Should I Lime My Clay Soil?
The question of whether or not to add lime to your garden soil has little to do with whether that soil is clay, rocky, sandy or an ideal loam. Instead, you add lime to soil to adjust the earth's natural pH level. Nonetheless, clay soil requiring lime to make the soil's pH more suitable for gardening will require more lime than other types of garden soil.
Understanding pH
Different types of plants prefer either acidic or alkaline soil. For example, blueberries and rhododendrons do not grow well if the soil is alkaline. Clematis, however, loves alkaline soil.
You measure the alkalinity or acidity of soil through pH (potential Hydrogen ion). By examining your soil's pH, you'll know how much lime (or calcium) your soil naturally has. Acidic soil has a pH of 7.0 or lower. Alkaline soil has a pH higher than 7.0.
You can temporarily adjust soil pH by adding amendments to the soil.
Testing Your Soil's pH
Gardening centers sell soil pH testing kits. By following the directions on the package closely, you can get an accurate measurement of how much lime is already in your garden's soil. Such testing kits also come with instructions about what amendments to add to your soil, depending upon the test results.
Adding Lime
If your soil needs to be more alkaline, you're in luck. It is generally considered easier to keep soil alkaline than it is to keep it acidic. If you have clay soil, you'll need to add more lime than if your soil was sandy or loamy.
To make your clay soil more alkaline by 1.0 point, add 12 oz. of hydrated lime per square yard. (If your soil is sandy, it needs only 4 oz.; if the soil is loamy, add just 8 oz.; and if your soil is peaty, add 25 oz.)
Maintenance
Do not think of taming acidic soil as a short-term job. You'll need to maintain your soil well for it to stay alkaline. Test your soil yearly, and amend as necessary. Most experts suggest you try to make your soil more alkaline by only a point or two each year.
In addition to adding lime, you may add bone meal, hardwood ash or crushed oyster shells to the soil in order to make it more alkaline.
Finally, chemical fertilizers can leach soil, making it more acidic, so avoid fertilizing soil with a tendency toward acidity.
Related posts
Good-quality garden soil has a dark color and crumbly texture.Lightening clay garden soils can be a challenge to any gardener. The soil has small particles and feels sticky to the touch when wet a...
The black eye susan is one of the few plants that can tolorate a clay rich soil.Clay soil, by nature, is highly acidic. Limestone can be added to acidic soil to bring up the pH. Limestone also add...
For best results, till your soil when it is moist and warm.Clay soil is made up of fine particles with a tight and bonded structure. This structure causes it to hold onto both water and nutrients...
Lime is one of many soil amendments that can make your garden grow.Sometimes planting a garden is like painting a landscape -- you balance the dark and light, the tall and the short and before you...
Clay soils present problems for rose gardeners. Heavy clay doesn't drain well and compacts easily, which can both starve the root system of oxygen. However, amending the soil with organic material...
