Should i lime before seeding

Lawns need lime when low soil pH starts inhibiting the availability of nutrients. Soil pH preferences vary between regional lawn grasses , but most grasses prefer soil pH between 5.

Warm-season grasses tolerate slightly lower pH, while cool-season grasses prefer pH slightly higher. When pH strays too far in either direction, even plentiful nutrients are restricted.

Lime restores balance in overly acidic soil to bring pH back to optimal growing levels. Poor grass growth and lawn moss are signs that lawns may need lime. Lawns in regions with heavy rainfall tend to need lime regularly. Your lawn's soil type affects how much lime it takes to change soil pH.

Pennington Fertilizer Resources. Phosphorous leads to improved flower formation, increased seed production and a heartier resistance to plant diseases as well. Potassium is another important element with a wide range of benefits that help the overall health quality of the plant. Potassium increases crop yields by improving root growth, building essential proteins and combatting harmful diseases.

Fertilizers provide plants with additional nutrients, too, including calcium, sulfur, magnesium, boron, copper and iron. Fertilizer has its many advantages, but these benefits cannot be properly realized without proper soil acidity. A pH value of 7 is considered neutral. A substance with a pH value lower than 7 is considered an acid, and a substance with a pH value higher than 7 is considered an alkaline or base. Keep in mind that a lower pH level means a higher concentration of hydrogen, and as the scale is logarithmic, each unit increase means a tenfold change in acidity.

For example, soil with a pH value of 6 has ten times the hydrogen concentration of soil with a pH value of 7. Most soil ranges in pH value from 5. For healthy plant growth, a pH value between 6. Fortunately, you can test the acidity level of your soil in a variety of ways.

You can purchase an expensive, yet accurate commercial pH testing probe, a more affordable disposable pH testing kit or use any of a variety of DIY home-testing methods. Depending on your goals and budget, the dollar amount spent on soil testing can vary greatly.

Learn more about the different soil types. Soil acidity naturally increases over time thanks to an increasing concentration of hydrogen in the soil. Agriculture speeds up the process of acidification, largely through the use of ammonium-based fertilizers. Ammonium nitrogen from the fertilizer is converted into nitrate and hydrogen ions in the soil.

If the nitrates are not properly absorbed by the plants, the nitrates leach away from the root zone, leaving behind hydrogen ions, which increase the acidity of the soil. At a large scale, soil acidity is also caused by the sheer act of harvesting plants. Plants themselves are slightly alkaline, with a higher pH value.

In a natural setting, when plants die, they decompose into the slightly acidic soil and restore a healthy pH balance. When plants are harvested, the cycle is broken, and the balancing act is never performed, leaving the soil slightly acidic. Lime is introduced both to supply calcium and to help restore the pH balance of soil. Liming is by far and away the most cost-effective solution for neutralizing soil , so it is used widely by farmers and gardeners everywhere.

Lime is made from ground limestone, a gray sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, which are formed from the buildup of ancient organic remains. These components make lime rich in calcium and magnesium. These compounds are what neutralize the acidity of the soil. As lime dissolves in soil, calcium rises to the surface of soil particles, replacing the acidic component of the soil.

The acidic components, including hydrogen and potassium, react with the carbonate, leaving behind neutralized clay, carbon dioxide and water. As a result, you have neutralized soil that is able to foster proper plant growth. Spread seed evenly across the lawn at a rate of 10 pounds per 1, square feet. Lightly water twice a day until the seed germinates. Once it is tall enough, mow ryegrass just like a regular lawn.

It will grow alongside the permanent lawn until spring when the weather becomes warm enough to bring the warm-season grass out of dormancy and kill the ryegrass. Her experience covers a variety of topics, including gardening, landscaping and lawn care equipment.

She has been gardening for as long as she can remember, and writing about garden and lawn care since Should You Lime When Overseeding?

Home Guides Garden Gardening. By Marissa Baker. Related Articles. Is Lime for the Yard Safe for Kids? Understanding Soil pH How much lime to apply is largely determined by the pH of the soil.