Soil pH only 4.4

[KirbysLawn]

Took on a lawn about a month ago with aeravation and overseeding. The lawn was very thin and bare dirt was the norm in many spots. Well got the soil test back today, pH 4.4! Only needs 125lbs lime per 1000sf, looks like a long project now, good news is CEC is great and N-P-K is also good. Good example of why testing pays off.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Thank for the info Ray.

Are you going to put it all out at one time. LOL.

[Diesel]

Don't laugh! I applied 4 ton/acre this spring to my farm. Soil pH was also 4.4 - 4.9. This translates to over 180 lbs/1000 sf. I didn't have to worry about tearing anything up on the farm - a lawn would be another matter.....

By the way the total amount was 146 tons.

[strickdad]

ray, on apps that need that much correction do you need to put lime down in two or three steps or can you correct in one step?? in other words how much is to much??

[KirbysLawn]

I usually try to do it over time, plan on 50 pounds for k over 3 apps.

[GroundKprs]

Ray, have you ever successfully modified pH over the long term, or is a low pH situation an indicator to you that regular liming will be necessary? Have heard that golf courses in your area find that over long term thay cannot change the pH; they are just making short term modifications to allow turf to survive, basically. Just curious, because I have never run into a pH here that I would have to correct for turf.

[HOMER]

Helped a guy the other day put out 150 tons of lime in a pond

What a mess!

Has anyone ever done this?

[cclllc]

Homer,what kind of pond was it?

[Ricky]

I have lived at this home for over 20 yrs. About 10 or 15 yrs ago I applied over about 175 # per K. That was what the soil test called for. I dumped it all on at once (didn't know any better). Last year I had the soil tested, it called for 120 # per K. Jim's post makes me wonder. I thought that when you corrected the ph it lasted for a long time.

Yea Homer, elaborate! details! Please

[KirbysLawn]

Jim, regular liming is mandatory around here to maintain a decent pH. I think due to the clay soils we have the lime (along with most other nutrents) wash out quickly. Lawns that have had applications of top soil and compost seem to have a more stable pH without the large drops. I have been successful in increasing pH over time but it is an annual thing. I have tried focusing pH corrections with both lime applications along with organic content, that is not the problem in this case so I hope it will be an easy fix.

This lawn will be the toughest yet, grass has started growing and this must be corrected before it dies out. I will try to follow up on it with a few photos later.

Ray