DIY - When Should I Lime my Lawn 

It wasn't until I did a soil test, that I learned there were different types of lime as well. What was even more shocking, when I went to stores looking for it some of the associates just said all lime was the same.

Pete great job i love everything you have telling us about our lawns keep it going

Hey this video is like the old ones very informative no sales pitch! 👍

I've been using RU-vid as a means for research to improve my lawn for a few years. I have noticed there is some RU-vid content providers that give very contradicting info. There is one channel in particular that has blown up over the past year or two that has a relationship with Milorganite that seems like they are only in it to sell product. Anyone can buy a nice lawn and say that it was their hard work that made it nice. It's good to see the genuine truth on here. Keep it up, Pete.

It makes you mad because you are genuine & compassionate about what you do.. Which is an awesome thing! ;) Beautiful sun rise this morning here in Fannin..

Man this channel is picking up steam! 500 subs in a week! Pete must have found a way to inject RGS into RU-vid.

That's is why I have been landing my new clients. Because weed companies with cartoon mascots are lying to sell them products they don't need. I have the same attitude as you. Be honest and the good lord will bless you.

If theres moss in your lawn, its probably safe to lime correct? I live in west wa, and the rain acidifies over the fall and winter, is this also correct?

'Who knows how accurate they are...' well pal, just test one or two. IF you took a few minutes you could send off your lab test and then compare that to home meter tests and tell us. Its not hard, many people do it, the info is out there if you look. I'm not sure you putting down certain test really furthers your cause. Those tests might be great, you never checked

Those stick don't stop cars from driving over your lawn. Vandals in cars run them over all the time to piss you off... Use ******BIG BOULDERS******

I live on a corner lot as well. Tons of people were driving almost 12" into my lawn. I had a larger landscaping boulder, it got strategically placed. People quit driving through my yard now :)

Preach Pete Preach! I have made a soil test a mandatory part of my program this season. I plan on doing them first thing in the season so if a lawn needs a high amount of correction I can do a split application in the spring and fall. Where do you send your samples?

Lol i want to meet this BEEEL. LOL just messing with ya. Love the vids.

Good stuff Pete! I never have put down lime but did do a soil test last year through local NC Ag PH was in the mid 7s 😳 I called said how can this be I have never limed lived here 2 years? They said probably year after year previous owners put it out. We’ll see what it’s like this year...

hey man quit walking through those stripes!

So if I were to treat 80+ customers this spring 2024 would I need to go out there and do a soil test before putting down any fertilizer? I just want to see how this applies here. Is easy to say it but time is money. Any feedback will be appreciated guys . - Illinois (Elgin) Thanks

Putting Rocks/Boulders on the edge of the The Lawn? Better not! 1- the 1st 10 ft from the street is not yours..Its The Towns EASEMENT property( not yours! They can come out and dig it up for Sewer, water line, etc or expand the Street or just Repave it.. ( How about Snow Plowing( If Applies) ? 2- You Put rocks on it? Car hits them and gets damage? YOUR LIABLE! 3- Your best to just Either Put Mulch or Marble Rocks those 1st 5 Ft from the Street!

They might not have told them wrong. 6.3 pH is slightly acidic, and depending on the grass type, and other plants in their yard 6.3 may have been too low. Fertilizers are salt based and usually raise the pH, especially after extended use. By saying "thrown fert and then lime a month later", as long as the poundage is correct, they are likely trying to negate any drop in pH that adding fertilizer may have caused. pH also technically only measures acidity, specifically the concentration of hydronium ions in the soil. From this number we can infer the concentration of hydroxide ions. The scale itself is pretty simple, it states the Molarity of a solution, or the moles of solute per liter of solution, as the negative common log of the H+ ions in mol./L. For example, a pH of 6.3 means there are 10^-6.3 moles of hydronium per Liter of solution, or 0.000010 moles per liter. You can see why lower numbers denote acidity, as a pH of 2 would be 10^-2 moles hydronium/L, or 0.10 moles/L. Hydronium is a water molecule with an extra hydrogen ion, or H3O+, which is what we call acidic. Any substance that can increase the concentration of hydrogen ions (no electrons, just a proton, that bonds with water molecules in a solution) is called an acid. Salts tend to be a source of H+ (ionic compounds) are often a source of hydrogen ions. Lime raises soil pH, and the amount depends on the soil type and quantity. Clay soil is harder to change because its structure is so massive and compact. The guide I have lists 5.5 pounds of lime per 100 feet^2 to raise pH +.5 while sandy soil is around a pound per 100 ft^2. Saying "they were told wrong" isn't professional of you without knowing the specific details like soil type, plants and grasses, pH of soil, or recent cultural practices (like maybe a lot of fert useage)

Today the first day of getting my dirt right. First application from GCI. Can't wait for the results this year.

Pete, HEY, All I wish is that every once in awhile you would speak your mind on how you really feel about things! :-) Good topic today though!

I did a soil test about 3 years ago. Probably time to order up another one! Especially now that I'm using fancy products!

those little sticks wont stop them from driving in your yard. What we do around here is buy some 500-1000 lb boulders and dot them around the corner, so if anyone runs up in the yard they need a tow truck to get away. fair trade off.

Agree 100 percent. Lime is only needed to adjust soil PH. If you throw down lime And ot is not needed you will throw off your PH. If the PH is off then your fertilizer won't work, And that just wastes money. You should always do a soil test, Then put down what you need. Not only does it save money And time, But it's better on the environment. There is no need dumping chemicals on a lawn if they are not needed. Great video.

Thanks Pete! I had a company stop by and had them do an estimate just to see what it would cost. They wanted to put every product on the market down on my already nice fescue lawn. A couple grand a months worth. It's a big yard but literally they wanted $15,000 over my growing season on an already nice stand of turf. What got me, and I let my neighbors know, was the amount of lime and phosphorus. My pH has been 6.6-6.8 every soil test I've done every other year over 15 years. It's essentially perfect and they wanted to put down an astronomic amount of lime on my yard. The guy I talked to couldn't even tell me what type of lime either. My soil tests over those 15 years have also always shown an abundance of phosphate in the soil. The lab recommends I use fertilizer with zero phosphorous and my area is known to have soil rich in phosphorus. The company recommended I needed a 10-10-10 fertilizer which would've been a pound of P every 10-12 weeks. Unless I've seeded I have never put an ounce of P down. Even when I overseed I don't use a standard starter fertilizer high in P. I also live next to a river that's a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay and they wanted to overdose my lawn with phosphorous. Not a good idea. Lesson is DO NOT just trust the companies and do your due diligence.

You are changing the lawncare industry for the better. You don’t need lime you need Greene County ! lol. Keep bringing the videos because they are awesome.

Watching this video 4 years later. 4K subs to 135+k now. Keep up the good work. God bless.

Boy do I wish I found this video before I applied Lime and Fertilizer to my lawn in the spring. Purchasing your plan ticket to have you treat my yard.

This video fires me up! Still watching everyone of you videos, amazing to see how far things have come

lay a curb

How does that stop them from driving through your grass?

And if the PH is too high, I forget what we do, add potash or spent coals from the grill.

Me me me me!! Love your videos man great info for guys like me. Greatly appreciated!!👍

👍. Yep I completely agree great video. I have a playlist posted on my lawn Week by week. - check it out if you like. As a home owner I used a kit from Lowe’s (not a lab) the idea was to at least get a reading of the pH to see how we are. Great advice. I hear this all the time... “put down lime anytime to sweeten the lawn” annoys me too bud. By the way, I subbed!

Hey. I did some soil test on every side of my lawn and most were in the 5 range. My back yard that I have been putting gypsum down all the time trying to help with the dog pee spots was 7. Looks like Lime and Gypsum are going down twice a year until that ph gets higher.

Hey Pete! My husband luvs your channel...I learned a lot from the LCN too...now I’m in tune to your channel!😂Glad you’re growing & glad the Lord helped you to manage & delegate your business, I saw the IPhone’s📱 & I thought “wow, what & Awesome idea” 💡Glad you have faith in God n pray each day and you trust your employees, I know how tough that can be too, been there b4, good info on lime, we added it to our lawn last fall, no problems at all😎. Thanks much!🙏🏼

It amazes me how many takes you do to complete every sentence. Lol.

Hey! Thanks for this video Pete. Hey, I really need to have an actual soil test done. I have been kind of just throwing down home depot's granular lime out every fall when I over-seed, with no true measure of my soil PH.

What happened to the snow?

Some big boulders will take care of the issue too 😂

I love the fact the Pete is on top of the things going on in the yard!!! I've been looking at how much lime I need in my yard. #PeteforPresident #soiltest #saidIneed #1.7tons

Pete you are so for real because without a soil test you don't know what is going on in your lawn. Man just keep up the amazing job love the video keep them coming pete

Your intro is giving me flashbacks of prodiamine and sea kelp application a month ago lol!

Will I do any damage adding lime to a lawn that may not need any?

Lime in the yard.... now he’s really pissed 😝

New to your channel, its great!

Great video as usual. Thanks for taking the time to do this it really helps

3/4 of the video was gloating. Good grief man

I just went back in time 3 years. Lol

Great video Pete ... my lawn is over 7 as shown by a soil test this past month ... lime would be a mistake. Organic matter would be better in my case ... now where can I find a biostim pack?

Throw a quick coat of paint on that door.

Haha!! Love it. Cracking me up Pete

Lime half your lawn....next year you won't be able to tell what half you limed.

Whats up Pete! Great video man

Great job, Pete. I would add getting samples from different parts of the lawn. I have pine trees and the pH is significantly lower in those areas than the rest of the lawn. Keep it up! You'll be at 4K in no time!! By the way: a Bio-Stim pack would be great for my lawn. Hint Hint Wink Wink

Can I buy you a new door for the garage

Great video. My answer to that question is not until a soil test that indicates need and specifies type of lime.

Love your info Pete .. Thanks

HEY! This is a good guy right here.

We had recent heavy rain here in Cali and now I have annual blue grass coming up in my fescue lawn and going to seed, waaaaahhh

HEY, get your dirt right. Lol

Hey ! Good advice. Hey! thanks Pete.

Love your content! Keep it coming.

It will burn that grass too

Hey, where do I go to have my soil tested? I'm in South Carolina. Hey, keep up the good work.

HEY! Great videos Pete!

HEY ! great video

Lime is never a must unless your soil needs it. Rookie move by the other company

Question.. I have 3 month old celebration Bermuda doing so so. The landscapers didn't level correctly so we have tons of lumps so mowing at 1in is impossible. Ph of sod is 3. I was told by an employee at Lowes yesterday to lime my sod. I'm in East tx and it's still in the 100s is it ok to lime now like he told me to do? They also planted 45 75 gal wax myrtles and they are not doing well at all not vibrant and thinning out. Ph on those are 2 to 3. The employee told me throw pellatized lime down NOW on everything. We spent over 20k just in sod and shrubs, I just dont want to burn everything

Hey!!! Good Vid Pete

Well I need major major help. I have moss growing at rapid rate. I don't know where to go or send soil to get tested. My yard is trashed. The previous owner did nothing but let weeds take over. Tree stumps rotten. My yard is unlevel and moss is taken over. Desperately needing advice and help

HEY, thanks 🙏

Hey Pete, I thought you said 3000 subscribers............. Keep up the great vids.......

Preach it brother!

Did you go to school or is all this knowledge from experience. I’m taking about the technical side of this

I live in NC and have red clay. I just had some Bermuda sod laid and I was told to add lime to help the sod take root when fertilized. Should I? Can dirt completely unmolested be ph balanced?

Love all your video,

This is awesome

acidic, neutral and alkaline !! all you had to do is communicate with her and explain her that you did some ph test and her soil are good, that way you avoid all this confusion with your clients !!

Thanks Pete. Not just lime either. Watch out for companies wanting to overdose your lawn with phosphate as well. My areas soil is naturally high in P but a company recommend I needed a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Not only bad for your lawn to OD with P but I live next to a river the leads into the Chesapeake Bay where we've had major issues with vegetation overgrowth in the water hurting the ecosystem. Get a soil test done and use it like it's scripture. It tells you how that lawn should be living.

If lime is at a so called neutral 7 then it must be true that adding lime no matter when will not raise the PH or lower the PH above or below 7. I really hope that you can follow that statement if not let me explain, if your test result is at 5.1 then adding lime no matter how much will only bring it closer to 7.0 it will not go above 7.0, if it is too high like 8.7 then adding lime no matter how much will not bring it below 7.0....

Good vid.....my lawns' soil ph is perfect and within range....that said, I still apply dolomitic limestone every 4-5 years just for the calcium and magnesium that I know fertilizers' do not supply......

Big believer in soil test. That's what I push to folks I know. Last fall while searching for some lime for my parents lawn (5.5 per the soil test), I was speaking with a Pennington representative at HD and we got to talking about lime and this joker said that you should just put some lime down every year and that's what he does. I countered him saying nah, I rely on a soil test to tell me when lime is needed. This joker said he doesn't trust soil tests. I ask so how do you know if lime is needed. His response I just put it down. I just shook my head and said oh, ok, I rely on soil tests. That was an interesting conversation and I hope that person never helps anyone with their lawn. I will do another soil test in the Fall to see how the soil is progressing and if it's moving in the right direction (there were other deficiencies, too). I was perplexed by the test because the soil show that the magnesium and calcium was in good levels, but the PH was still a bit off, so I went with a dolomitic lime. I plan to do a soil test each year for the next 2-3 years to check PH, since it's a slow process. I will continue to feed the soil.

Thanks 👍🏽

Starts at 3:00

i put steel spikes in when the guy wants to plow my 40 in sidewalk with his 52 in blade. all 4 tires had punctures never cam back...lol

Great vid. Couple of comments, I am formally educated and experienced in environmental testing and chemistry, you are 100% correct to require soil testing to correctly determine pH levels. However, If the soil is high in organic matter, it should arrive at the lab quickly. If it stays in a sample bag or sealed container , microorganisms will begin breaking the organics down. This process can reduce the pH . eg pH in yard of 6.4 could read below 6.0 after the sitting a before getting to the lab. Also.areas like here in Canada, the plants die over winter and decay in the fall and early in the spring. This reduces soil pH. As a result many people add lime each spring to counter the reduction to give their lawns a kick start . Anyway, keep advocating for proper methods of lawn care.

May I ask how often should you do a lawn test? How often should you put down lime? How long does it last? Do I put down ever 4 weeks or so? I have no clue? Should you slowly bring up your ph or should you just do the math and apply what’s needed in one shot? Is it better in spring or fall to apply?

Hey bud I have a question. I put lime down on my lawn and it’s looking good with the exception of a few almost grey colored spots. What would cause it to turn some of my lawn grey? FYI I use milorganite fert. Idk if that might have something to do with it.

My Goodness Pete. Im a little late to RU-vid & DIY lawn care.(which is why I just made my way back to this video) Can't believe you were shy of 4k followers on this one and now you're well clear of 100k! Keep up the hard work. I love the content. God bless!!!

Excellent video, I follow the Ph Rule Big Time, I started a lawn for a customer of mine, soil ph wasn't right so I messed with it, Limed the soil waited 2 weeks then fertilized and you can tell the uptake in nutrients was doubled from the previous years, My Customer has the Greenest, Softest Lushest Grass, another company does the neighbor next to my client and their lawn is not nearly as nice, and that neighbor spends alot of money on his lawn

Very good information. My father was a master at his lawn maintenance. His advice was everything in moderation and everything at it's time. You can't rush a nice lawn. It takes time and TLC.

Time of this video u were seeking 4K subscribers..... now u have it 10 fold. Amen brother. Great videos, great knowledge..... thank you sir

This is why I love this guy like a brother!! From the first video I accidentally stumbled upon. Pete is just a genuine guy and that’s because he follows after Jesus. A true Christian. I watch some of the other channels for mere entertainment. Pete is the only one I take seriously and would follow every step in lawn and yard care. My wife is getting annoyed already. She says when I talk about landscaping all she hears is “Pete this and Pete that” lol. Pete is the man and that’s why people are going crazy subscribing. Americans are not stupid. We know what’s true and what’s bogus. Sometimes I wonder how these landscaping jokers are still in business. I live in a very nice gated community and the landscaping company that serves some of my neighbors are completely incompetent and do everything wrong. I only started noticing since watching Pete’s videos. Most homeowners just trust too much and get their lawns ruined. Keep up the good fight Mr.Pete. And I’m sure you’re aware haters gonna hate!! Love this channel and telling everyone I know about it. Can not wait till next spring to see more mowing videos. God will continue blessing you!!

Amazing

I agree

like the video...my yard is a wreck and your videos are going to help "HULK" up my lawn... let you know in about a month or so!

thankyou sir,,great information,,we appreciate your hard work,,we use a small amount of lime in an area that gets alot of bugs,,here in south florida its bug city,,they hate lime,,,

I'm in New Hampshire. Do you know what seed is best for an area with a lot of pine trees? Wouldn't pine make the soil acidic? Right?

I wanna thank you and lcn for helping me with my front yard I live in Memphis tn .I have a Bermuda front lawn.every year i got 2 4x4 spots that turns light green .I have no grubs and no trees there I dont get it . So I order a soil test kit from Amazon . Everything looks good on test. Also I went to order your 3 way kit the gci turf you cant ship in Tennessee why is that

Most stores teach their employees to push products onto customers and have limited knowledge if its a proper solution. I was in Tractor Supply today and all the Dolomite Lime was sold out. I only use it to add calcium and help break down clay, a light application is usually good.