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----- Original Message -----
From: Merla Barberie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 7:34 AM
Subject: Re: Perfect Orchard
>
> When you suggest lime to someone, you need to be more specific about what
you
> mean. Can you do a rundown of limes that are available and what they are
used
> for just to clarify what you mean when you say "add lime"?
>
> Best,
>
> Merla
Good point Merla
Aussies are renowned for being casual in their
use of language, and I have to admit to being worse than most! On top of
that we often use it differently than you do, so here's my lime story.
# Agricultural LIME (your high calcium lime) is finely ground limestone
rock - calcium carbonate - CaCo3 - the finer the grind the better - we look
for 90% finer than 300micron, this gives a high neutralising value for acid
soils and, we need to use less. This material is also called High Calcium
Lime and has only a low amount, or nil, of magnesium. Its usually white to
greyish off white but can have a pink or brownish tinge depending on the
amount and type of soil or other rock contamination - use Ag LIME on loam
and heavier soils,where on the CEC soil test calcium is low and magnesium is
adequate (above 12% of total CEC)
# Dolomite (often called LIME in your country) is a combination of magnesium
carbonate and calcium carbonate - again a finely ground rock - only use this
where there is a tested need for magnesium in the soil CEC. Thats only
likely to be sandy and sandy loam soils. Excess dolomite will tighten up
soils and burn out nitrogen so the fertiliser men love to see farmers using
dolomite to neutralise acid soils, cause they will soon be back in the store
to order heaps of bagged nitrogen.
A lot of people use dolomite to good effect in homemade animal licks so yes
its easy to find in the feed stores.
# calcium oxide - is burnt limestone rock - hot stuff this - very active -
it will burn you and your soil critters.
#calcium hydroxide - burnt limestone hydrated (it takes in some water) this
is your ordinary builders lime - can get this in any hardware store - its
used for making mortar for bricks - not the effect we want in soil. It can
be used ok in some circumstances in small quantities
# There are a whole raft of commercial "liquid calcium" "liquid lime"
products around.
To me the common theme seems to be they are way expensive - and have a heavy
advertising budget attached - calcium is a cheap base material to buy -
calcium nitrate is not expensive (50 cents US per kg or litre) but put it in
a plastic drum with fancy label and a little colouring agent and the price
goes up by a factor of about five.
The liquid limes - again in a fancy container with some of what looks like
paint thinner /oil added to suspend it, it makes a real high price for what
probably started out as a piece of rock.
I am not arguing about the effect of these products on soils or growing
crops, I just dont like them because of the massive markup.
# Your prilled material sounds like it is fine ground, high calcium lime
that has been reformed into granules to make spreading easier.
Is this OK Merla - come back if you think it needs more
Cheers
Lloyd Charles
>
