Lime Application
Here in Buffalo and Western New York, our soil is typically highly acidic. This is due to the large amounts of rain we receive during the spring and summer months. Soil acidity is measured on a scale of 1 to 14 with most plants preferring a pH balance between 6 and 7.5. When soil acidity rises too high your grass will be unable to get the essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Ultimately, this will cause your grass to thin out and appear weak or malnourished. With a proper lime application, you can correct your pH balance and bring the soil acidity back to optimal levels.
Most lawns require lime when the pH balance is too high or too low. Cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue require higher pH levels while warm-season grasses like Bermudagrass and St. Agustine grass require slightly lower levels, but keeping it between 5.8 – 7.2 is the sweet spot.
What is Lime?
Lime is a soil additive made from pulverized limestone rock. Limestone contains calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Together, these chemicals make soils less acidic by increasing the pH balance and improving your lawn’s access to nutrients it requires.
Signs Your Yard Needs Lime
Do you notice excess moss and weeds in your lawn? Is your grass looking lack-luster? Mosses and weeds love acidic soils and will quickly move in, overcrowding your grass and robbing your turf of the nutrients it needs. When soil acidity is too high you’ll also notice that fertilizers will have little effect on your grass. Knowing your soil’s pH balance can save you from buying unnecessary fertilizers or aerating your lawn which will have little to no effect if your soil is too acidic.
What Causes Acidic Soil?
- Organic matter (like grass clippings and leaves) breaking down
- Excessive watering or rain can wash out nutrients
- Ammonia-based synthetic fertilizers that are high in nitrogen.
Benefits Of Adding Lime
Adding lime to your soil is a great way to reduce the acidity levels and get your grass thriving again. Knowing how and when to apply lime is crucial to the success of your lawn.
The Benefits Of Lime Include:
- Managing moss problems: moss thrives in highly acidic soil.
- Controlling weeds: weeds also do well in acidic soil.
- Greener grass: lime contains calcium which helps promote your lawn’s color and strength.
- Enhance Fertilizer Performance: lime promotes the health of good microbes in the soil which helps break down fertilizers so your grass can have better access to nutrients.
Call the Professionals at Seasonal Lawncare
At Seasonal Lawncare we have over 25 years of lawn care experience. Our experts will first test your soil to get a proper reading of the pH levels. From there, we can create the best lime application treatment plan for your lawn in order to bring your soil’s acidity levels back to the proper range and encourage optimal growth.
Call the experts at Seasonal Lawncare today!