Steveo wrote:
Stubby wrote:
KCnRichmond wrote:
....
I normally use pelletized lime though, twice a year, here in central
Va.s acid belt..
Check that. I'll bet you applied "Pelletized limeSTONE". It's
commonly available at big box stores. It's made from ground up
seashells and is very slow to dissolve. You really want hydrated lime
from a place that sells tile supplies. It's messy but it really is a
base, chemically.

Should you warn him about how he can fry plant material with quick lime,
or just let him find out the hard way?
Hydrated lime will not extract the water out of anything (fry??).
Anhydrous lime will, however. That's what the murderers used to get rid
of their bodies. And it was commonly used in outhouses. Many years ago
we were making 200 proof alcohol in a high school chem lab (!) and did
the final distillation out of a lot of Calcium Oxide. It worked but a
few minutes exposed to air dropped the proof down to about 180.