The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: angie on September 07, 2017, 10:40:14 pm
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Hi have a problem with buttercups in goats field so want to lime the ground to improve it and to hopefully eventually eradicate them. Digging them up is not an option as large area, very stony ground, lots of plants. Don't want to use grazon as can't put bedding on the compost heap.
Might be a silly question but what sort of lime should I use? Is builders lime ok?
What time of year is best to lime?
Should I keep the girls off the field or not, and how long for if I need to keep them off?
Many thanks for your patience in reading this
Any advice appreciated
Angie
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Our neighbouring farms lime about this time of the year so I do the same on the basis that they know what they're doing. I get our lime in 25kg bags from our local ag merchants, trade name Calcipril, which is in pellet form so easy to handle, and broadcast by hand. I can't see any reason to keep goats off the ground while you do that as they don't graze but I'm not a goat keeper.
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Calcifet is another pellet form of lime ..... pellet forms only last about a year .... we apply ours in spring (rain will wash it though quicker so don't see point in doing in autumn... but happy to be corrected)
r
Lime to last many years is spread by contractor and costs much more.
Please remember lime is nasty stuff .... gloves and mask needed to handle.
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Acidic soil is not always the cause of buttercups, so you would be advised to have your soil tested before getting large amounts of lime spread by a contractor (usually at about 2 tonnes /acre)
However Calcipril or Calcifert are applied in much smaller amounts, with a conventional spreader, and will sweeten the soil without the risk of overdoing it and locking up trace elements. You can apply them at any time of year as the calcium binds to the soil particles and is not washed away by heavy rain like nitrogen is.
A suitable herbicide for buttercups is 2-4,D. It is selective for broad leaved plants, so will also kill clover and any herbs you may have as well. However, it is a plant hormone, not a poison, so will not affect your stock or compost heap.
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Thank you all for your comments and advice much appreciated
Angie
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Hi Angie
Any type of lime is better than none if it's needed but as has been said before best to get a test done first, shouldn't cost too much £12-£15 for a basic analysis.
Agricultural lime is ground up limestone and has a neutralizing value (NV) of 40-50% which means it is 40-50% as effective as pure calcium carbonate.
Prilled lime is often sold as a wonder lime that 100kg of can do the same as a couple of tonnes of Ag lime. That is total bullocks. Prilled lime is just Ag lime with a binder to make it stick into little prills that are easy to spread. It has an NV similar to Ag lime.
Builders lime has a much higher NV as it is much purer from memory possible up to 98%
The price of Ag lime depends on your distance from the quarry as it is mostly haulage. Here it is about £25/t and comes from the North of England. Prilled was well over £100 and builders about £8 a 25kg bag from B&Q .
I would keep the goats of the treated area at least until the rain has washed it of the leaf. Don't think it will do them any harm but possibly not do them any good either.