Friday

tip-o-day

If you put fertilizer on your lawn, don't ignore your soil pH.
If your soil is too acidic you are basically wasting your money on fertilizer.
Balanced soil helps the lawn to absorb needed nutrients. Spreading lime on your lawn can reduce acidity, known as making the soil sweeter, and also helps to quicken composting of organic materials. Even if you don't fertilize, this can make a big difference in the overall health of your landscape.

You can have your soil tested, usually for a nominal fee, by your local extension. Some garden centers will test it for free, or you can buy a home tester - tho both these methods are somewhat hit or miss. Or you can wing it and simply add some lime.
Its a pretty good guess that your lawn needs it anyway.

I like to lime in the fall - tho you can do it any time of year. Spend the extra buck or two on pellitized lime, unless you want to look like a powdered donut when you're done.

Don't forget your vegetable garden as well!
If you incorporate composting materials in your garden beds (and why wouldn't you) then it's most likely a dusting of lime is a good idea. Tho different types of plants prefer different soil pH - so you may want to test for best results.

Take some caution before adding lime to planting beds, especially those with shrubs. Many shrubs like Rhododendron or Azalea are acid loving so adding lime would be detrimental. Some plants like the Hydrangea will bloom a different color depending on the acidity in the soil. Hydrangeas in acidic soil will bloom blue -- if you add lime (and I think you need to do this quite a bit) you can get the color of the bloom to change to pink.

Lime is inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and safe for kids and pets.