3 words of advice:
You need lime
RICKY THOMPSON

Almost anything you grow has to have lime or its ingredients in one form or another. Lime is first and fertilizer is second. If you do not have sufficient lime in the soil for yards, vegetables, hay and pastures, then all the fertilizer in the world will not help grow a good plant.

We find many fields needing lime in large amounts. Wet soils do not allow plants to pick up as much calcium and magnesium and this restricts plant growth.

What you grow this winter and next spring will depend on the condition of your soil. Most East Texas soils are acid. Just being acid does not make soils unproductive but if they get too much acid then you have poor plant growth and a shortage of calcium and magnesium occurs.

If you plan to grow fall vegetables, clovers or winter pastures, lime now. Limestone reacts slowly in soils. Because of this it needs to be applied several months before you actually need it. You can purchase a very fine ground lime which becomes more effective faster. Of course, you need rainfall to help the process of the lime getting into the soil where it is needed.

Some plants prefer slightly acid soils. These are potatoes, watermelons, azaleas, roses, camellias and blueberries need a very acid soil. These plants will grow well in soils with an acidity of 5.5- 6 while most other plants do best with soil pH of 6.5. Even blueberries need calcium and magnesium but we have to use other forms to provide these as the lime itself will kill them.

Soil samples are the only way to find out how much lime you need per acre. Soil bags and information sheets are available from the county estension office, and we try to keep these in most all the feed supply centers and nurseries around the county.

We have had some fields in the county that need one ton of lime each year and others that need one ton about every three or four years. The soil type, moisture, and the amounts of commercial fertilizers applied all effect the amount of lime needed for good production. Poor production is often a result of soil neglect. Not liming when the soil needs it is neglect. It is as bad as planting and not fertilizing.

Ricky Thompson is the Texas Cooperative extension agent for Jasper County. For more information, call 384-3721.