I was perusing the internet when I thought of writing this article to get some ideas of what information is already out there on the subject of liming food plots.  There seems to be plenty of bad advice and over simplified explanations, so I want to break it down for you in this article and give it to you straight so you know what you are doing with your soil fertility.

WE all know that lime application to fix acidic soil is the most important thing you can do to make sure plants grow in your food plot. In order to do it correctly, you need to know what lime does, why you need it and how to apply it correctly.

Liming Food Plots Myths and Truths

A lot of questions come up from food plotters on the internet and some of the information out there on the Net and what folks think is frustrating to me.  It’s easy enough to grab some books and really read about soil chemistry and find out what is going on so there is no excuse not to educate yourself on soil fertility if you are to become a good food plotter.  Let’s go down through some really bad advice I see on the internet and bust some myths:

1. You need to apply dolomitic limestone in a deer food plot.  Well, maybe and maybe not.  If your soil is short on Magnesium you will want to use it.  If Mg levels are in the acceptable zone, do not use it.  Dolomitic limestone is limestone that was exposed to water when it was forming into rock that was high in magnesium.  It is calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate together in rock form and is ground same as limestone into a very fine grind to apply to ag fields.  If you need Mg, apply it at a slightly higher rate than what is called for in a soil test as its calcium carbonate equivalent may be a little lower.
2. If you need a lot of lime, apply it over two growing seasons.  There is no benefit to splitting a heavy lime application.  If we need a big move in pH, use the finest mesh available (over 60 mesh particle size).  Some fields, especially new ones just cut out of the woods will require 4 tons per acre.  Put it on and incorporate it.  Incorporating will prevent concrete-like spots where it is heavy and will mix with the soil to speed up the process and make sure the entire root zone is ph corrected.
3. Pelletized Lime is Faster Acting and You Need Less of it. This was true back when the first pelletized product came out of the marble industry, but the pelletized product is generally just pulverized limestone formed into pellets using clay and a squeezing it together into pellets.  The only advantage is you can load bags in your truck and it will flow through a spreader.  Pulverized lime won’t flow and needs to be applied with a chain-feed spreader on a delivery truck or trailer.
4. A field needs to be limed every few years.  Well, maybe.  If you use the Principals of Soil Health and keep the biota of the soil healthy and don’t use chemical fertilizer, the pH of your food plot should stay in a good range for many years.  What happens when you use Nitrogen fertilizer, especially in the ammonium form, places 2 H+ ions in soil for every molecule of ammonium that turns to nitrate which is the form plants utilize.  Acidity is nothing more that the amount of hydrogen ions are in solution.  This is a good reason to count on legumes and a healthy bacteria level achieved by not tilling soil to provide plenty of N.  Another cause of acidification is the leaching of Calcium from the soil with lots of rain. Here in the Northeast, even limestone-derived soil gets acidic due to the high rainfall.  But this takes a very long time.
5. You have to apply lime at least 6 months prior to planting for it to change pH. I have found this not to be true when I use pulverized lime that is a very fine mesh, the consistency of talcum powder.  The pH changes is a few weeks according to my testing, application and re-testing results.
6. You don’t need a soil test to apply lime – just put 3 tons on every 5 years or so.  If you are not willing to grab some soil and send it in for testing for ten bucks, maybe you should not be planting food plots.  If you are reading this, you’re probably not “that guy”. The amount of lime needed to move your soil pH depends somewhat on the texture of the soil… clay soils have a much higher cation exchange capacity than a sandy soil.  This means there are more places for H+ ions to adsorb to the particles and it takes more Ca++ molecules to replace them.  That’s why they often ask what your soil type is when you send in your sample form.
7. Lime is too expensive. I pay $30/ton for the best fine mesh lime delivered to my field and spread perfectly.  There is no better bang for your buck than buying a delivery of pulverized limestone when your soil test calls for it. If you have very small plots and want to spread it yourself, it is better to use pelletized lime, which is much more pricey but the only choice for small applications.  You can buy pulverized limestone in bags and just open them up and spread each bag by hand in very small applications.

Ok the bottom line is that there is no excuse for not knowing about basic soil fertility if you are growing food for deer.  I hope you learned a little something here and I encourage you to educate yourself further.  You should read this blog, watch my youtube videos and I will put some links to some books I highly recommend down below.

Here is the video version

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huNrJoTIXzI[/embedyt]

Here are some links to books you should have if you are serious about soil building