I have started the preparations for a new kill plot, it's about 25 feet wide 150feet long. I've cleared all debris, so my next step is waiting for the ground to thaw an spray the weed killer down, break ground then spray again. But the part I'm least wanting to do is put lime down, so is it a necessity? I'm not sure of the soil ph levels being I have yet to test it but I'm gonna assume its fine being its in the woods an was covered with leaves an all sorts of other things. Wouldn't this act as a compost an make the dirt great? The plot is in a low area that's usually pretty moist dirt if that helps. I just need some help before I go any farther, this is my first plot so I'm new to this game.
The type of trees in your area will greatly affect the soil, sometimes raising the acidity of it quite substantially. You can plant food plots anywhere...but food plots won't just flourish anywhere. I'd bet you need lime but get a soil test done, share what you want to plant and work towards getting the ph to where it needs to be.
Sometimes in the first few years you can get away without lime if the soil has a lot of organic matter. But it will catch up with you and lime will be needed to get the same results. If you're going through the task of putting in a plot why skip a pretty easy step?
I'm planting a clover/chicory, an this is a lot of work I'm usin all hand tools, no tiller no nothin just a shovel an some rakes.
One of the best/cheapest places I have found for pelletized lime is our local Menards. Usually in the spring it goes on sale for under $3 a 50 lb bag. I have been using this on my woodland "hunting" plots for years. Cheap, and easy to get and haul. I know bulk lime is cheaper, but this works for the 8 to 10 bags a year I use. I am sure any big name home improve,ent store carries it.
I was told to stay away from pelletized an to stick to the pulverized/powder. How exactly do you apply it? before or after breaking ground? do you use fertilizer at the same time you use lime? an the hardest question of it is everywhere can give me an idea of how much for an acre but this is like a slice out of an acre so how would i go bout that?
Pelletized lime will work as well as pulverized lime does. plot that size won't require much. I spread mine with a pull type spreader, but have had to go so far as to spread it by hand before when I had a break down. The only way to truly know is a soil sample. I always put lime down, soil sample or not.
If you have a plot that is 25 feet by 150 feet then figure how much you have times them together 25*150= 3750 square feet. an acre is 43560 square feet. so divide that out 3750/43560= .086 so your plot is roughly a tenth of an acre. (just under but round it out to even for division purposes) so say you want to put 1.5 tons to the acre of lime on your plot, to get how many pounds of lime you need you multiply it out. 1.5 tons is 3000 pounds times .086 3000*.086= 258 pounds of lime. so to add the equivilant of 1.5 tons of lime to the acre on a plot your size you would need 258 pounds. divide 258 by fifty= 5.16 bags of pelletized lime. about 20 dollars at most any tractor supply store. I honestly don't get soil tests done, but I food plot in a cedar swamp which is naturally very acidic. so i know as a general rule of thumb to add lime. You can apply it anytime. I put mine on in june, worked it in a few weeks later just before i planted the plot. one thing to consider is the terrain, if its not a flat plot then rain could wash the lime away if not worked in when spread on. Good luck, hope that makes some sense out of figuring out how much you need.
Powdered lime is a mess/pain to deal with unless you have the right spreader. I just use a grass spreader on wheels (push type) and spread my lime in the spring when the rains come. I may hit the plot with lime again in the fall if it needs it.
That's a huge help, now all ill have to do is plug in the numbers!!!! I'm not to sharp when it comes to math
pastorandrew is a great source of food plot advice just for future reference...good luck and welcome to the fold.
Oh wow, pressures on me now! lol will gladly answer any question to the best of my ability, if i don't know i will tell yeah that to! lol
I agree and try to watch the sales at Menards. But their regular price really went up on that lime. Used to be $4.22 a bag normally and last year it was like $6.
Lime is just used to adjust your soil Ph. If that is all that you are interested in knowing, you can get a soil test probe that will tell you the Ph of your soil. I have a Biologic Ph test probe, but you can find them at most farm stores. You can use this to find your Ph and with a little math, figure out how much lime you need to bring the Ph back to roughly 7(which is generally the number you are looking for.) This will not tell you about the nutrients and minerals in your soil, for that a soil test is needed. Your local ag extension office can have them done, or a lot of companies like Biologic offer the service. This will tell you how much and what type of fertilizer you should put down to get optimal production. It's a good idea to get a soil test done so you know what your baseline is and know where to go from there. My plots had been pasture/grazing land for cattle for decades before I bought it. I haven't added anything to the soil at this point as the land is plenty fertile. I do use the soil test probe and found my property was at about 6.5 in most places, so I choose not to add any lime, and my plots have grow great. Eventually I know that I will probably need to start adjusting them, but I hope to do alot of that w. a good crop rotation.
