As of: February 26, 2024, 7:24 p.m
By: Ines Alms
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Liming the lawn is just as important as mowing it.
But before you get started, there are a few things you should consider to ensure that the damage is not greater than the benefit.
Lawn care really starts again in spring.
In addition to mowing, scarifying and reseeding, hobby gardeners often ask themselves whether the lawn is healthy enough and whether the grass needs to be limed.
A dense, lush green lawn speaks for itself, but if the blades appear tired and pale, a lime treatment might make sense.
Before spreading this, it is important to check the soil more closely.
Overliming can promote the growth of white clover and weeds and make it harder for the grass roots to absorb the necessary trace elements.
Before liming the lawn, measure the pH value of the soil
Lime is appropriate if the soil is too acidic and there is a lot of moss.
© Redeleit/Imago
Fertilizing the lawn is also one of the necessary gardening tasks in spring.
In order for the grasses to be able to absorb the nutrients and for the microorganisms in the soil to have good living conditions, the pH value of the soil must be in the right range - if it is too acidic, the process is made more difficult.
Moss and weeds can also spread more, explains
Bodenanalyse-zentrum.de
.
White clover, on the other hand, can be a sign of alkaline soil.
For a healthy lawn, the soil is best slightly acidic to neutral, with a pH value between 5.5 and 7. This also depends on the type of soil: Light soils require lime at a pH value below 5.5 To make soil more alkaline, heavy soils below a value of 6.5.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
To determine whether the lawn needs lime or whether its problems are of a different nature, gardener Peter Rasch on
NDR television
recommends a simple pH value test from a gardening store or pharmacy.
Then all you need is a soil sample and distilled water to quickly get the result.
Rasch recommends a thorough soil analysis every five years at the latest.
If the pH value is too low, the expert calculates around 100 grams of lime per square meter as a rough guideline on light, sandy soils.
For clayey soils, 300 grams of lime per square meter may be appropriate.
When is the best time to lime and fertilize?
As a rule, the lawn only needs to be limed every one to two years - ideally on a cloudy and dry day.
The right time to do this is in early spring before the lawn begins its growth phase, at the latest by mid-April.
It can also be useful if you are laying a new lawn.
Scarifying before liming makes sense.
According to garden expert Dieke van Dieken on
Mein-schoener-garten.de
, watering the lawn is necessary after spreading if there is no rain in sight.
There should always be enough time between liming and fertilizing so that their effects do not cancel each other out.
The following applies: Always lime first, then fertilize.
There should be at least four weeks in between, preferably more.
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The right lime
You can find special lawn lime in gardening stores.
Carbonated lime (calcium carbonate) is well suited.
Rock dust and algae lime contain additional nutrients.
According to
Bodenanalyse-zentrum.de
, you should never use quicklime or slaked lime as they can cause health damage such as chemical burns.
It is best to use a spreader for liming to make the correct dosage easier.