GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Whats difference between pulverized and hydrated lime?

12-07-2004, 03:02 AM

(Pat Kiewicz) wrote in message ...
Joseph A. Zupko said:

"Joseph A. Zupko" wrote in message
...
Are they both the same thing but one is processed differently?
I see gardeners at the community garden use lime. They said it keeps the
insects and animals eating there plants. Is there any truth behind this?

Pulverized lime is limestone (calcium carbonate) that has been crushed finely
enough to pass through a 'number 20' sieve. Hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide)
is lime that has been reacted with heat and water.

Hydrated lime is caustic and I wouldn't recommend puffing it around a garden.

Pulverized lime is sometime spread in barns to control flies (by making the
animal waste too alkaline for flies to breed in).

Pardon my ignorance, but I think it is hydrated (the caustic one) that
is used to control flies in stables, or at least I saw it used -
unless it costs more per unit of pH than pulverized, which is what
most people use in gardens. However, I also see it sold in small
(maybe 3lb) boxes in garden centers as a soil amendment for veggies
(Franks has it for example). I suppose what really matters is the
dose...