Correcting Lawn pH with Lime

In my previous post, Lawn Soil Test Report, I stated that my lawn needs a significant amount of lime to correct the acidic soil that our lawn is growing in. In fact, our lawn tested at an average pH of 5.35! That’s more than 10 times more acidic than the ideal range of 6.0 to 6.5. Needless to say that means I need to use a tremendous amount of lime.

I have about 45,000 sq. ft. of lawn. The soil report says I need to apply 50 lbs per 1,000 sq. feet of dolomitic lime now and about 42 lbs per sq. feet in the fall. 50 lbs x 45,000 sq. feet / 1,000 sq. feet = 2,250 lbs of lime!! Can you believe that? And that’s only what I need to apply this spring.

So I decided to make a trip to HD (very much against my best intentions of supporting local hardware stores) with my son the other day. They have several products to choose from but I decided to go with the Lime Rite (pictured above). It comes in 40 lb bags and costs about $4.50 per bag. I ended up buying 20 bags or 800 lbs on this trip. I can’t even begin to imagine putting down this much lime but that’s what the report says to do so that’s what I’m going to do.

I actually think I’ll call one of the local nurseries in town and ask if they can deliver the remaining 1,450 lbs of lime that I need. The one really great thing about this type of lime is it’s completely safe for animals and people so I won’t be risking anyone’s health with this lawn project.

Now if I could just convince my darling wife to let me buy a nice broadcast spreader that I could tow behind my mower instead of walking the small one around my yard for two weeks applying the 2,250 lbs of lime before I even think about applying any fertilizer!