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#1
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Garden Lime Question
I've recently purchased a 2.5KG bag of "Garden Lime" from Richgro. From
my experience so far, Lime is made of Calcium compounds and is a flowing, white powder. With the stuff i have, not only is it not the nice lime that i wanted, its not quite "powdered", is coarse, has some strange black particles and what seems to be some sand in it. Shouldn't have been a cheapskate and purchased the cheaper type... Does anybody have any experience with this brand and this type of "Lime"? Is it normal for it to be like this or should i go back to Bunnings and get a refund? |
#2
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Hi,
You'd be thinking of builders lime which is to harsh for the garden. The lime you have is perfectly alright for the garden. It is ground limestone and will be longer lasting in the soil. And won't burn the crap out of your plants and not change the pH as much. Dick "Wilson" wrote in message oups.com... I've recently purchased a 2.5KG bag of "Garden Lime" from Richgro. From my experience so far, Lime is made of Calcium compounds and is a flowing, white powder. With the stuff i have, not only is it not the nice lime that i wanted, its not quite "powdered", is coarse, has some strange black particles and what seems to be some sand in it. Shouldn't have been a cheapskate and purchased the cheaper type... Does anybody have any experience with this brand and this type of "Lime"? Is it normal for it to be like this or should i go back to Bunnings and get a refund? |
#3
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Richgro is a totally reputable company supplying product throughout
Australia. I haven't used their lime, but would be very surprised to learn that it was sub-standard. Lime comes in many forms--if Richgro reckon their variety works, I would want to have a damn good reason to disbelieve them. |
#4
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Wilson wrote:
I've recently purchased a 2.5KG bag of "Garden Lime" from Richgro. From my experience so far, Lime is made of Calcium compounds and is a flowing, white powder. With the stuff i have, not only is it not the nice lime that i wanted, its not quite "powdered", is coarse, has some strange black particles and what seems to be some sand in it. Shouldn't have been a cheapskate and purchased the cheaper type... Does anybody have any experience with this brand and this type of "Lime"? Is it normal for it to be like this or should i go back to Bunnings and get a refund? I believe you got some "powdered limeSTONE". This is very common but it is almost totally ineffective. It is simply ground up seashells and they are very slow to disolve. After all, statues and fascades for buildings are made out of limestone. You really want lime, CaO. The anhydrous version is very caustic -- the kind of stuff the murderer gets rid of the body with! Or, more commonly, what was used in outhouses. You can usually find hydrated lime at tile supply stores. It's about $5 for a 50 lb bag. Buy a pH test kit and use it before and a month after to measure the difference. |
#5
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"Wilson" wrote in
oups.com: I've recently purchased a 2.5KG bag of "Garden Lime" from Richgro. From my experience so far, Lime is made of Calcium compounds and is a flowing, white powder. With the stuff i have, not only is it not the nice lime that i wanted, its not quite "powdered", is coarse, has some strange black particles and what seems to be some sand in it. Shouldn't have been a cheapskate and purchased the cheaper type... Does anybody have any experience with this brand and this type of "Lime"? Is it normal for it to be like this or should i go back to Bunnings and get a refund? Crushed or 'Pellitized' Lime is perfect for turf. It is a slower release than powdered lime and is easier to control as well. -- David J. Bockman, Fairfax, VA (USDA Hardiness Zone 7) email: http://beyondgardening.com/Albums |
#6
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Cool, Thanks for all the help and advice.
I'll have a try at using this lime and i'll see how it goes. Thanks |
#7
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btw, what is the chemical that makes lime work?
Is it calcium hydroxide for hydrated lime? or was is something like caclium carbonate? :S |
#8
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"Wilson" wrote in
oups.com: btw, what is the chemical that makes lime work? Is it calcium hydroxide for hydrated lime? or was is something like caclium carbonate? :S I believe it's pure calcium carbonate. -- David J. Bockman, Fairfax, VA (USDA Hardiness Zone 7) email: http://beyondgardening.com/Albums |
#9
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calcium carbonate is limestone. You probably dont want to put actual
lime in your garden, it is highly caustic and will burn you and your plants. Limestone will raise your pH. Do a soil test first. Toad |
#10
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Relax, garden lime is ground up limestone or dolomite. And it takes
about a half year to show any difference in the soil. You really don't want hydrated lime or quicklime as you will either lose and eye, burn your skin or kill your established plants. If you need something that acts a bit faster use some clean wood ashes. |
#11
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" wrote in
ups.com: calcium carbonate is limestone. You probably dont want to put actual lime in your garden, it is highly caustic and will burn you and your plants. Limestone will raise your pH. Do a soil test first. Toad No, limestone is calcium carbonate. It's advice like that noted above which annoys me to no end. -- David J. Bockman, Fairfax, VA (USDA Hardiness Zone 7) email: http://beyondgardening.com/Albums |
#12
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Wilson wrote:
btw, what is the chemical that makes lime work? Is it calcium hydroxide for hydrated lime? or was is something like caclium carbonate? :S Limestone, seashells are CaCO3, calcium carbonate (insoluable in water). CaC03 will react with acids, but slowly. This is why we worry about acid rain on our statues, etc. Gypsum is CaSO4, calcium sulfate (insoluable in water). It is used to break up clay and for wallboard. Lime is CaO, calcium oxide. It reacts with water to form CaOH, calcium hydroxide. CaOH is very caustic (basic) and will lower pH dramatically. CaO will hydate by attracting water molecules, but not reacting with them. Hydrated CaO is much safer to handle. [I believe the info above is correct. However it has been close to a half century since I have been in a chemistry class.] |
#13
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"Wilson" writes:
btw, what is the chemical that makes lime work? Is it calcium hydroxide for hydrated lime? or was is something like caclium carbonate? :S Hydrated lime is calcium hydroxide. Egg shells, marble, true chalk, and I think the white cliffs of Dover are all calcium carbonate. -- John Savage (my news address is not valid for email) |
#14
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In article ,
"Loosecannon" wrote: You'd be thinking of builders lime which is to harsh for the garden. I've used builder's lime (ie hydrated) in garden beds. I wouldn't throw it around established plants as it doesn't mix in readily, but if you are digging over an empty vegie patch, it's not a problem. I think you dig it in at one cup per sq metre, depending on how much you want to raise the pH. The Sydney clay belt, where I garden, tends to be quite acidic (I measured it under my Dad's lawn as 3 once!). -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is nothing worth being eager or vigorous about." Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893. |
#15
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Thet did you a favour and sold you 'dolomite lime', because they thought you
wanted to put it on your garden. p.s. Amateurs built the Ark. It took professionals to build the Titanic! |
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