LIME

[Shallot Man]

Went down to the plot and into a quite heated discussion as to when to put lime down, one faction was for applying same after digging, allowing rain to wash it in, the other faction was to apply prior to digging. Your thoughts please.

[Geoff]

I always give the bed that is going to have the Brassicas a heavy dose of lime in Winter, usually January. I have naturally quite acidic soil and club root. You ask about before or after digging. I don't dig this bed, just weed and lightly fork over the surface before liming and lightly raking. I feed with Growmore before planting and dust each planting hole with more lime.

[Nature's Babe]

Like Geoff I don't dig and too much messing about upsets soils natural balance. Who limes fertilises and tills the forest , yet it grows in profusion and certainly not in monoculture, which encourages disease like club root to spread, and is a message to cabbage white butterflies from miles around if all planted in one bed, to come have a feast. See my latest answer to Primrose about the tomato leaves, the soil is a self regulating organism, earths skin, a bit like our skin, better left intact, it does a better job of regulating itself than i can. When I planted all greens in one bed they came from everywhere and even got in under the netting, now I dot them in mixed beds in among the tomatoes courgettes, tomatillos nasturtiums and marigolds leeks and garlic, this year I have only seen 2 or 3 cabbage whites flying around aimlessly, they seem quite confused, same amount of greens but hidden in lots of other aromas.

[Colin Miles]

I have acid soil and lime the holes where I plant the brassicas. Seems to work very well. As for mixing everything up to hide them from the cabbage whites, I tend to agree, but I will be interested to see how it works later on. The 2nd brood of cabbage whites have only just started to appear. Plenty of time for caterpillar mayhem.

[Nature's Babe]

Shallot man, geoff and Colin, I found this interesting article on the cause of soil acidity, it may help.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets ... causes.pdf

[Geoff]

I'm definitely not no-dig! I was only saying I don't dig the Brassica bed which is where I apply lime. This bed was very deeply dug and a large amount of organic matter added the previous season for the Courgettes, Squashes, Pumpkins and Gourds.

[Johnboy]

Hi NB,
I write this with great respect but I am afraid that you say 'what limes a forest' may well be true but we on this forum are vegetable growers and vegetables do not and would not grow on a forest floor so I suspect that your comments have very little bearing on the subject. A forest floor is an ecosystem all to itself and would not and does not need help from anybody. I do no know what you achieve by likening any vegetable growing with such an ecosystem because even with your no dig it bears no similarity with such an ecosystem. Certainly you have a no dig system and a forest floor is not dug but there I see the end of any similarity.
NB I an not trying to be awkward or nasty I am just trying very hard to understand what you mean by it all. I very much want to understand what you actually mean.
JB.