Every hobby gardener wants a lush lawn and flowers in their own garden. However, caring for your lawn is often a much bigger challenge than you think. The lawn suffers significantly, especially in winter - moss and weeds form that overgrow the grass and bald spots often appear on the otherwise full lawn. If the soil is also too acidic, it can become compacted and therefore not provide the plants with enough nutrients. However, with the right care, these problems can be solved. The easiest way to improve the growing conditions of acidic soil is to lime the lawn.
Is liming even necessary?
So that you can enjoy lush greenery in your own garden, you should optimally align the soil for the grass plants. Optimal alignment is only achieved when the best possible conditions are created. For green, lush lawns, the soil should receive all the important nutrients. Lime, for example, ensures the optimal pH value of your lawn if the soil is too acidic. But how can you actually determine the acidity? Suitable soil test sets that measure the pH value can be found in gardening stores. The results of the soil analysis best determine whether you need to lime the lawn or not. The pH value can basically be interpreted as follows:
- Values greater than 7 – the soil is alkaline
- pH value equal to 7 – the soil is neutral
- Values less than 7 – the soil is acidic
If the pH value is below 7, then the soil is said to be acidic. Actually, slightly acidic soil provides the perfect growing conditions for lawn plants. A pH value between 5.5 and 7 is considered optimal. The type of soil also plays an important role: sandy soil must be limed at values below 5.5 and loamy soil at values below 6.
If itMoss in the lawnthen this is also an indication that your green space needs lime. However, moss can also have other causes, so you should not rely on this indicator alone. If you are looking at a large moss buildup in your lawn, then you should consider a soil analysis and only then determine whether you need to lime the lawn or not. However, if clover or nettles grow in the soil, this indicates that the soil is alkaline and you should not lime the soil. The lime makes the soil even more alkaline and the growth of your lawn further declines.
Why is my soil acidic?
You should definitely ask yourself this question in advance. Is soil acidification related to the nature of the soil or are there other sources of the problem? If the soil layers are compacted, waterlogging regularly occurs, which increases acidity. In this case, soil liming alone would not be sufficient to create the optimal conditions for lawn plants. If you have a problem like this, you can install drainage to avoid waterlogging.
Lawns that are in the shade of the house or a tree cannot dry out well, which leads to unsatisfactory grass growth. Even if you lime the lawn, the problem cannot be solved entirely. In this case, you can think about whether you can use the area for something else and sow the grass plants somewhere in the sun or partial shade.
Fertilizing the soil with various fertilizers can also be a cause of the low pH value. Some nitrogen fertilizers promote soil acidification and should, if possible, be replaced by others that do not alter the acidity of the soil.
When is the lawn limed?
When it comes to timing, you can generally do it all year roundAdd lime in the gardenwhen the soil needs it. However, spring is ideal, as this is the time when the lawn sprouts best and produces new plant shoots. The sooner you lime the lawn, the better. After the snow cover on your lawn has melted, it's time to apply the lime. So you can enjoy a lush lawn in summer.
However, you don't have to lime every year. Experts recommend liming the lawn every two to three years. If the first liming did not produce the desired results and the new soil analysis again indicates that the soil is too acidic, you can repeat the process the following autumn.
The best time for liming is the evening hours, as the lime combined with the blazing sun can cause plant burns.
Which lime is the right one?
You can differentiate between a few different types of lime. Carbonated lime is best suited for liming the lawn because it is not as aggressive as quicklime or slaked lime. This type is commonly used in the garden and can be found in garden shops as “garden lime”. Some people still use quicklime on the lawn if the soil is clayey and heavy.
Mixed forms of lime and fertilizer are still available on the market, which lime and fertilize the lawn at the same time. Some mixtures also contain magnesium, which gives the lawn an even richer green tone. However, this practical solution is only suitable for those gardens whose soil is not extremely acidic.
Determine the correct amount of lime
In order for liming to be successful, you should dose the lime correctly. A sandy soil with a pH value below 5.5 needs around 150 to 200 grams of carbonated lime per square meter. However, if the soil is loamy with a pH value below 6.2, then the amount required is twice as much - i.e. 300 to 400 grams of garden lime per square meter. However, if you want to lime a clay floor with quicklime, you don't need more than 100 grams per m².
This is how you lime the lawn correctly
There are a few important points to keep in mind when liming the lawn to ensure that no mistakes occur. That's why we've summarized the individual steps below.
Before you start liming, you mustFirst scarify the lawn carefully. In this way, the soil is aerated because a lot of oxygen gets into it. Scarifying also destroys weeds and allows the lime to work better. Afterwards, however, the soil needs some time to recover. Wait about 4 weeks after scarifying before resorting to lime. However, if the lawn is limed in the fall, you can skip this step.
Tip: If you want to reseed the lawn, do so shortly after scarifying, but definitely before liming.
If you have already finished scarifying and waited the necessary time, you can now lime the lawn. There are basically two methods to do this. You can either use a spreader or simply lime by hand. In the second case, however, you should definitely wear good gardening gloves. Direct skin contact can damage your skin.
A spreader is recommended for larger lawns because it makes spreading easier and more even. You can simply use the same spreader that is used to apply the fertilizer or seeds. With such a device, the amount of fertilizer or lime can be dosed more easily and the whole process is precise.
Whether with a spreader or by hand, you should apply the lime evenly to the entire lawn. To ensure that the lime penetrates deep into the ground, rake the lawn once after liming. This way you prevent the wind from carrying it away.
Tip: There are certain plants that cannot tolerate lime, such as conifers. Find out in advance whether your plants tolerate lime or not and keep the necessary distance from it if necessary.
After the lawn has been evenly limed, you should consider watering the lawn thoroughly. The water helps draw the lime into the soil more quickly and continues to neutralize the acid.
Now comes the rest phase. Allow the lime to take effect for about four to five weeks before fertilizing, mowing or scarifying the lawn again.
Tips for proper lawn care
For an evenly growing and beautifully green lawn, the soil needs a lot of care. Unfortunately, there is no single formula that guarantees lush lawn growth. Different lawn plants have different requirements and need appropriate care. The nature of the soil also plays an important role. We have put together some useful tips so that you can properly lime and care for your lawn.
Additional care for acidic soil: sand lawns
Liming alone cannot always eliminate the causes of soil acidification. If the soil is compacted, it should also be sanded. Coarse building sand is best suited for this. Every spring, cover the lawn with a layer of building sand that is two to three centimeters thick. The grass should not be completely covered, but should stick out above the sand layer. The best way to level the sand is to use a lawn rake. When you sand the lawn, the soil becomes looser over time, moss growth reduces and the grass grows more vital and lush.
Fertilize the soil – only after the lime
Fertilizing cannot replace liming the lawn. The additives in the fertilizer can sometimes even be harmful to the tender grasses. In general, you can both lime and fertilize the lawn, as both can improve the growing conditions for the grass. However, it is important to note that liming should happen before fertilizing. If the necessary amount of lime is added to the soil first, the optimal basis for fertilizer is created.
And what are the differences between liming and fertilizing and should you do both? Lime is a type of fertilizer that regulates acidity in the soil. Fertilizers contain many nutrients and minerals that the lawn needs. The most important of these are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. To determine what exactly is missing from your lawn, you should take a soil sample and send it for soil analysis. This is the only way you can know for sure exactly what the soil is lacking.
Do not apply lime in rainy weather
If there is rain in the weather forecast or if there was a lot of rain on the same day or the day before, you should postpone the liming for another day. The soil should be dry before you lime the lawn. However, the rain immediately afterwards is not a problem and can even help the lime to seep into the ground better.
We wish you good luck!
