When to apply lime?

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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starpartyguy
Posts: 89
Joined: September 11th, 2019, 5:40 pm
Location: Lancaster County, Pa
Grass Type: tall fescue
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

When to apply lime?

Post by starpartyguy » October 23rd, 2019, 10:14 am

I am 4 1/2 weeks into a lawn repair and doing pretty good. 3000 square feet of damage from grubs over a 10-12000 sq. ft. lawn.
Area: Lancaster County, Pa.

4 weeks ago I put down Pennington Starter fertilizer, Bio-Advanced Grub control, and 35 lbs of TTTF (Hancock).

At 3 weeks I mowed at max height (3.5 inches) because existing was too high to let go. I bagged and removed the clippings. Last Friday I mulched at max height. Saturday I put down 2 lbs. 46.0.0 urea. Sunday and Tuesday we got 1/2 inch of rain each day. More rain coming this weekend.

I also treated some large patches of clover last week with T-zone because they were just getting too wild. They are turning yellow and brown and the lawn doesn't seem to be showing any effect.

I ordered Encap (3 bags 40 lbs each). Picking up today.

2 questions:

Can I consider my last fertilizing to be a winterizing application or should I put down more in a few weeks. Weather has been about average in the evenings going down to mid 40's. Predictions are for light rain over several days for next week or so. Not sure if that will continue.

When should I put down Encap. My soil test said my PH was 5.9. I was told that applying lime suppresses absorption of nutrients so I'm not sure. Was planning on putting it down last week of November.

Thanks in advance.

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: When to apply lime?

Post by andy10917 » October 23rd, 2019, 9:47 pm

I was told that applying lime suppresses absorption of nutrients so I'm not sure.
Who told you that?

starpartyguy
Posts: 89
Joined: September 11th, 2019, 5:40 pm
Location: Lancaster County, Pa
Grass Type: tall fescue
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

Re: When to apply lime?

Post by starpartyguy » October 23rd, 2019, 10:25 pm

I have a topic on the soil test forum but I misread the advice. I was asking about applying iron and lime at the same time. I was told that lime suppresses the absorption of iron. Not sure if thats true. Was going to wait till spring to put down iron. Just wanted to know if I can put down lime now or should I wait.

User avatar
andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: When to apply lime?

Post by andy10917 » October 23rd, 2019, 10:32 pm

Iron and Lime at the same time are not recommended. Lime creates a high-pH environment where it is applied and causes Iron to be unavailable to plants, including grasses. Just separate them by two weeks.

starpartyguy
Posts: 89
Joined: September 11th, 2019, 5:40 pm
Location: Lancaster County, Pa
Grass Type: tall fescue
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

Re: When to apply lime?

Post by starpartyguy » October 24th, 2019, 6:18 am

Ok. Might get lime down Friday then. We have several days of rain coming


starpartyguy
Posts: 89
Joined: September 11th, 2019, 5:40 pm
Location: Lancaster County, Pa
Grass Type: tall fescue
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

Re: When to apply lime?

Post by starpartyguy » October 25th, 2019, 1:41 pm

Lime (Encap) going down today. 9 lb/k. I'm going to have to stretch it so I won't make 9 lbs. I have 3 bags (120 lbs total) of Lawn Doctor lime too. I'm going to throw that down too. Normal bag rate is 50/k but I don't have that much. Won't do much I assume but it should be enough to make up the difference.

Mulched yesterday with my high lift blade. Just got a pair of Gator G3's for my 46 inch Cub Cadet. Will put those on before next mowing.

I was light on the application of Milo. I think I'll throw down the other bag if I have the energy and time.

Thanks everyone for all the help.

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