In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:
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| Try builders' merchants. Lime is used for some mortars - it might be
| slaked lime, so that would need to be added when nothing was growing.
|
| ?
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| Slaked lime is inactive, unlike quicklime which produces heat when it gets
| wet - and turns into slaked lime.
|
| I'm sure you knew that ... :-)

Yes :-) For people who aren't into the old terms ....

Chalk, limestone etc. (calcium carbonate) is weakly alkaline - much
like baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide)
is strongly alkaline - much like washing soda (sodium carbonate) - and
will burn roots and leaves.

Quicklime (calcium oxide) is no more alkaline than slaked lime,
but is viciously hygroscopic, and not stuff to meddle with. Like
caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), though that is 'merely' an extreme
alkali and not hygroscopic. God alone knows what sodium oxide is
like, but I don't want to get anywhere near even a small quantity!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.