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#106
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Please evaluate my grass planting plan.
In article , Tom Miller wrote:
On 7 Jun 2004 01:52:56 GMT, Ignoramus25707 wrote: | In article , TURTLE wrote: | | When ever a bunch of pine Trees have been growing in a area. The | ground will become very high level of acid in the ground. Very few | plants or grass will grow under a pine tree because of the high acid | level of the dirty. To get the high level of acid down. You can put | burnt ashes of fire wood or lime down and then till it up to kill | the acid level. Get the acid level down and things will start to | grow there or wait about 20 years and the acid will dissovle by | it'self. Very rarely will you see a lot of brush or green grass | under a bunch of pine trees. | | Thanks, I will add lime to counter acidity, your advice makes complete | sense as the ground beneath the pins was barren. | | Which brings up a question, I planted a few fruit trees where pines | grew. Is it too late now to do something to counter the acidity of the | soil to help those trees? Would dumping a bunch of lime on the ground | help? | | i Take several soil samples to your local extension service and have them tested to find out the actual PH of the soil. Then till in the proper amount of lime, per instructions on the bag or in a turfgrass book. It takes quite a while for the lime to be absorbed into the soil and for the PH to adjust. People generally lime the soil the previous fall. Pulverized lime works fastest. You can go ahead and plant the grass seed, but best results won't happen until you get into the right PH zone (ask the agent at the extension service what this is in your area). Blindly "dumping a bunch of lime on the ground" is not the way to approach this, although grass is pretty forgiving. Thanks, I will check about testing ph of my soil. Ibelieve also that there are kits to do it. i |
#107
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Please evaluate my grass planting plan.
On 7 Jun 2004 15:20:35 GMT, Ignoramus2772
wrote: In article , Tom Miller wrote: On 7 Jun 2004 01:52:56 GMT, Ignoramus25707 wrote: | In article , TURTLE wrote: | | When ever a bunch of pine Trees have been growing in a area. The | ground will become very high level of acid in the ground. Very few | plants or grass will grow under a pine tree because of the high acid | level of the dirty. To get the high level of acid down. You can put | burnt ashes of fire wood or lime down and then till it up to kill | the acid level. Get the acid level down and things will start to | grow there or wait about 20 years and the acid will dissovle by | it'self. Very rarely will you see a lot of brush or green grass | under a bunch of pine trees. | | Thanks, I will add lime to counter acidity, your advice makes complete | sense as the ground beneath the pins was barren. | | Which brings up a question, I planted a few fruit trees where pines | grew. Is it too late now to do something to counter the acidity of the | soil to help those trees? Would dumping a bunch of lime on the ground | help? | | i Take several soil samples to your local extension service and have them tested to find out the actual PH of the soil. Then till in the proper amount of lime, per instructions on the bag or in a turfgrass book. It takes quite a while for the lime to be absorbed into the soil and for the PH to adjust. People generally lime the soil the previous fall. Pulverized lime works fastest. You can go ahead and plant the grass seed, but best results won't happen until you get into the right PH zone (ask the agent at the extension service what this is in your area). Blindly "dumping a bunch of lime on the ground" is not the way to approach this, although grass is pretty forgiving. Thanks, I will check about testing ph of my soil. Ibelieve also that there are kits to do it. i Also, be aware that pH changes happen slowly when adding lime. The agriculture lime is like flour--it works faster, makes a mess, and you'll need a dust mask. The pellets cost more but more convenient to use. I use 800 pounds (!) of lime for 18,000 square feet of lawn every 6 to 12 months (for the past 12 years) and still have a pH of 6.5. My neighbor's (untreated) lawn has a pH of 5.4. The test kits are worth having for both lawn and garden. Use distilled water for the tests as tap water is most likely not neutral. |
#108
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Please evaluate my grass planting plan.
In article , Phisherman wrote:
On 7 Jun 2004 15:20:35 GMT, Ignoramus2772 wrote: In article , Tom Miller wrote: On 7 Jun 2004 01:52:56 GMT, Ignoramus25707 wrote: | In article , TURTLE wrote: | | When ever a bunch of pine Trees have been growing in a area. The | ground will become very high level of acid in the ground. Very few | plants or grass will grow under a pine tree because of the high acid | level of the dirty. To get the high level of acid down. You can put | burnt ashes of fire wood or lime down and then till it up to kill | the acid level. Get the acid level down and things will start to | grow there or wait about 20 years and the acid will dissovle by | it'self. Very rarely will you see a lot of brush or green grass | under a bunch of pine trees. | | Thanks, I will add lime to counter acidity, your advice makes complete | sense as the ground beneath the pins was barren. | | Which brings up a question, I planted a few fruit trees where pines | grew. Is it too late now to do something to counter the acidity of the | soil to help those trees? Would dumping a bunch of lime on the ground | help? | | i Take several soil samples to your local extension service and have them tested to find out the actual PH of the soil. Then till in the proper amount of lime, per instructions on the bag or in a turfgrass book. It takes quite a while for the lime to be absorbed into the soil and for the PH to adjust. People generally lime the soil the previous fall. Pulverized lime works fastest. You can go ahead and plant the grass seed, but best results won't happen until you get into the right PH zone (ask the agent at the extension service what this is in your area). Blindly "dumping a bunch of lime on the ground" is not the way to approach this, although grass is pretty forgiving. Thanks, I will check about testing ph of my soil. Ibelieve also that there are kits to do it. i Also, be aware that pH changes happen slowly when adding lime. The agriculture lime is like flour--it works faster, makes a mess, and you'll need a dust mask. The pellets cost more but more convenient to use. I use 800 pounds (!) of lime for 18,000 square feet of lawn every 6 to 12 months (for the past 12 years) and still have a pH of 6.5. My neighbor's (untreated) lawn has a pH of 5.4. The test kits are worth having for both lawn and garden. Use distilled water for the tests as tap water is most likely not neutral. I appreciate your suggestion, thanks. i |
#109
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Please evaluate my grass planting plan.
On 7 Jun 2004 15:20:35 GMT, Ignoramus2772
wrote: | In article , Tom Miller wrote: | On 7 Jun 2004 01:52:56 GMT, Ignoramus25707 | wrote: | | | In article , TURTLE wrote: | | | | When ever a bunch of pine Trees have been growing in a area. The | | ground will become very high level of acid in the ground. Very few | | plants or grass will grow under a pine tree because of the high acid | | level of the dirty. To get the high level of acid down. You can put | | burnt ashes of fire wood or lime down and then till it up to kill | | the acid level. Get the acid level down and things will start to | | grow there or wait about 20 years and the acid will dissovle by | | it'self. Very rarely will you see a lot of brush or green grass | | under a bunch of pine trees. | | | | Thanks, I will add lime to counter acidity, your advice makes complete | | sense as the ground beneath the pins was barren. | | | | Which brings up a question, I planted a few fruit trees where pines | | grew. Is it too late now to do something to counter the acidity of the | | soil to help those trees? Would dumping a bunch of lime on the ground | | help? | | | | i | | Take several soil samples to your local extension service and have | them tested to find out the actual PH of the soil. Then till in the | proper amount of lime, per instructions on the bag or in a turfgrass | book. It takes quite a while for the lime to be absorbed into the soil | and for the PH to adjust. People generally lime the soil the previous | fall. Pulverized lime works fastest. You can go ahead and plant the | grass seed, but best results won't happen until you get into the right | PH zone (ask the agent at the extension service what this is in your | area). Blindly "dumping a bunch of lime on the ground" is not the way | to approach this, although grass is pretty forgiving. | | Thanks, I will check about testing ph of my soil. Ibelieve also that | there are kits to do it. | | i The kits are OK, but often not so accurate. Take several samples from a few different areas and compare them. Follow the directions with the kit carefully. |
#110
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Please evaluate my grass planting plan.
"Dan Hartung" wrote in message ... Ignoramus32760 wrote: 1. Kill weeds with ROUNDUP. Wait 2 days. Roundup is supposed to stick around for up to a year. If you really want to plant here, it may not be the best choice. Unless you have a huge stand of dandelions (and they're past their prime season already), say, or something nasty and kill-resistant, I wouldn't bother. Roundup is better used those places you don't want to plant, or won't at least until fall. I think you have roundup confused with something else. Bob |
#111
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Please evaluate my grass planting plan.
On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 15:47:32 GMT, "Bob"
wrote: "Dan Hartung" wrote in message ... Ignoramus32760 wrote: 1. Kill weeds with ROUNDUP. Wait 2 days. Roundup is supposed to stick around for up to a year. If you really want to plant here, it may not be the best choice. Unless you have a huge stand of dandelions (and they're past their prime season already), say, or something nasty and kill-resistant, I wouldn't bother. Roundup is better used those places you don't want to plant, or won't at least until fall. I think you have roundup confused with something else. Bob I agree, roundup bio-degrades in a few days. I sprayed some turf for new garden space and planted brussel sprouts two weeks later. They are about 18 inches high already. A couple of good rains should just about do the trick. Bad Bob "Cook him till he's blue, and smother him in onions." |
#112
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Please evaluate my grass planting plan.
Ignoramus25707 wrote: In article , TURTLE wrote: When ever a bunch of pine Trees have been growing in a area. The ground will become very high level of acid in the ground. Very few plants or grass will grow under a pine tree because of the high acid level of the dirty. To get the high level of acid down. You can put burnt ashes of fire wood or lime down and then till it up to kill the acid level. Get the acid level down and things will start to grow there or wait about 20 years and the acid will dissovle by it'self. Very rarely will you see a lot of brush or green grass under a bunch of pine trees. Thanks, I will add lime to counter acidity, your advice makes complete sense as the ground beneath the pins was barren. Which brings up a question, I planted a few fruit trees where pines grew. Is it too late now to do something to counter the acidity of the soil to help those trees? Would dumping a bunch of lime on the ground help? i I don't believe it is correct to assume the soil is acidic because pines grow there. Ours is sandy/alkaline and pines grow fine. Taking a soil sample from several areas, then taking it to extension service is recommended here to assess for pH, soil pests, nutrient deficiencies, etc. Roundup is not a great idea, especially in root zone of plants you want to keep. It would not be necessary unless the weed growth is too heavy for the tiller. There is plenty of weed seed in what you will till, so the Roundup is not "final" anyway. I wouldn't plant grass up to the fruit trees, because you may damage the trunks mowing. Is is generally recommended that you mulch (properly, not right up against trunk). Garden centers will sell you a lot of stuff, like tree wrap, that isn't necessarily good for fruit trees. Here is a link to Illinois Extension Service. Our extension service, locally in Florida, is a great resource - can bring in weeds or pests for identification and advice, talk to master gardeners for advice. |
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