It is necessary for receiving good harvests that the soil on the site conformed to requirements of cultures for acidity and nutritiousness. Otherwise plants will die, or the harvest will be deplorable.
Than the acidity of the soil is harmful
The acidity of the soil is characterized by size rn (pH value). Neutral indicator of the soil - rn 7. This most favorable ratio of acidity for optimum development of plants for which the gardener has to seek. The fact is that on the sour soil of plant badly acquire nutrients, in it there are no useful microelements increasing fertility of the soil, and what is, are in form, inaccessible for plants.
To understand that the soil sour, it is possible to address to special laboratory where the acidity is defined by litmus or the special equipment. It is possible to guess that level rn is lowered if on the site grow cornflower, heather, buttercup, horsetail field, plantain, sedge, horse sorrel, coltsfoot. As a rule, soils in low inundated places where long in abundance water stands are sour. The only way to improve situation is to lime the soil.
How to bring lime?
It is better to carry out lime application since fall, before deep redigging of the soil. At the same time it is necessary to study well features and preferences of those cultures which are going to be landed in garden as some plants prefer subacidic soils, and others like alkaline soil. Lime needs to be brought in the form of powder evenly to mix it with the earth and to achieve fast dissolution. It is better to use for this purpose lime slaked lime: slaked lime which was exposed to freezing. Such lime is easily brought and quickly dissolved in the soil. It is possible to use ground limestone, dolomite powder, chalk or limy tufa instead of lime. In case it is necessary to bring unslaked lime, in the beginning it is necessary to fill in it with water (on 10 kg of lime of 4-5 l of water) that there has taken place chemical reaction, only after it lime will be suitable for use.
Norms of lime application
The norm of introduction of lime for different soils and plants is various, for this purpose there are special standards which are better for studying previously in detail, but for improvement of subacidic soils the norm of lime application is 300-400 g/sq.m, with the subsequent redigging. When landings bushes, trees and plants, lime is brought in landing holes with the subsequent seal. At active use of mineral fertilizers the norm of introduction of lime has to be increased; if organic fertilizers are introduced, then need for lime application decreases. Excessive lime in the soil is also harmful, on alkaline soils of plant are ill chlorozy – at this disease they also cannot receive enough mineral elements and perish. Therefore lime application needs to be carried out only as required, trying not to do much harm to plants.