Another soil test result
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Ok...Russ
11-May-20
All, I'm new to food plots and read the thread from C5Ken so just want to see if on the right track for our plots. The location is East Central Oklahoma. It's newly purchased this spring and is 300 acres with about 10 acres of established food plots. Currently has rye along with clover which is coming up nicely. Took soil samples in 4/17 and got back on 5/5 so not too bad given the virus. Had to drop off outside the OSU extension office then they took to Stillwater for analysis. I have 4 samples from different plots but all are very similar in results. pH is between 5.1 and 5.5. Lime deficiency .5 - .7 tons ECCE/A. This is 1000-1400 lbs/acre if 100% lime. Since it's not 100%, I'm actually going to need a fair amount more right? My primary question is do I try and get the pH up all in one year(if possible) or do I add about 500-600 lbs/acre of pelletized lime each of the next couple of years? My other question is more of a clarification based on the other thread. The Potasium is showing 51 lbs/acre. If I find 0-0-60 at feed store, I'd need 85 lbs/acre(51/.60). Thanks in advance!
From: Ok...Russ
11-May-20
Taken 5/9
Taken 5/9
Oops - said Potasium at 51 but it's 63 lbs/acre. So, if my calculation was correct it'd be 105 lbs/acre instead of 85 as I posted above. Here are a couple of pics of one plot.
From: Ok...Russ
11-May-20
From: Fuzzy
11-May-20
yes, ...pH of 5.1 is pretty low.... lime takes a while to work, I'd apply the full recommended amount and plan on applying another quarter ton/acre next fall
From: Fuzzy
18-May-20
another thing to consider is what your soil parent material is. Here in the Valley and Ridge of Virginia if you are on shales and sandstones you have to lime much more aggressively to achieve satisfactory pH adjustment
From: Fuzzy
18-May-20
another thing to consider is what your soil parent material is. Here in the Valley and Ridge of Virginia if you are on shales and sandstones you have to lime much more aggressively to achieve satisfactory pH adjustment
From: darralld
18-May-20
My plot is in northeast Oklahoma. My clover & wheat always comes up good. I've had the hardest time finding the fertilizer that my report calls out. Drives me nuts! Get all your lime applied now.
From: Ok...Russ
18-May-20
Fuzzy, it's a pretty sandy soil. Right now the plans are to get 10,000 lbs of pelletized lime and get spread this weekend - hoping to get it all done Friday....may need headlights!
Darrall, I'm google searching the crap out of lime and fertilizer to find the highest percentage and lowest cost options. Lowes, Home Depot, Tractor Supply and surprisingly finding good deals at Atwood's. Lime is .10/lb in 40# bags. Shawnee feed quoted me $224/ton or .11/lb bulk and I'd have to rent a trailer to haul then shovel it into the spreader. Lots of damn bags(250) but I think easier in the long run. Still unsure on fertilizer but will worry about that late summer.
From: drycreek
18-May-20
Try a feed store. Most of them in this area have trucks that will deliver and spread. Much less work and money. I still wind up putting a lot of bag lime out simply because I can’t get a truck in and out.
From: Ok...Russ
18-May-20
drycreek, twofold problem: 1) Minimum I found from 2 places delivered was 20 tons and 2) a spreader won't be able to get to half of the food plots due to the roads. Totally agree and want less work for less money but not sure I can help it given the property location. Appreciate the suggestion though.
From: BullBuster
19-May-20
I’m no expert, but depending on your goals and what you plan to plant, I would think you need much more lime than that. Seems more like 1-2 tons per acre to start. Clearly not practical with bags but would seem more in line, especially in sandy soil.
From: Ok...Russ
19-May-20
BullBuster, I'm no expert either by a long stretch....but learning! The pelletized lime I found bagged is 86% CCE so the estimates on the soil samples of .5 or .7 tons/acre(1000-1400lbs) really should be 1140lbs/acre for .5 tons and 1596lbs/acre for .7 tons. Most of the plots are 5.5 pH and suggest the .5 ton/acre so that's my goal for all 10 acres knowing one of the big plots will need more lime than the others next year. That's 1000lbs/acre or 25 of the 40# bags. Going to try and get 250 bags broadcast this coming weekend. Ideally, I'd have a dump truck drop a huge pile then use front loader to fill 500 lb spreader but I don't have the tractor or spreader. My thoughts are to get as much as I can on the fields this year by bag and ATV spreader - will save some money but not time.
From: BullBuster
19-May-20
I applied 1350 lbs of Dolomite in 1 acre of my clay soil 1 year ago and pH went From 5.9 to 6.2.
From: Pat Lefemine
19-May-20
Obviously my field was accessible. Wish my NY property had this option!
Obviously my field was accessible. Wish my NY property had this option!
I just spread 22 tons on my Ohio property. This made it painless and cheaper than if I bought bags and spread it myself:
From: Ok...Russ
19-May-20
Hell yeah Pat! Always better to be taking the picture than being in the picture when it's work related! I had an offer to bring in 22 tons of ag lime and spread much cheaper than my option but would never get a rig that size to 6 of the 10 acres that need it. Of the 4 to 5 they could get to, I didn't need that much. Kinda catch-22. Will see how my back and ATV hold out this weekend! BullBuster, I'm sure hoping I get more than .3 increase in pH with 1,000 lbs/acre. Guess we'll know in the fall as I plan to get another test as it'll weigh on me to see if my effort was worth it.
From: Fuzzy
21-May-20
here's a thought, you are better off to put enough lime on half the plot(s) than half enough lime on all the plot(s)
From: Ok...Russ
21-May-20
Good thought Fuzzy and will give that some consideration. 10,000 lbs will get 4 of the 5 plots close to 100% of what the soil results recommend. The last plot, 3 acres, required .2 tons more per acre than the others or 400 lbs/ac. I'd need another 1200 lbs to get the last plot close to the soil recommendation. The bags that I found are 96.8% CCE.
From: Fuzzy
21-May-20
yeah I'd do the ones with the lowwwwer requirements first. Have you considered an acid-loving or acid tolerant planting for #5?
From: Fuzzy
21-May-20
yeah I'd do the ones with the lowwwwer requirements first. Have you considered an acid-loving or acid tolerant planting for #5?
From: Ok...Russ
21-May-20
Ok...Russ's Link
Another good point - which is why I like posting here! I'm working with a guy here in the OKC area who's going to help with seed selections. I've attached a link to a short article I read on low pH seeds. The plots already have clover and rye and now after reading this I am starting to possibly see why. My thoughts were that the pelletized lime would absorb into the soil and not be an annual application. First time I have read to use 10% of what's recommended of the Ag Lime for pelletized then plan to amend each year. That Ag Lime is one and done vs pelletized which is annual? I damn sure ain't doing this much every year with just me and an ATV! Any of you 'experts' or those will more experience able to chime in on what this article says regarding Ag Lime vs Pelletized? Thanks for the replies - much appreciated!
From: Pat Lefemine
21-May-20
I don’t agree with it at all. Is pelletized lime faster acting and faster to dissipate? Yes. But not 30 days. Not even close. And if your soil test calls for 4K lbs, it’s insane to say you can substitute that with 10% pelletized lime. Also, Ag lime does not alter PH permanently, if you get your PH to 7 it will continue to lower over time. How long is impossible to say. Lots of factors affecting PH like soil composition, amount of moisture, if trees are dropping leaves on your plots and the variety of trees, etc.
IMO The article was meant to sell you seed bags and not to educate.
My 2c.
From: BullBuster
22-May-20
Yep I agree. Burn that article.
From: Ok...Russ
22-May-20
Thank you Pat - always welcome your 2c especially about food plots! It went against everything else that I had read so appreciate the confirmation.
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!
From: t-roy
22-May-20
^^^Pat X2. Amending your soil will be an ongoing part of your program. Once you get your PH where it needs to be, liming it won’t need to be done yearly, but most likely it will need to be amended every few years, most likely.
From: Fuzzy
29-May-20
good points, soil amendment is an ongoing process, not a single point adjustment. There is way to much outdated, regionally irrelevant, and outright wrong "information floating around. A general rule is if your soil pH is under 6.5 you need to lime lightly every fall. if under 6.0 you need to lime heavily every fall until a spring result reads >6.5 then lime lightly every fall. If your initial pH is under 5.5 you need to lime the hell out of it, and then lime heavily every fall. (unless your target species are acidophilic) test soil every spring no matter what.
From: Fuzzy
29-May-20
remember that the pH scale is logorthmic, not linear. pH 4 is ten times as acidic as pH 5, pH 5 is ten times as acidic as pH 6, etc in other words, a pH of 5.1 is ten times as acidic as 6.1 which is at the low end of the "good" range for most crops
