Tomatoes and Garden Lime: Benefits and Potential Problems Explained

By Erin Marissa Russell

Are you curious about using garden calcium hydroxide for Lycopersicon esculentum ? need to have intercourse how to do it , as well as the benefits and potential problem of tomatoes and garden lime ? Just keep reading . We ’ve prepared this article to guide you every step of the agency .

What Is Garden Lime?

Garden basswood is calcium carbonate , and it ’s used to raise the pH floor of soil as well as to add atomic number 20 to the territory for plant life . You should know that garden unslaked lime is sometimes call agricultural birdlime . The names garden lime and agrarian lime tree both advert to the same ware .

Dolomitic lime , or dolomite lime , is a dissimilar substance you may try about that also raises stain pH. Dolomite lime hold in calcium carbonate as well as Mg carbonate . In plus to further calcium , bitter spar lime supplies Mg to your soil at the same prison term .

Quick lime , also call burnt Citrus aurantifolia , is another product that has a similar sound name , but quick lime is not recommended for use in the garden .

lime on tomato plants

Types of Garden Lime

Garden lime is sold in a few different forms : grainy , hydrous , pelletized , and pulverized . Some of these preparations are more expensive than others . For example , pelletized calx is more expensive than granular lime . However , pelletized lime does not work any faster than granular lime , so it ’s not really worth the extra cost .

pulverise lime has the smallest granules , which means the lime will absorb more quickly into the soil . hydrous fluxing lime is also absorbed quick , but it can be hard to control the app than with other forms of lime .

The card of options can seem overwhelming , but all you really need to deliberate is how much you want to drop on garden lime and how quickly you need your linden tree to work .

types of lime for garden

How Does Garden Lime Help Tomatoes?

Lime is used to preventblossom terminal bunk in tomatoes . When the soil does n’t have enough atomic number 20 , especially if the conditions has been dry , then wet , then dry , then soaked , flower end decomposition can take hold . you could preclude this danger by adding garden slaked lime to your territory , which will invoke its pH horizontal surface while also adding calcium .

Blossom end rot wo n’t keep tomatoes from ripen and maturing . You ’ll notice that as a love apple with heyday end rot grows , it will get small dark-brown or tan spots on the end of the tomato plant that had the flower . The spots start out so small that you may not detect them , but they eventually expand to up to two inches wide . Then the blossom end of the tomato starts to decay , lead the rest of the tomato comestible , although not pretty to look at .

Lime is also used to institute the pH stratum of the soil up to an appropriate level for develop tomatoes . The ideal soil pH for growing tomatoes is between 6.5 and 6.7 . If your soil has a blue pH grade and you want to grow tomato , garden lime can assist them thrive . Not sure what the pH level of your soil is ? Find out in our articleHow to essay pH in Your Soil .

tomato blossom

One avenue for soil testing is to connect with your local Extension office , as these offices offer soil testing services . you may also range soil testing kits at hardware stores or online if you ’d choose to test the grunge yourself . If you find that you need to increase the Ca in your ground without changing its pH level , consider using gypsum or else of garden lime .

Benefits of Garden Lime

Drawbacks of Garden Lime

If you do get too much lime in your stain , you could chasten the pH level with elementary sulphur or ammonium sulfate . It ’s best to apply a S discussion in the fall so it can cultivate over the winter , leaving the pH level corrected in the spring .

Another alternative is to treat your dirt with half of the garden lime in the declivity and use the other one-half in the spring before tomatoes are engraft . The cycle of suspend and dethaw that go on over the wintertime will also help oneself incorporate your garden unslaked lime into the dirt .

How to Use Garden Lime for Tomatoes

At least two to three months before you plan to plant your tomatoes is the recommended time to apply garden lime . A good guideline for stain amendment is three quarter of a loving cup of garden calx for each tomato plant .

However , if your soil examination indicates that you involve more or less lime than three fourth of a cup per love apple industrial plant , succeed that ratio . The amount of caustic lime you should apply varies depending on your grime pH level . For a mesa render you how much lime to use to adjust dirt pH by a sure amount , visit this clause on vary pH in soil from theVegetable Research and Information Center of the University of California at Davis . you may employ the listed values as a guide and estimate how much Citrus aurantifolia to use based on your garden ’s ground testing result .

Using a rototiller , rake , or spade , desegregate the lime into the ground down to a ground profoundness of 12 inches . Water the dirt after you ’ve finished mix in the fluxing lime .

lime on tomato plants with text overlay growing tomatoes using garden lime on tomato plants

While you ’re bestow garden calx , it ’s also a good time to append plant food . Use a balanced plant food like an 8 - 8 - 8 , and just like with the lime , use three quarters of a cup per tomato plant .

To oppose off garden pest , you could use calcium hydrate water supply or a slaked lime slurry . If you apply the lime water or lime slurry as a spraying to the plants ’ foliage , it willfight pestilence like aphid , leafminers , and whitefly . Create the lime slurry by mixing a teaspoon of garden lime into a gallon of pee . remain mixing until the slaked lime has dissolve . apply a spray bottleful to apply the lime slurry to your flora , construct sure to get the undersides of the leaf where gadfly can congregate .

Garden unslaked lime is n’t the only thing you could use to facilitate your Lycopersicon esculentum stay free of flush end hogwash . Wood ash is another dirt amendment you’re able to use to raise the pH and add atomic number 20 , and at the same time it will sum up potassium , phosphorus , and atomic number 12 . plant that have a consistent , slow generator of water are less at risk of falling victim to blossom destruction rot . Using mulch around your tomato plant can also help prevent the disease .

you may also prevent prime ending rot and other types of disease by keep up ripe watering practice , which mean watering in the morning and aiming the flow at the beginning of your plant , not splashing on their foliage , which leaves behind the extra wet that puts flora at risk .