Frank wrote:
On Nov 4, 5:14 pm, "Tom J" wrote:
Mr McGregor wrote:
Can anybody tell me how garden lime is sold in france. I've looked
in
'SuperU' and garden centres but I can't find Chaux anywhere.

Look up the French word for dolomitic or dolomite and try that??

Tom J

There is lime, CaO, and limestone, CaCO3. Dolomite is CaCO3.MgCo3.
All can do the job of adjusting soil pH.

It is true that all these will increase soil pH but that doesn't make them
equally suitable for the purpose.

On a garden you wouldn't use quick lime (AKA hot lime ie CaO) which is quite
harmful on the skin or especially in the eyes. It would quickly turn to
slaked lime (AKA builder's lime CaOH2) and produce a lot of heat in contact
with moisture in the soil. Even slaked lime is rather harsh to use on a
garden as it is moderately soluble and may shock the plants and
microorganisms by altering the pH quickly.

Garden lime (AKA limestone, calcium carbonate CaCO3) increases pH slowly and
provides calcium which is an important nutrient. Dolomite is calcium
magnesium carbonate which has a similar effect on pH and provides both
calcium and magnesium, magnesium is also an important nutrient. However
garden lime and dolomite are not interchangeable as they will effect the
calcium-magnesium balance differently. Depending on your soil and what you
are growing one may be much better than the other.

The moral of the story is: think carefully before adding chemicals to your
soil, not just any one will do.

David