Food Plot -- Ag Lime Question

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  • AGarbers

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    The soil sample report says I need to add 3,000 pounds of ag lime per acre to my food plot. That sounds like a great deal of lime to me considering it's on top of a road-less hill that I would not want to have a dump truck try to climb. One estimate placed the weight of ag lime at 90 pounds per cubic foot, which would be just over a cubic yard. that seems small enough I could have it dumped next to the road and use a lawn tractor and garden cart to haul if I made a few trips. Any comments?
     

    bocefus78

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    Bulk lime per yard weighs around 2400lbs. How many acres you doing? We pick it up ourselves on an open trailer. Pulled it thru plot in 4 lo with truck and have 2 guys with backpack leaf blowers (bigger the better) ride on trailer and blow it out or fling with shovels if you don't have blowers. This prevents shoveling it twice.

    Lime is cheap if you pick it up.

    Other option is pelletized lime and a lawn spreader but is very costly at around 10 cents per lb.
     

    Old Dog

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    Biggest question is how much weight can your garden tractor and cart handle at one time on the slope you have to travel. If you can only haul 300 lbs at a time, you are looking at ten trips. Not too bad if the garden tractor has enough traction to pull the hill.

    P.S. Go with the recommended rate.
     

    Butch627

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    I just put down 1600lbs of pelletized lime from tractor supply. I don't remember the capacity of my broadcast spreader but 5 40lb bags of lime fills it almost to the top. The whole operation took about an hour. I am on a steep hill, flat ground would have gone much faster. I once tried buying bagged barn lime which is much finer and a gentle wind seemed to blow it completely away as fast as it came out of the spreader.
     

    Field King

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    I bought a piece of property that was ran down, everything was overgrazed, 2 years after the previous owner took the horses away the place exploded with natural wind blown green matter, Turkeys moved in quick. I know you are probably trying to draw or hold wildlife but I think sometimes mother nature takes care of it? Game seed distributors have us sold on their product.
     

    AGarbers

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    I bought a piece of property that was ran down, everything was overgrazed, 2 years after the previous owner took the horses away the place exploded with natural wind blown green matter, Turkeys moved in quick. I know you are probably trying to draw or hold wildlife but I think sometimes mother nature takes care of it? Game seed distributors have us sold on their product.

    Gotcha. I planted clover a few years ago but didn't do all the steps to make it lush. This year I want to experiment and see what a lush foodplot will do. In the past I have watched deer after deer walk through my sparse clover and feed on raspberry/blackberry leaves and even thistle. But before I fully give up on the clover plot, of which I already purchased a 12-pound bag from the NWTF, I figured I'd do it the way they recommend. Not to mention the last time I spread heavy lime six years ago, morels popped up like crazy.
     

    Bfish

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    Gotcha. I planted clover a few years ago but didn't do all the steps to make it lush. This year I want to experiment and see what a lush foodplot will do. In the past I have watched deer after deer walk through my sparse clover and feed on raspberry/blackberry leaves and even thistle. But before I fully give up on the clover plot, of which I already purchased a 12-pound bag from the NWTF, I figured I'd do it the way they recommend. Not to mention the last time I spread heavy lime six years ago, morels popped up like crazy.

    That has me interested, it kind of makes me what to spread some in an area and just see what happens...

    I'd just spread some lime if it's cheap. It may not be that much in the big picture of what all else you've put into your land. We plant some mixed food plots around our place. Everything from corn and beans we flip every year and seed the field with clover and even do some patches that are filled with all sorts of goodies for them. The beats smell terrible after season, but it's very effective for getting deer in (especially after season).

    We have never spread lime, but we have fertilized, and even roundup a couple of our plots that have RD ready stuff planted... It's been worth it on our end. I would try something that is a bit of a mixed plot, we have had a lot more luck with that than just clover. I'll look and see exactly what it is we planted and I'll let you know.
     

    wagyu52

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    Lot's of unknown variables here, how much did you apply 6 yrs ago and what type of lime? A course grind will not show up on a soil test as fast as a powder or pellet. Clover, alfalfa, soybeans, legumes are pretty picky on PH and will Not do well. Might be better to try a rye, wheat, oats or corn. What type of soil is this? Some soil will never test alkaline on PH, it doesn't have the capacity to hold nutrients.
     

    AGarbers

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    I had a food plot before, which is when I put down about 1,000 pounds of ag lime on about a 1/2 acre by hand. Since then we had to have a new septic system put in right where I had my food plot. before it was all said and done they had to do a lot of dozer work and basically scraped off the top soil and put it on top of the septic chambers. So, I'm starting over again. Again, this is on top of a hill with a 30 % grade grass lane to it, and only on the driest days can I get up there with my 4x4.
     
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