Mixing Lime into Compost Tea, if you don't have a pH Meter

[St. Phatty]

I finally found my bag of Lime.
Too late to mix into a soil mix.
But I am going to be giving my plants compost tea using powdered chicken manure.
It has always proved to be a little hot, i.e. acidic.

I was thinking one heaping Tablespoon of Lime, in 4 gallons of water.
Then to add maybe 12 ounces, by Volume, of Chicken Manure.

Just pretend it's bagged Bat Guano.
If you were mixing up 5-5-5 Bat Guano in a compost tea, what would be your recipe ?

 

[Three Berries]

Is it lime or limestone? Limestone is rather benevolent, lime is quick acting and can be too strong.

I use a pelletized limestone that 'dissolves' in water.

 

[St. Phatty]

It's Hi-Yield brand Cheapo Lime.

 

[El Unico Frijol]

topdress would work too

 

[VenerableHippie]

Saint P, don't mix manure and lime together or there will be a release into the atmosphere of ammonia aka nitrogen! You'll weaken the manure, neutralise the lime.

If you want to add lime just water it onto the soil @ one tablespoon of Lime in 4 g's of water. This will alter pH. Have you a pH test kit or litmus?

But adding lime (by itself) this way once won't hurt ...

(I 'm talking builders lime. The pure white powdery stuff that will burn your skin.)

 

[xet]

A tablespoon? I will mix a half gallon of powder limestone into a 5 gallon compost tea batch with no remorse. It depends on your situation (important to understand the utility, the why, of limestone).

My favorite ratio of compost-chicken-manure/other solids or liquids:water is 1:5, or 20% (33% for a heavy feed).

 

[VenerableHippie]

A tablespoon? I will mix a half gallon of powder limestone into a 5 gallon compost tea batch with no remorse. It depends on your situation.

powdered limestone is different to builders (or slaked) lime. I think Saint P is talking builders lime.

(Lime, whether rock or slaked, and manure together will cause a release and thus a waste of nitrogen into the atmosphere. You might be doing more work and using more ingredients than you have to.)

 

[Three Berries]

They sell this around here. Micronized and dissolves in water (somewhat)

 

[xet]

.

 

[St. Phatty]

Actually I found my bag of Hi Yield Lime.

It was in the chemistry lab part of the house.

I'm realizing somewhat sadly that there is little need to transplant my 3 remaining females.

They are small enough that a 5 gallon bucket is probably enough.

Making tea for them was basically a desperate attempt to make them bigger, kind of a newbie mistake.

I think I might drill some extra holes in the buckets, but NOT actually transplant.

Then put them in the 30 gallon pots and let the roots grow through.

Some people call that "BOG-potting" because he used to do it.

Also Sativa-dominant plants especially can do some amazing things during flowering, grow a lot.

 

[Creeperpark]

You can introduce lime to your plants with pure water. Just add a pinch of horticulture dolomite lime to your water, bubble it with an air pump, and raise the water ppm between 60 and 120 ppm. As you give it to the plants over time the calcium and magnesium become more available. It just takes a pinch or two.

 

[Creeperpark]

Builders' lime is calcium hydroxide, also called slaked lime. The hydroxide makes it caustic and harmful with skin contact or repeated breathing.
Calcium hydroxide is alkaline (pH 12.8) powder with poor solubility in water (solubility of 1.2 g.L–1 of water at 25 °C). It is a strong base obtained by calcining calcium carbonate until it transforms into calcium oxide (quicklime).

Dolomitic lime is calcium carbonate combined with magnesium carbonate. This is my choice when cal-mag is not allowed. However, using dolomitic lime has its drawbacks. It doesn't dissolve in plain water without extra hydrogen. Outdoors dolomitic lime takes at least a year before achieving measurable results.

Does calcium carbonate dissolve easily Google?
Calcium carbonate has very low solubility in pure water (15 mg/L at 25°C), but in rainwater saturated with carbon dioxide, its solubility increases due to the formation of more soluble calcium bicarbonate. Calcium carbonate is unusual in that its solubility increases as the temperature of the water decreases. Google.

After mixing well one can add a couple of ice cubes to help raise solubility.

 

[St. Phatty]

I wonder if my hands might make a good pH meter.

Since I usually have a cut that's healing, or other area where the skin is missing.

Has anybody ever tried FEELING the pH using their hands ?

I figure, if it's close to neutral, it doesn't feel like much.

If it's below 6 or above 8, then maybe that kind of acid or base you can feel.

if you pull your hand out and all the skin has been dissolved, the pH is below 5 or above 9.

 

[Three Berries]

I wonder if my hands might make a good pH meter.

Since I usually have a cut that's healing, or other area where the skin is missing.

Has anybody ever tried FEELING the pH using their hands ?

I figure, if it's close to neutral, it doesn't feel like much.

If it's below 6 or above 8, then maybe that kind of acid or base you can feel.

if you pull your hand out and all the skin has been dissolved, the pH is below 5 or above 9.

I use to work in a battery factory. Sulfuric acid was all over the place. A quick touch of the finger and then a taste will tell you if the pH is below 7. Like citric acid or lemon juice in food recipes it will give the sour taste.

 

[St. Phatty]

The metric of Pain might be easier to use, if I could find my pH meter & calibration liquid.

Or my Litmus strips.

I saw a video where an experienced, extremely skilled scientist sips Heavy Water.

Generally a very bad idea. The diffusion constants of D2O are very different than H2O.

He said it tasted sweet.