Time between Lime and Potassium?

[Green]

Having applied Lime + Epsom salt this week, how long do I need to wait before applying SOP?
2 weeks?

[andy10917]

Two weeks. Dos semanas.

[Green]

Ok, thanks for the verification.

[Green]

Now, how about on adjacent areas where there would be minimal, if any, broadcast spreader overlap? One area needs SOP, while the other needs lime. They're right next to each other and share an edge. Still 2 weeks? 1-2 weeks and risk it?

[mattya]

Now, how about on adjacent areas where there would be minimal, if any, broadcast spreader overlap? One area needs SOP, while the other needs lime. They're right next to each other and share an edge. Still 2 weeks? 1-2 weeks and risk it?

No wait - It's not going to burn/kill/destroy/explode the grass if you put them both down on the same day. If you're expecting minimal overlap, don't waste time and put them down on the same day if you need/want to.

[Green]

Would a week be enough between lime and a 0-0-7 SOP product, seeing as how it's only 7% K2O?

[LoneRanger]

^ Bump.

[andy10917]

The 7% is meaningless. How many lbs/K of the SOP would you be applying?

[Owlnsr]

I failed chemistry. Why would you need to wait?

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[TimmyG]

I failed chemistry. Why would you need to wait?

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Antagonism. See http://aroundtheyard.com/northern/time- ... 18524.html

[Owlnsr]

Thanks, I will check that out.

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[Owlnsr]

I'm not sure I'm reading that chart the right way ... But I can see that potash and Calcium (Lime) are antagonistic. Basically, they "neutralize" one another if applied at the same time? ("Neutralize" in the sense that the plant won't be able to utilize either) Is this the right understanding?

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[andy10917]

Antagonism can happen in many ways -- one nutrient may cause another to form a compound that is not as available, or may cause volatilization, or several other ways. End result: it don't work.

[Owlnsr]

What's up with the NPK fertilizers? P and K are antagonistic, and the N and K are antagonistic as well.

[TimmyG]

What's up with the NPK fertilizers? P and K are antagonistic, and the N and K are antagonistic as well.

You don't get complete annihilation of the two antagonistic nutrients. You simply won't achieve 100% efficient uptake of a given nutrient if applied at the same time as another nutrient which interferes with the availability and uptake of the first ingredient. Do you get 99% uptake? 50% uptake? I don't have an answer to that, but I trust that most antagonism is a drop in the bucket compared to the time and effort it would take to spread two nutrients separately weeks apart on my 3/4 acre lawn. I might hedge more on the side of caution if I were spreading on a whopping 3K of lawn.

Antagonism as defined here http://soilanalyst.org/wp-content/uploa ... uly-08.pdf
"High levels of a particular nutrient in the soil can interfere with the availability and uptake by the plant of other nutrients. Those nutrients which interfere with one another are said to be antagonistic.
For example, high nitrogen levels can reduce the availability of boron, potash and copper; high phosphate levels can influence the uptake of iron, calcium potash, copper and zinc; high potash levels can reduce the availability of magnesium. Thus, unless care is taken to ensure an adequate balanced supply of all the nutrients – by the use of analysis – the application of ever higher levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in compound fertilisers can induce plant deficiencies of other essential nutrients."

I don't hesitate to spread P (MAP) & K (SOP) at the same time. But I do spread lime on its own and weeks apart from other nutrients. One contributing reason why? Even fast-acting lime is typically spread at 9 lbs/K. That's easy to do. MAP and SOP are generally spread at around 1–2 lbs/K each, which is challenging to do separately, particularly with the coarse prill of SOP. Much easier to do together (when both are needed), and worth the cost of some presumably very minor antagonism.

[Owlnsr]

What happens to the elements that get antagonized? When they are antagonized, do they just bind with each other to form more complex molecules (making them unavailable to the plants) until a stimulating element is introduced that unbind them (making them available to the plants)?

[andy10917]

You flunked chemistry, right? The answer(s) involve chemistry, and in some cases, biochemistry.

[TimmyG]

What happens to the elements that get antagonized?

Repeat...

Antagonism can happen in many ways -- one nutrient may cause another to form a compound that is not as available, or may cause volatilization, or several other ways. End result: it don't work.

I honestly thought Andy's first answer covered all that a lawn nut would need or want to know about antagonism. For more specific chemistry, I'd suggest hunkering down and Googling.

[TimmyG]

What happens to the elements that get antagonized?

Repeat...

Antagonism can happen in many ways -- one nutrient may cause another to form a compound that is not as available, or may cause volatilization, or several other ways. End result: it don't work.

I honestly thought Andy's first answer covered all that a lawn nut would need or want to know about antagonism. For more specific chemistry, I'd suggest hunkering down and Googling.

[Owlnsr]

Ok I think I understand.

Antagonization will make certain elements inaccessible through compounding or volatilization. Both lead to the plants having a harder time - or being unable - to use those elements as nutrients.

In many circumstances, there may be elements that could possibly be antagonized but they are not; here, the plant could utilize the elements as nutrients. There is also the possibility they will leech or become eroded.

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