Liming the soil: how to properly deoxidize and application rates, the best timing

Acidic soils need to be reduced in acidity, because not all plants grow well in such soil. Liming is one of the obligatory agrotechnical methods for improving soils. Consider the types of soils by acidity, its levels, how it is possible to determine how acidic the soil is, how and how much to add lime and common mistakes that gardeners can make when liming the soil.

Why is liming the soil?

Quicklime is called calcium oxide, but slaked lime is used for liming, which is called fluff. Calcium is the main element in the composition, but magnesium and other elements may be present in the mineral.

The main purpose of adding lime to the soil is to normalize acidity, but it can also be considered a calcium fertilizer. After liming, not only acidity decreases, the soil becomes loose, it better absorbs moisture, which is retained in its upper layers. The drying of the soil slows down, moisture enters the roots of plants. The amount of toxic substances that can accumulate in plants is reduced. Due to the normalization of acidity in the soil, conditions are created for the reproduction of beneficial soil microflora.

Degrees of acidity

Neutral soil acidity is indicated as pH 6.5-7. If the value is less, then it is sour. Soils are considered slightly acidic at pH 5-6, moderately acidic - at pH 4-5, strongly acidic - at pH 4 or less. Such soils require deoxidation.

Acidity adversely affects the development of many cultivated plants, makes micronutrients less available to plants, increases the availability of harmful metal compounds, degrades the physical properties of the soil.

Types of soils by degree of acidity

Podzolic forest, clay-soddy, peat and coniferous soils are considered acidic. Strongly acidic - marsh soil and lowland peat, slightly acidic - soddy and heather.

Neutral reaction in chernozems, deciduous and humus soils. Carbonate soils are alkaline.

How to identify it?

To determine the acidity of the soil in your area, you can use different methods. Let's take a closer look at them.

Table vinegar

You need to take a lump of earth, scatter it on the film and sprinkle with vinegar. If nothing happens, then the soil in the garden is acidic, and there will be no reaction. If sizzling bubbles appear on the surface of the mass, then the reaction is neutral or alkaline. In this case, liming is not required.

Cherry or currant leaf tea

Take cherry or currant leaves, pour boiling water and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Pour the earth into the infusion; if the liquid becomes bluish, then the soil is sour, the liquid will become greenish - neutral or alkaline.

Grape juice

In a glass of fresh juice you need to throw the earth taken from the garden. If a color change occurs and bubbles begin to appear, the soil is acidic.

Soda

First you need to mix the soil with water to get a liquidy mass. Sprinkle soda on it. Hissing and bubbling will indicate an acidic reaction.

Other methods

You can also find out if the soil is acidic in the area by the weeds that grow on it. On sour grow: horse sorrel, horsetail, heather, moss, mint, sedge, lupine, cinquefoil, plantain, bent grass, mountaineer, mustard, wood lice, buttercup.In areas with a reaction closer to neutral, you can find: nettle, wheatgrass, bindweed, chamomile, coltsfoot, thistle, quinoa, radish, fescue, clover, cornflower, soapwort, rank. Chistets, wild poppy, larkspur appear on alkaline.

How to properly apply lime to the soil

The best time for liming is in autumn, when preparing the site for wintering, when plant residues are being harvested and digging is in progress. If for some reason it was not possible to do this at the end of the season, you can also lime in the spring, but no later than 3 weeks before sowing seeds or planting seedlings.

To calculate how much lime is needed, you need to determine not only the cultivated area, but also other factors: mechanical composition, natural acidity, acidity requirements of crops that will be grown in the beds after liming.

Approximate application rate for different soil types (in g per sq. m.):

• for strongly acidic - from 250 on peatlands and up to 900 for clay:
• for medium sour - from 100 to 650;
• for slightly acidic - 50 to 500.

Liming with a full dose is not carried out every year, but once every 4-5 years. More frequent use of lime will not bring benefits, but harm, due to a decrease in the availability of boron and copper, a large amount of potassium. Another test for acidity should be carried out after the earth has been treated with lime. It is necessary that it show a neutral or slightly acidic reaction, which is also acceptable. The test should be carried out every year and if it turns out that the acidity is increasing, it should be neutralized with small portions of lime. It should be in powder form, the finer the better. Spread the powder evenly over the beds and be sure to dig and loosen the ground after. The depth of digging for the main application is 20-25 cm, for partial application - 10 cm.

Common mistakes

Don't use fresh quicklime, which is corrosive and can cause burns. You need to purchase fluffy slaked lime or extinguish quicklime before use.

You can't add lime to the ground when plants grow on it, the roots of which can also be burned. Therefore, it should be used only in early spring or mid-autumn, when there are no crops in the beds.

Lime cannot be combined with fertilizers, first you need to deoxidize the soil, and then add fertilizers. The interval between applications should be at least 2 weeks. When lime and fertilizers are applied together, they can react, forming compounds that are harmful to plants. Since lime contains a lot of calcium, after applying it, you need to adjust the amount of fertilizers, especially those that contain this element, so that there is no excess of it in the soil.

If you do not apply safety precautions when working with lime, you can get skin irritation or burns. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and a respirator that will protect the skin and respiratory tract from the powder.

Liming of the soil on your site must be carried out if it is strongly acidified. In such a land, it will not be possible to get a good harvest, because the conditions for the normal life of crops have not been created. This is a simple agricultural technique, which is rarely carried out - 1 time in several years. Lime can be bought at any hardware store, it is stored in a dry room for a long time, you can use it for several years in a row. Its application normalizes acidity, feeds plants with calcium, magnesium and other trace elements, prevents the penetration of heavy metals, nitrates into them, that is, it makes vegetable and fruit products better.

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