[CH] Mary & Riley's lime

Cameron Begg (begg.4@osu.edu)
Wed, 09 May 2001 08:21:40 -0400 

Hi C-H's,
Riley asked:
>My soil is a bit acid--iirc Bryon or someone suggested bringing the ph
>up with dolomite instead of lime.  Comments?  Is the application rate on
>the bag?  Never tried to adjust soil ph before.

Scott answered:
>Dolomite will alter the pH much more slowly than traditional
>lime applications, and much-Much-MUCH! more slowly than
>Sir Gareth's body-disposal method.  The good news is it leaches
>out of the ground slower, so it remains to combat the acidity
>longer.  The bad news is it may be harder to nail an exact pH level.

Agreed. A good solution would be to dig in a load of dolomite, chalk 
or whatever you can buy cheaply to neutralize the acidity long term, 
and then top dress with the slaked lime for a quick fix. Why is your 
soil so acidic? Did you have a lab. measure the pH?

>Byron save me from disposing
>bodies--the local Home Depot only has slaked lime, which is what I
>thought was used.  They didn't have agricultural lime.

Agricultural lime IS slaked lime. The body rotting stuff is 
quicklime. Do not take chemical advice from Byron or you'll be buried 
alive in compost and snake oil garden remedies!
Seriously, if you heat chalk (traditionally done in a limekiln):
CaCO3 ->CaO+CO2
CaO is quicklime and very reactive stuff. If you "slake" it, which 
means add water to it, you "quench it's thirst" and turn it into 
slaked lime or calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 plus a lot of heat. This is 
the innocuous white powder you toss around your roses.

>But I forgot to ask, what _is_ the proper ph for chiles?

I think it's reckoned to be about pH6.5 but they will tolerate 
anything in the ph4.5-pH8.5 range. Chiles are very tolerant. I cannot 
imagine that your soil is outside this range. BTW don't waste your 
money on cheap pH meters.

>One reason the soil is acid is the trees--pines, eucs and 
>palm....and walnut chips.
>Any good links to sites on this subject?

No links, but now you've got me going on bucket chemistry I'll chuck 
in a few suggestions!
I know nothing about palm debris. The pine needles should be left 
around the base of the trees to provide a natural mulch and protect 
the shallow roots. Eucalyptus burns hotter than any other wood I have 
lit. Use it for starting your grill. Walnut chips are hard wood and 
should make a pretty good mulch. If your house is light in color keep 
it off the walls to avoid staining. They also might be good for 
smoking. Pecan is excellent. What does walnut smoke smell like?
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                      Regards,               Cameron.