Liming soil lawns

Clover grows well in poor soil. Fertilizing the lawn will tend to deter it (but see also The value of clover, opposite). Sheep s sorrel can be a problem in acidic soil conditions. Liming soil (see below) can help. Plantain and thistles grow where grass is thin or patchy. Lawn pests include ants, leatherjackets, and moles see the A-Z of Plant Problems ipp.320-341) for advice on these. 

Liming an acidic lake is similar to the process many people use to maintain a pH balance in their soil for lawn maintenance. Plants have an optimum pH range in which they strive. Acidic conditions often develop in soils for several reasons. Rain tends to leach away basic ions, weak organic acids develop from the carbon dioxide produced by decaying organic matter, and strong acids, such as nitric acid, can form when ammonium fertilizers oxidize. To neutralize these acids, different forms of lime such as quicklime, CaO, and slaked lime, Ca(OH)2, are used to neutralize the acid and increase the pH of the soil. Table 13.9 shows how much fertilizer is wasted when applied to... 

Lime is spread on lawns and gardens to raise the pH of acidic soils. 

Chalk and oven cleaner are examples of familiar products that contain bases. Your blood is a basic solution. Calcium hydroxide, often called lime, is used to mark the lines on athletic fields. It also can be used to treat lawns and gardens that have acidic soil. 

The use of peat for soil improvement in the open is usually limited to gardens, lawns and golf courses, because of the cost. The best practice is to apply an inch or so of sedge or reed peat to an area that is to be seeded, and work it into the upper few inches of soil. Any fertilizer or lime that is needed can be applied at the same time if grasses are to be sown. If vegetables, flowering plants, or shrubs are to be grown the fertilizer may be applied later in the row or hill if desired. 

Iron is also an essential component of the enzyme involved in the formation of chlorophyll. When the soil is iron deficient or when too much lime is present in the soil, iron availability decreases. Often a gardener or lawn worker will apply phosphate and lime to adjust soil acidity, only to see green plants turn yellow because of chlorosis. What happens in such cases is that both phosphate and the hydroxide from the lime tie up the iron and make iron unavailable to the plants. 

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