Liming the lawn: When, how & simultaneous fertilization?

Here you can find out when and why you should lime your lawn. We also answer whether you can lime and fertilize the lawn at the same time.

In contrast to Lawn fertilizer or compost, which are good for every lawn when given regularly, lime is only beneficial in very specific cases. In principle, liming should never be done as a precaution, only when the need arises. Therefore, in the following you will find out in which cases your lawn should really be whitewashed. We also answer the question of whether it is possible to lime and fertilize the lawn at the same time.

When you talk about lime, you usually mean the chemical compound calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), also called carbonate of lime. This compound is one of the most common worldwide. But what does lime do in the soil and how does it affect plants?

Under what circumstances should the lawn be limed?

Because by some mineral lawn fertilizers and slightly acidic rain, the pH value of the soil can fall below a value that is tolerable for the lawn, liming is occasionally necessary in addition to fertilization. Unlike fertilization, however, lime does not necessarily have to be applied regularly. Annual liming is only necessary in very acidic locations, but this should be accompanied by regular pH controls. The following applies: Since calcium carbonate influences the pH value of the soil, liming can only make sense on the basis of an analysis of the soil pH value.

Note: Because the acidity of the rain has meanwhile decreased again due to restrictions on air pollution the rain with an average pH of 5.1 to 5.2 is no longer as acidic as it was before some Years.

The more lime there is in the soil, the more alkaline the soil, i.e. the higher the pH value. The pH value is important for the plants because the availability of nutrients changes with the pH value. If the soil is too acidic or too alkaline, various nutrients are bound in the soil and are less or not available for plants. A pH value of 4 or lower can also lead to a toxic high concentration of some nutrients or pollutants. For most grasses, the ideal pH value is not in the neutral, but in the slightly acidic range.

More information about why the lawn needs lime, learn from the specialist CUXIN DCM in this article.

Lime against moss in the lawn

Heavy moss infestation can be a sign of acidification of the soil - but soil compaction, waterlogging, lack of nutrients or shade are also possible causes of moss growth. Were these possibilities excluded and had Scarifying, Ventilation and Sands and regular fertilizing of the lawn has no effect, a change in the pH value is another adjustment screw that you can use to promote your lawn. For example, there are very clear indicators of acidic soil sorrel (Rumex acetosella), creeping cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans) or Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus). However, adding lime can only help against moss and weeds in the lawn if a pH value that is too low is actually the reason for its occurrence. Here you will also find instructions on how to Moss in the lawn Get rid of.

When is it necessary to lime the lawn?

• When the soil pH has been tested and is shown to be too low
• In the case of heavy moss infestation, if other moss-promoting factors are only applicable to a limited extent
• With an increasing number of weeds that like acidic soil (e.g. B. Sorrel, cornflowers etc.)

Note: Never jump to conclusions and always confirm your suspicions with a pH test. For example, a pH test of the soil can easily be carried out with the Soil analysis test set from CUXIN DCM do. Is the soil pH below 5.5? Then it is definitely time to spread the lime.

The following pH values ​​in the soil are to be aimed for:

• For light, sandy soils, a pH value of 5.5 to 6.0 is aimed for so that nutrients are optimally available
• For heavy, clayey soils, a pH value of 6.5 to 7.5 is aimed for so that nutrients are optimally available

How much lime does your soil need?

As a rule, soil analyzes provide information on how much lime you need to use to achieve the desired pH value. Recommendations often refer to the calcium oxide (CaO) contained in lime, which is also called quicklime. Since no lime fertilizer consists of 100 percent pure CaO, you may have to do a small conversion. If you want to deal with the topic of soil analysis in more detail, you can read here with the experts at CUXIN DCM how to the perfect garden with soil samples creates.

If the fertilizer used has a lime content of 80%, it will contain 80 grams of lime per 100 grams of fertilizer. With a required amount of 250 grams of lime per square meter, for example, the following calculation results.

Used fertilizer: 80% CaO content = 80 g CaO per 100 g fertilizer

Required / recommended amount (example) = 250 g / m²

Amount of lime fertilizer to be spread = 100 g / 80 g x 250 g / m² = 313 g / m²

In this way you can easily calculate the correct spread rate based on your soil analysis. We recommend the for fertilizing lawns CUXIN DCM green-lime with 60% CaCO₃ and 30% MgCO₃.

Tip: Slowly soluble calcium carbonate (carbonate of lime) can be used on light soils. However, the heavier a soil becomes, the less effective this type of liming becomes. Quickly dissolving quicklime is used on clayey, heavy soils. You can also use unpolluted wood ash like quicklime. More about the Fertilize with ashes find out here.

When should the lawn be limed?

How often a lawn is limed depends on the measured pH value and does not follow a regular rhythm. In the course of the year you should always lime when there was no fertilization or fertilization very soon. The ideal day for liming is as calm as possible. The lawn is mowed before liming, and this can also be combined with scarifying and airing. If it is not practical to rain after liming, consider artificially watering the lawn.

Liming the lawn and fertilizing at the same time?

Unfortunately, the application of lime with fertilization does not make sense. If fertilizers containing ammonium and lime in the soil come into direct contact with one another, malodorous ammonia is formed, which means that nitrogen leaves the soil in gaseous form and unused. And also bringing lime together with superphosphate - a popular one Phosphate fertilizer - is anything but useful. This creates poorly soluble calcium phosphates, making both calcium and phosphate inaccessible to plants and reducing the effect of liming.

We therefore recommend that you keep liming and fertilizing strictly separate. It is better to wait about two months after fertilizing and then distribute lime. The date should be between March and November. Please also note that some slow-release fertilizers have a very long duration of action and that the effects should not overlap if possible.

Instructions for liming and fertilizing the lawn

The highest compatibility of lime and fertilizers is achieved when the Organic lawn fertilization he follows. The secret lies in the slow mineralization of the organically bound nutrients. Our lawn fertilizer is primarily organic Plantura organic lawn fertilizer with long-term effect. This is applied for the first fertilization after winter in spring - between February and May, depending on the type of soil. In the early summer, around the end of June, the lawn is fertilized again, before that in August Preparing the lawn for winter time begins.

Here a potassium-accentuated autumn lawn fertilizer is used. After August you should be from mineral fertilizers Keep your fingers off, organic autumn lawn fertilizers like ours Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizer but you can still spread it at this time of the year without hesitation. When fertilizing in autumn, the use of a potassium-accentuated autumn lawn fertilizer is extremely important in order to increase the frost hardiness of the lawn grasses. The lime can then be applied about two months after the last autumn lawn fertilization.

As mentioned, there should be around two months between fertilization and liming. An annual plan for fertilizing and liming the lawn could therefore look like this.

March	June	August	October November
Organic lawn fertilizer	Organic lawn fertilizer	Organic autumn lawn fertilizer	lime

Can the lawn be whitewashed and fertilized at the same time?

• Lime and fertilizer should not be used on the lawn at the same time, especially with ammonium-containing fertilizers and superphosphate
• There should be about two months between liming and fertilization; The easiest time is to apply lime in autumn
• Mainly organic lawn fertilizers like our Plantura Organic lawn fertilizer get along best with lime

You can find more precise information on lawn fertilization in our special article on Lawn fertilizers. In addition to liming and fertilizing, there are other lawn care tasks. You will therefore find all information about the Lawn care all year round.

Many thanks to CUXIN DCM for their support!