Everyone loves to have a lawn that is thriving, and there is something so satisfying about seeing your lawn as the bright green color that it ought to be.
Something that lots of people swear by to achieve this is adding some lime to the soil of your grass in order to boost soil pH and encourage proper soil growth.
Lime for lawns should come from natural limestone, and the rock will be finely ground before being used to treat the soil in lawns, gardens, and various other parts of the landscape.
Limestone has a high concentration of natural magnesium carbonate and calcium carbonate, and this is what is used to neutralize acidic soil.
If you are trying to find the best way to lime your lawn, then you have come to the right place.
You can read our beginner’s guide to adding lime to your lawn to learn everything that you need to know about doing so.
Just keep reading to find out how you can do this to your own lawn to keep it thriving.
Table of Contents
Why You Need Lime For Lawns
If you want to ensure that you are taking proper care of your lawn, then it is really important to familiarize yourself with using lime.
The use of lime on your lawn will ensure that it has a good supply of calcium, and it will also work to ensure that your soil will have a balanced pH level.
If your soil is known to be particularly acidic, then the best solution for neutralizing it is liming. This is also one of the most cost-effective solutions that you can use.
The lime will work to naturally break down in the soil over time, and as this happens, it will trigger a rise of calcium within the particles of the soil.
During this process, the acidic components will start to be replaced.
Something that you may not have known is that your lawn actually contains both hydrogen and potassium, and these are both acidic.
They will react with the carbonates in the lime, which will transform them into neutral components.
When they finally turn into water, carbon dioxide, and neutralized clay, they will be able to better support the growth of healthy plants.
In this instance, you will be presented with much healthier grass.
Can You Use Lime and Fertilizer Together?
Even though you are able to fertilize your lawn as well as add lime to it at the same time, this is not something that is recommended.
Before you go ahead and lime your lawn, it is always a good idea to test your soil to find out which product is the most needed.
You can get a professional lawn or gardening company (see also: 5 Tips to Mow Your Lawn Like a Professional) to come out and test your soil before you start treating it, or you can purchase your own soil testing kit and do this yourself.
Both lime and fertilizer are products that are used as growth supplements, but they work in very different ways.
The fertilizer that you use will work to feed your plants and grass the essential nutrients that they need in order to grow and thrive.
On the other hand, lime is used in order to reduce the level of acid in the soil, which will make it easier for the grass to absorb all the nutrients that they need.
This is why it is essential to be aware of the pH of your soil, so you can find out which step you should be taking first.
If you do test your lawn and find that the level of acid in the soil is too high, then it will not benefit from using fertilizer first.
In this instance, you should be using the lime first, as this will help to stop a buildup of non-absorbed nitrates.
Otherwise, this is something that will only increase the level of acidity in your soil.
Once the lime has been used and is able to balance out the pH level of the soil, you will then be able to go in with your fertilizer in order to increase the growth of your grass.
What You Need to Know About Liming Your Lawn
Now that you know which products need to be used on your lawn and the correct order of doing so, it is important to learn exactly how to apply lime to your lawn in order to produce the best results.
When You Should Put Lime On Your Lawn
One of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to liming your lawn is your timing.
You should know that it will take some time for the lime to be able to break down in the soil and work to transform the pH level.
Exactly how long this will take will depend on various factors like the overall condition of the soil. In addition to this, the type of lime that you are going to use, how you are applying the lime, and how well the lime has been interred into the soil.
Something that can maximize your end results is working with a professional lawn care company to make this process easier.
They will know exactly how to apply the lime to your lawn for the best results, and they will also know which type of lime is the best to use.
They will be able to analyze your soil and determine the best approach for your specific lawn.
Although, if you are planning to do all of this yourself, then you should know that the best time to lime your lawn is typically in the fall.
This will give the lime the right amount of time to transform your acidic soil before the next growing season comes around.
The chemical reaction of the lime in the soil is quite slow, so if you are looking for fast results, then you might want to search for an alternative method.
One of the worst times to lime your lawn would be in the middle of the summer, as the high heat can negatively impact the chemical process that needs to take place.
This can cause the pH levels in your soil to become even more imbalanced.
The same also applies to freezing temperatures, as a frozen lawn will only halt the entire chemical process, and the excess moisture can work to dilute the lime and prevent proper pH neutralizing.
The Best Way To Apply Lime to Your Lawn
One of the most common forms of lime that is used to treat grass is Dolomitic lime.
You can contact a professional lawn care specialist to take care of liming your lawn, or you can choose to do it on your own if you have enough experience.
You can get the lime that you need in either pellet or powder form, and each of these options is equally effective when it comes to stabilizing the pH of the soil.
Lime can be applied to your grass through the use of either a tiller or a drop spreader.
This will ensure that you get an even application, which means that there will not be too much lime in any one area.
The more finely ground up that the lime is, the quicker that it will react to your soil.
It is often recommended to hire a professional to come and take care of your lawn. This is mostly due to the fact that it is a messy process, and lime powder can actually be harmful to you if you inhale it.
If you do want to do this yourself, then you will need to wear a commercial-grade breathing mask to help limit your exposure.
It is also really important to clean the surrounding surfaces once you have applied the lime to your lawn.
You will notice that it typically sticks to paved surfaces, and it can even erode plastics if it has not been properly cleaned away.
The majority of cleaning companies will tend to use lime pellets to help avoid the mess that the powder can create, as well as eliminate any complications that could arise through breathing the powder.
Another great advantage of lime pellets is that they are specifically formulated for timed release, which will ensure proper coverage.
The Benefits Of Applying Lime To Your Lawn
The soil that can be found underneath your lawn will be full of critical macronutrients, and these will help your lawn to grow properly.
Nutrients like potassium phosphorus, nitrogen, iron, boron, zinc, and many others are included in this.
There will need to be a balance between these nutrients if you want your grass to be a luscious green color.
When the pH of the soil goes higher than 6.5, the nutrients will break down and lead to a nutrient deficiency. When there is a deficiency, your lawn will be unable to thrive and the soil will become toxic, eventually dying off.
You can often tell if your soil has become too acidic by noticing signs of withering grass blades, yellow patches in the grass sod that is slow knitting, or a general reduction in the density of the turf.
These are all things that can be caused by various different factors.
One of these factors could be too much rain, which would cause the alkaline to run off, leading to increased acidity. Another factor could be over-fertilization.
No matter what is causing it, your lawn will be sure to benefit from the lime application.
The process of neutralizing the acidic soil with lime will ensure that your lawn is healthier, looks attractive, and is able to grow much quicker.
Lime also has a positive effect on the overall structure of the underlying soil. This will help to improve moisture retention and boost airflow.
Can You Use Too Much Lime?
As you now know, liming your lawn is a very effective way to help the soil to restore itself to a healthy pH level. This will work to provide you with healthier grass.
However, it is also possible to use too much lime.
If you do use too much lime on your lawn, it will remove the acidity from the soil, but also make it too alkaline for your grass to be able to thrive.
This would cause your grass to be yellow as it will not be able to absorb the moisture and nutrients that it needs from the surrounding soil.
Although, if you do use too much lime, this is something that can be fixed if you get a professional lawn care company to come out and test your soil and provide a customized solution.
Alternatively, you could spend a couple of weeks mulching in fresh organic materials which will help to dilute the lime.
Is Lime Safe For Animals and People?
There are actually a few different types of lime, but the ones that are used for lawn care are typically either in powder or pellet form.
You can also get a liquid form, but this is not generally used by anyone other than professionals.
Lime itself is natural, but it is not safe for consumption.
This is why you should use a heavy-duty mask when you are using powder lime. With pellets, you will need to ensure that pets or small children do not consume the pellets.
These pellets can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, and stomach. Although, as long as it is not ingested, lime will not be harmful.
You should always ensure that it has been properly incorporated into the soil before you allow any pets to roam freely in your yard.
Summary
We hope you have found this article useful. As you can see, lime can be helpful when it comes to using it on your lawn. You will just need to take care when using it.
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Thank you. I learned something about lime.