Kitchen Garden Forum

hi there ,hope someone can help me out again.

i have a bag of hydrated lime left over from dashing my bungalow,the qeustion is can i use this on the allotment or would it be best to get a bag of lime from the local agricultural shop??

If I remember correctly it works fine, more quickly than ground limestone. It can burn so apply it on a calm day then rake it in a bit if rain isn't expected so it doesn't blow about.

thanks geoff

Hi there. Just noticed this thread. Thing is, I'm trying to source ground limestone as my soil is very acidic, but it's proving very difficult to find. Indeed, some places I've tried have never even heard of it ! The few sources I HAVE found are on an industrial scale. As I want only a relatively small amount (25kg's or so)does anyone know of any source ?
Cheers...freddy.

I get mine from the garden centre, I'd have thought living near so much limestone you could buy it OK
Kays have lime products by mail order http://www.kaysdiscountgarden.co.uk/cgi ... -ecommerce but I can't decide if any of them are actually ground limestone.

Hi Geoff,
I suspect that what is needed is Calcium Carbonate which I believe is a preparation made from Chalk.
JB.

Hello Freddy
What you need is simply 'garden lime'. This is the same as ground limestone or ground chalk. Any good garden centre should have it and it is usually much cheaper by the 20/25 kg bag. A very good place to try would be a farm store like Countrywide Farmers as these are likely to be a good bit cheaper than a garden centre. Take care though as they also sell 'limestone flour' which is a supplement for horses. As JB says the name to look out for is calcium carbonate and this is what you need on the composition label..
The hydrated lime from builders merchants will work but is is caustic and difficult to handle - its used for making up lime mortar.

John

You are correct JB, my bag is labelled Calcium Carbonate.
It doesn't look like my link above works properly, doesn't seem to like linking to a search result. You might be intrigued to learn they call it "Kays Garden Lime (organic) 25kg", what on earth is that supposed to mean?
If you go to http://www.kaysdiscountgarden.co.uk/cgi ... ;category= then select fertilisers and search for lime you see all their related products.

Hi folks. Thanks for the replies. After a bit of googling, I found quite a few places selling J Arthur Bowers Garden Lime, which I have been assured (via e-mail) is ground lime. It works out on average around £15 for 25kg's, which should last me quite a while Once again....thanks folks
Cheers...freddy.

Hello again Freddy
Glad you've found what you needed. You say your soil is very acidic. This is quite unusual. I assume that you must have tested your soil but I would check your results again before you sprinkle loads of lime everywhere. What pH values did you get? For example pH 6 - 7 though slightly acidic is fine for most veg.
Another very useful type of lime, which is more difficult to get hold of though, is dolomitic lime as this has a significant proportion of magnesium in it.

John

Hi John,
The only trouble with Dolomite Lime is the difficulty spreading it 'cos with only one arm and one leg having lost the other two limbs with the cost!
JB.

Hi John. I've tested several times and always got the same reading. According to the electronic tester thingy, the ph value is 5.0. I too was quite surprised at this reading, which is why I took plenty of readings at different locations. The 'best' reading I took gave a value of 6.0, which is in the (for want of a better word) decorative part of my garden. I have a Camelia in that part of the garden, and it's going great guns ! Another thing that points toward it being acidic, is the failure of my beetroot to grow. It germinated ok, but then pretty much just stopped. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes, but it shouldn't do any harm to add lime. Next years crops will be the telling thing.
Cheers...freddy.

Hi Freddy,
I have a PH meter but sometimes they can be wildly inaccurate. It is really in your own interest to buy a Soil Testing Kit and take samples alongside the readings you get from the PH Meter. This may sound daft but you will then may be able to use your Meter with confidence or ditch it.
The STK is by far the most accurate method.
JB.

Hi Johnboy. I did actually try one of those kits (from B&Q) but the thing was, it told me my soil is VERY alkaline ! In fact, it was off the scale. I therefore figured that THAT couldn't be right given the fact that the few acid loving plants I have are are pictures of health. I'm willing however to try one again, but I find it a little difficult to trust them. Is there one you can recommend ?
Cheers...freddy.

As my plot is heavily infested with clubroot I use a lot of lime and I always buy builders lime. After watering my brassicas in I always give a good dusting around the base of the stems as I think this deters root fly.I have never known hydrated lime burn a plant.