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Lime question

Has anyone tried spreading ag lime with a conical spreader?

I have a 500lb capacity 3pt conical spreader but I'm unsure if it will work worth a darn spreading ag lime. It Spreads pel lime like a charm but that gets expensive. My soil test called for 2300lbs ecce/acre. So that might be a bit hard on the wallet going the pel lime route.

I have 2 acres that need limed but its in an area that a lime truck can't get to. Any suggestions?
 
I expect it might be a pain the but because that stuff doesn't "slide" very good but then again...I have never tried it?

Lot of shoveling too! ;)
 
Haven't visited here in a while but thought I'd add some info to address some issues.

If you are interested in trying supercal 98G and want to save on shipping, then contact your local Conklin dealer. The product number I've been using is 056176 and my order back in March was $236 for thirty 40lb bags. If you have a way to handle 1 ton bulk totes, cost is even cheaper. Go to this website http://www.conklin.com/index.cfm and type in your zipcode on the 'Find a Distrbutor' page. They've changed the webpage so it's hard to find some products...best to call your local dealer for the supercal. I did become a member to save a percentage off list price, but don't do anything with the program. I'll have Diana check the webage and try to get a direct link to the product, if you have interest.

Inre ag lime and cone spreaders, if you can get dry ag lime (like that in bags), it can be mixed and spread with pellet lime and will flow through the spreader. Start with a 25;75 mix of dry ag;ell and work with it from there. Dry aglime and fert might work too...I haven't tried it though. I was able to bagged dry ag lime cheap enough through IVESCO to make it worthwhile. Unfortunalety, truck freight went up so I punted that ball! :D

BTW...a friend of mine used to farm tobacco and would spread dry super-fine pulverized lime through a cone without a problem.

I mentioned 'dry' several times above because wet material in a gravity flow spreader is not a good thing! :thrwrck:

Got with Diana this AM. We found the link for supercal in the catalog. http://conklin.com/files/pdf/CO5002_079178_0909_CatalogMasterweb.pdf
Supercal is on page 19..right hand side.

Note that SC98-G is regular granule size and and SC98-MG is miro granule which is about 1/2 size of a fert granule. We use the MG version...it feeds well and disperses evenly.
 
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Ive been told before that pell lime doesnt last as long as ag lime (and you need an annual application).......is this true and if so, why? I guess I dont understand that reasoning if the pell lime is bonded from the ag lime. Thanks.
 
f you are interested in trying supercal 98G and want to save on shipping,

For those in central iowa. The Indianola heartland co-op has supercal in 40lb bags for $5/bag and has bulk for $120/ton, with a 1 ton minimum. Still a bit pricey but definitely has its place for small areas inaccessible to a lime truck or buggy.
 
How long the effect of lime (pelleted or loose form) will last is dependant upon particle size and soil type.

Particle sizes <100 mesh are the fastest acting. Particle sizes from 60-100 mesh are longer acting. Particle sizes >20 mesh are generally non-active.

Soils high in sand content are bad to leach lime while clay soils retain it for quite some time.

Considering those two factors 'longevity' of lime application can vary considerably.

The advantage of pelleting is to minimize small particle drift...maybe cuts drift loss from 10% down to 1%. So sure there is a bit more fast action with pellets because small particle drift loss (those around 200 mesh) is mitigated.

We like to use an ~80% ECCE lime (1600lb ECC/ton) in either loose or pellet form for the main lime application because it contains a good amount of 60-100 mesh particles. 91% ECCE like supercal is good for a quick boost in pH when you need that.

I do prefer soil test reports which give the recommendation for 100% ECCE lime, that way you can look at any lime spec and figure out how much to apply. Some test are outdated and base the rec on 50-60% ECCE (circa 1970)...easy to apply more than what is really needed with today's limes.

ENV works in the same manner, I'm just not familiar with it.
 
Lime

How long does it take for lime to work??

No cut and dried answer to that question because there are many variables involved...we limed a field last year that checked 5.09 PH....applied 3T acre ag lime, rechecked this spring and it's only up to 5.4...why?

One problem is that the ground/applied lime was not tilled and secondly we received almost no rainfall until recently so there are many factors to consider when doing followup soil tests. Some good links on the subject...

Liming Questions

Lime and PH

Fertilizer and lime questions

Pellet lime is faster acting while ag lime is longer lasting but soil types, weather, lime type/size all affect how quick and how long lime will work.... ;)
 
Got a question, I think I might have messed up. I was looking for that Calcium Products 98G limestone to use on my little plots. A local nursery has Calcium Products but the owner told me he carries a product called Fre-Flo limestone instead of the 98G cause it was the same thing but cheaper. I believed him and purchased it but got to looking online and it looks like the Fre-Flo is a 98% calcium product for mixing with cattle feed(also little coarser). Will this still work to raise PH in the soil ok or did I waste my monies?
 
Got a question, I think I might have messed up. I was looking for that Calcium Products 98G limestone to use on my little plots. A local nursery has Calcium Products but the owner told me he carries a product called Fre-Flo limestone instead of the 98G cause it was the same thing but cheaper. I believed him and purchased it but got to looking online and it looks like the Fre-Flo is a 98% calcium product for mixing with cattle feed(also little coarser). Will this still work to raise PH in the soil ok or did I waste my monies?
I am not familier with Free Flo. I can tell you that calcium is affective at raising PH both in liquid and solid/granular form.
 
Thank you IowaBowHunter1, I read somewhere the cattle feed part was not good to incorporate itself into the soil so got a little worried. We'll throw it down maybe do a soil test in the fall to see what it did.

The nursery owner said it is made by the same company in Urbandale as the 98G. http://ilcresources.com/product/14
 
Yeah I am back packing the bags back in and just scoop and fling with the hand lol. I have one more plot to lime so I will use that barnlime SB3 and try to compare the results between the 2, the plots are right next to each other so should provide a good test. Thanks for sharing.
 
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