Starting Over!...question about lime?

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SensiStarFan

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Heeeeeeeeeeeey yoooooooooooooou guuuuuuuuuuuuys!
(That is supposed to be read like "Chunk" from the movie "Goonies")

It's good to be back! I had to move and start over from scratch so I have been gone a few months but I'm happy to report that I have 11 new babies coming along, about 8 inches tall.
I'm about to repot them, and I cannot find my favorite soil anywhere, Pro-Mix BX. I picked up some stuff called Metro-Mix 360, if you have used it I would love to hear your opinion about it. Also, I picked up some powdered hydrated lime but I have never used lime before. What concentraion do I use when I mix it with my soil? Also, is "hydrated" lime ok to use?

-SSF-
 
Quicklime, the product of calcination of limestone, consists of the oxides of calcium and magnesium, and in the United States it is available in three forms:

* High calcium quicklime--derived from limestone containing 0 to 5 percent magnesium carbonate.
* Magnesian quicklime--derived from limestone containing 5 to 35 percent magnesium carbonate.
* Dolomitic quicklime--derived from limestone containing 35 to 46 percent magnesium carbonate.

Hydrated lime is a dry powder manufactured by treating quicklime with sufficient water to satisfy its chemical affinity for water, thereby converting the oxides to hydroxides. Depending upon the type of quicklime used and the hydrating conditions employed, the amount of water in chemical combination varies, as follows:

* High calcium hydrated lime--high calcium quicklime produces a hydrated lime containing generally 72 to 74 percent calcium oxide and 23 to 24 percent chemically combined water.
* Dolomitic hydrated lime (normal)--under atmospheric hydrating conditions only the calcium oxide fraction of dolomitic quicklime hydrates, producing a hydrated lime of the following chemical composition: 46 to 48 percent calcium oxide, 33 to 34 percent magnesium oxide, and 15 to 17 percent chemically combined water.
* Dolomitic hydrated lime (pressure)--this lime is produced from dolomitic quicklime under pressure, which results in hydrating all of the magnesium oxide as well as all of the calcium oxide, producing the following chemical composition: 40 to 42 percent calcium oxide, 29 to 30 percent magnesium oxide, and 25 to 27 percent chemically combined water.
Ground limestone is almost almost pure calcium carbonate and comprises the largest % of all lime used in the United States - it is abundant and the cheapest form of lime. Also, it is not caustic or disagreeable to handle like burnt or hydrated lime. It may also contain varying amounts of magnesium carbonate. Limestones containing significant amounts of magnesium carbonate are called dolomitic limestones. Dolomitic limestone contains about equal parts of magnesium and calcium carbonate. Hydrated/slaked lime —
pound for pound is about 1-1/2 times more effective (at raising pH) and quicker to react than ground limestone (calcium carbonate). There are other forms of lime, but they're not generally something you'd want to use in a container.

"I" use about a heaping tablespoon p/ gal of medium.
 
Oh geez....I hve been adding a handful per gallon of soil....:eek:
Hope I didn't OD my plants.
 
Hamster Lewis said:
Oh geez....I hve been adding a handful per gallon of soil....:eek:
Hope I didn't OD my plants.
you're grows show it too...:p
I'm inclined to believe any OD would more likely result from calcium. Since my well water is high in ca, I keep that in consideration with any amendments.
 
I would strongly suggest you DO NOT use hydrated lime. It's a bit too fast acting and can burn your roots. Just bad ju ju all around.

Regular ol lime is just ground up limestone, hasn't been chemically altered, and won't burn anything. Usually ~$3.50-$5 for a 40lb bag at Lowes or HD. Cheep.

Hamster, you're ok, but I'd back that off a bit. LOL On clay soils in NC, as much as 12 TONS/acre has been applied with no ill effects. I use 2tbl/gal of mix, but my water doesn't have as much Ca as Hick's does. If you do RO or distilled, you really have no worries about excess Ca.

Thinking about it, a small handful wouldn't be much more than 2tbl anyway.:icon_smile:

Wet
 
Sensi Wats up man! Good to see u back. When u gonna post sum pics?
 

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