, not akaline, made from calcium and calcium carbonate. Where do you get your info from boss?

xxbxrxextxtxx said:

ok i have been watering my plants with properly phed water. but my soil ph stays high. im using happy frog. and have everything in cloth pots and could prolly put a few mor inches of soil in the pot now that the plants r bigger. can i mix lime into some soil and add it to the top of the soil to lower the ph. and if so how much should i add? its at 7.5 -8 and its causing a few issues

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I threw my ph meter in trash and tds meter in the trash completely unnecessary for a organic grower . I use it in every nutrient feed or you can every watering .If you like first throw in the nutes and a small tea spoon to a gallon or two gallons doesn't matter .If you let it sit for a 10 mins it will go straight to 7.0 ph I guarantee you my roots a super white not brown . I will show you if you want proof I use dolomite lime powder kind it works fuck pH thats a thing in the past use it as water soluble only ! because if you put in your soil that shit will bring pH too high if you over do it .

This thread is pure comedy.........can a thread have so many opposing views and bad information, it's hilarious. I will add I managed an 875 acre organic farm and ran a group of garden stores so I know what I'm talking about. I wouldn't know where to begin. LOL

SSHZ said:

This thread is pure comedy.........can a thread have so many opposing views and bad information, it's hilarious. I will add I managed an 875 acre organic farm and ran a group of garden stores so I know what I'm talking about. I wouldn't know where to begin. LOL

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they are just stating what worked for them . Your very arrogant your someone nobody wants advice from . Everyone grows different there's no right way .piss off with your 800 acres in the newbie forums

There is no reason to stress about soil pH, the roots can be 3 points lower than surrounding soil if they are healthy and fed well.
Learn how to make chelate mixes. There is little you can change once the plant is growing. learn from it, and start prepping soil for next year outdoors so long.

weedhead24 said:

they are just stating what worked for them . Your very arrogant your someone nobody wants advice from . Everyone grows different there's no right way .piss off with your 800 acres in the newbie forums

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My point was there ARE some methods that are better than others and this thread is full of poor advice.......read thru some of my threads before you start mouthing off, maybe you'll learn something too. Lime is one of the easiest and most basic building blocks to marijuana container growing, and if you can't get this right, you will probably be in real trouble later on in flowering. These types of threads actually do more harm than good for most newbies.....

The only way to learn how to get it right is to do it. Try all the methods. If you kill a plant. Life continues. The next plant will be better. There's no way in hell a thread can replace real life application. It's all a guideline. This isn't some scientific evidence. It's green thumb from different styles.

Good grief. The dirt only stays in the pots for three and half months.

Geoffrey Palmieri said:

I have never posted before but you're ignorance makes me smile and finally break my silence. Lime raises ph or makes soil less acidic as it is a base or alkaline, not akaline, made from calcium and calcium carbonate. Where do you get your info from boss?

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You're right, but about 6 years to late.

SSHZ said:

My point was there ARE some methods that are better than others and this thread is full of poor advice.......read thru some of my threads before you start mouthing off, maybe you'll learn something too. Lime is one of the easiest and most basic building blocks to marijuana container growing, and if you can't get this right, you will probably be in real trouble later on in flowering. These types of threads actually do more harm than good for most newbies.....

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I don't want any kind of beef I didn't go see your thread .but try to respect people a little bit more that's all I want . Let him see what happens an who was wrong