There are said to be people who believe they can hear the grass grow. Of course only in a figurative sense. Because this saying comes from the world of legends. And yet it can easily be combined with the sacred green of many allotment and allotment gardeners. Because it means nothing other than the ability to recognize how certain things might develop based on the smallest signs. Well, allotment gardeners are not clairvoyants either, but they largely have the well-being of their lawn in their own hands. Scarify, fertilize, mow, reseed and all over again. The green that grows so inconspicuously is very maintenance-intensive. At least if you value strong and healthy stalks that grow evenly and keep supposed troublemakers such as clover or small mushrooms at bay. Liming is also part of the basics of annual lawn care.
In the following article you will find out briefly and concisely when the right time is, how the lawn should be prepared for liming and which tools are important for this.
First things first: A lot helps a lot, but liming your lawn is the wrong approach. First of all, it should be clarified whether the stalks actually need a lime treatment. The decisive factor for this is the pH value of the soil from which they sprout. If this value is 6.5 or higher, you should definitely avoid liming. In this case, the soil is already alkaline. Additional lime would therefore be counterproductive. A pH soil test only costs a few euros and gives a result in just a few minutes. Sandy or clayey soils usually have values ??between 5 and 6. Chemically speaking, they are acidic.
Tip: Heavy moss infestation can be an indication of particularly acidic soil. And this is exactly where garden lime comes into play, because the white powder – when dosed correctly – can at least somewhat neutralize soils with pH values ??of less than 5.5.
First of all, experts recommend liming the lawn (if the pH value is appropriate) only every two to three years to avoid an overdose. Experience has shown that young blades of grass in particular sprout best in April to May. Spring is therefore a good time to give your lawn a boost with lime. In this often rainy time, you should make sure that the ground and the meadow are dry before liming the lawn.
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To ensure that the lime can take full effect, you should scarify the lawn beforehand. This supplies the soil with oxygen and freshly aerates it, which is urgently needed after the cold winter months. Good scarifiers also take care of annoying weeds. In short: scarifying creates the perfect conditions for successful liming. If you don’t have time to scarify, you should at least mow the lawn before liming.
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First of all – as with most other gardening tasks – appropriate gloves should be worn when liming the lawn. Especially if you apply the lime granules by hand. This way you avoid unpleasant skin irritations. A spreader is the most elegant way to spread the lime. There is hardly any risk of coming into contact with the lime. In addition, the white fertilizer can be distributed much more evenly on the lawn with this special device. Important: Stay away from quicklime! This is used in the construction and chemical industries. Hardware stores stock special garden lime for liming the lawn. It is best to lime on a calm day with cloudy skies. If the sun beats down on the lawn after liming, there is a risk that the lawn grass will burn.
Also important: Give your freshly limed lawn some time to rest after the work is done.
Sandy soils with a pH between 5 and 5.5 can be limed with up to 200 grams per square meter. Loamy substrates with a value of 6 or higher can tolerate double the dose, i.e. around 300 to 400 grams of lime per square meter of lawn. For a lawn area of ??five by ten meters (50 square meters), you will need between ten and 20 kilograms of garden lime, depending on the pH value of the soil.
So that the lime can be used profitably in the soil, the lawn should be watered thoroughly with a garden hose after liming. This is the only way the lime seeps to where it is needed to neutralize the acid in the soil. Afterwards, the mown, scarified, limed and watered meadow needs a little break. Important: Give the lawn a few weeks to recover. The meadow also cannot use fertilizer during this resting phase.
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Source: “My Beautiful Garden”
