In the News - March 2008
Liming your lawn
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - If you want a healthy, high-quality, attractive lawn, you
must make sure that your soil has the proper pH.
"Lime is often applied to Arkansas lawns to help raise the soil pH near
neutral, which increases the availability of most plant nutrients," said Jimmy
Driggers, Garland County extension staff chair with the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture.
Before liming your home lawn or applying any nutrients, you should obtain a
free soil test from your county extension office.
"A soil test provides key information including soil pH, potassium and
phosphorous levels," Driggers said. "Collect soil samples in a bucket from the
upper 4 to 6 inches of soil from 10 or more locations around the yard. Remove
any vegetative material such as stems and leaves. Air dry and mix the samples
thoroughly. Take about 1 pint of the mixture to your extension office."
Although soil can be sampled at any time during the year, sampling your lawn
in late fall, early winter or late spring will expedite the process since soil
test labs are less busy at those times than at other times of the year.
Driggers said that soil pH, which is a measure of the soil acidity or
alkalinity, can have a dramatic effect on soil nutrient availability and on
plant growth. Nutrients that are essential to plant growth are most available
between pH 5.8 and 6.5, although the pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. About 50
percent of Arkansas lawns have a below optimum soil pH (equal to or less than
5.7).
"Each turfgrass species prefers a slightly different pH for optimum growth,"
said Driggers. "Bermudagrass, tall fescue and zoysiagrass prefer a soil pH in
the range of 5.8 to 7.0. St. Augustine prefers more alkaline conditions with an
optimum pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Centipedegrass is more tolerant of acid soils (pH =
5.0 to 6.0) compared to other species."
Driggers said that the results of your soil test report will tell you whether
your lawn needs liming as well as how much lime to apply.
"Lime is best applied in the spring or fall, but regardless of application
timing, it may take several months before the lime can effectively raise the pH
of your soil," said Driggers. "Continue to lime and retest your soil annually
until the pH is optimum for turf growth."
For more information about soil testing or liming your lawn, contact your
county extension agent or visit www.uaex.edu and select
Agriculture, then search for Soil Testing or Lime. The Cooperative Extension
Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
March 14, 2008
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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