Knowledgebase

Adding Lime to freshly mulched garden #225458

Asked January 23, 2015, 8:21 PM EST

Hello. Three weeks ago I covered my vegetable garden with leaf mulch for the winter. Now I want to amend the soil with lime to improve the acidity. Do you recommend spreading the lime over the leaf mulch and digging the whole business into the soil right now? Or, should I scrape away the leaf mulch, apply the lime, and then recover the garden with leaf mulch?

Benton County Oregon

Expert Response

Hi, good question.  I have provided two links for you to take a look at.  One talks about preparing your garden for winter and the other answers a bunch of fertilizer questions you may have about fertilizing your vegetable garden.  Based on the information in both documents I would advise raking back the mulch and applying the lime to the soil and then putting the leaves back over the top.  Keep in mind that we still have two months of winter left and then early spring during which we should receive a lot more rain.  The layer of mulch helps prevent the compaction of your garden soil by diffusing the impact of rain on the soil.  I would advise not incorporating the leaves into the soil now but rather let them decompose on top and do their job of protecting the soil.  Mixing the leaves into the soil now would not be good for your soil structure.  Soils are much too wet to disturb this time of year.  Best to wait until late spring before doing this.

If you did not take a soil sample from the garden soil last fall the recommended rate for applying lime is 5-10 pounds of lime per 100 square feet of garden.  This recommendation is from the following website.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/checklist-putting-your-garden-bed-winter

I am including a second website that talks about fertilizing your garden.  This document explains how to convert weight from pounds to cups of fertilizer.  It also explains how to convert the amount of fertilizer (usually provided per a standard of 100 square feet of garden) to the amount needed based on the size of your garden square footage.  This should be useful for both liming and applying your nutritional additions during the growing season.  Keep in mind that it is possible to apply too much lime.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/polk/sites/default/files/MG_Handouts/ec_1503_fertilizing_your_garden_0.pdf

D.Lauer Benton County Master Gardener Replied February 02, 2015, 5:48 PM EST

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