# Lime and where else to buy it..



## Get'nLucky (Oct 30, 2011)

So I am gonna do some liming this year. options are
Pelletized in small spreader.
Powdered via walk and empty bag
Powdered out of back of truck.

Everyone says “check your local coop for better prices”. Eaton co Coop. 
Well they only sell barn lime in powdered form and their pelletized is almost 5$/bag! Bulk lime 33$/ton.
Tsc was 3/9.99$ for pelletized or powdered.

1st ? Has anyone ever spread bulk lime outta the back of a pickup? And how much does a pickup bed hold (5.5 ft)
2nd ? Anyone know of any hidden places that I cant manage to find online that may sell bagged lime cheaper than tsc? I am guessing i will need 2000lbs+\-

i could do the back of a pickup for all but say 500lbs which ill have to buy bags. But not sure how many p/u truckloads that actually is.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Ask at the elevator who spreads ag lime or ask around to any farmer you know. 
It is cheap, hauling and spreading is when the cost goes up.
If they deliver and spread it'll cost more.


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## Get'nLucky (Oct 30, 2011)

Ill have one plot inaccessible. And anything heavier than a truck is gonna tear the heck outta my plots unless i wait till like june to lime.


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## tuckersdad (Oct 30, 2010)

If you use your truck I hope it is a beater because it will do nasty things to the body...


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## Get'nLucky (Oct 30, 2011)

Thats the info i was looking for. 
Cant just immediately power wash it?


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## tuckersdad (Oct 30, 2010)

It ate thru a Military duce and a half truck we used...it gets everywhere...and while you "think" you got it all...you didn't...YMMV


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## ezcaller (Feb 21, 2009)

We spread ag lime for years from the pick up.One driver 2 rakers.We started hauling individual loads but went to having it delivered from elevator so we could do it at our leisure.Its a chore but doable. We did six plots totalling three acres.Eventually purchased an old 10ft ag spreader kids say it was the best present they ever got. Do double wash your truck and under carriage. Good luck


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## Chasin Tales (Jan 20, 2006)

Menards-$4.49 per50 pound bag-pulverized


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

AG lime is heavy. ~2,500# per yard. A cubic yard or 27 cubic feet is small and would easily fit in the bed of the smallest pick up. Weight carrying capacity of the pick up is the biggest concern.


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## Wild Thing (Mar 19, 2010)

Luv2hunteup said:


> *AG lime is heavy. ~2,500# per yard. A cubic yard or 27 cubic feet is small and would easily fit in the bed of the smallest pick up. Weight carrying capacity of the pick up is the biggest concern.*


X2 - It is very heavy.

This is 26 ton:










Volumewise...it doesn't look like much at all...



















Even with having the ag-lime delivered and renting the spreader, it is still the cheapest way to raise pH.










But...if you only need a ton or two nobody is going to deliver it in that small of volume so your best bet is probably to just go ahead and purchase pelletized lime. I bought a ton of pelletized from my local coop when I didn't need much for a new plot. While it was all in 40 or 50 # bags, they did give me about a 20-25% discount for buying a larger volume, and they can load it up on pallets onto your truck or trailer. It spreads easily in a fertilzer spreader if you have access to one...and it does create a "cloud of dust".


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

Speaking from experience, unfortunately. You absolutely need to cover bulk lime as the middle pic above shows, and do it immediately. If an unanticipated rain catches you before you are able to spread with a "cone" spreader, the lumps that form will give you fits. FM


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## Wild Thing (Mar 19, 2010)

Forest Meister said:


> Speaking from experience, unfortunately. *You absolutely need to cover bulk lime as the middle pic above shows, and do it immediately. *If an unanticipated rain catches you before you are able to spread with a "cone" spreader, the lumps that form will give you fits. FM


Covering the lime was my wife's work FM. I happened to be out of town and they delivered the lime a day or two earlier than expected. I had to call my wife and have her run out there and open the gate and then find some tarps to cover it. She wasn't really happy about it...but you are right - you definitely don't want it to get rained on.


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

Wild Thing said:


> Covering the lime was my wife's work FM. I happened to be out of town and they delivered the lime a day or two earlier than expected. I had to call my wife and have her run out there and open the gate and then find some tarps to cover it. She wasn't really happy about it...but you are right - you definitely don't want it to get rained on.


After fighting the lumps seemingly forever in the first load we tried putting in less on the second load with one man nearby with a stout pole to help work on clogs. That too was a dud. eventually we used the tractor bucket and shovel. I was much younger then. FM


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Chasin Tales said:


> Menards-$4.49 per50 pound bag-pulverized


That's where I have been buying it.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Wild Thing said:


> X2 - It is very heavy.
> 
> This is 26 ton:
> 
> ...


I had a similar load dropped off. 25.8 ton. It could have easily fit in a 7 yard dump but there is no possible way to get enough tires underneath it. $300 delivered, I got the weigh slip that showed a cost of $88 for the lime. Have you driver max out his truck GVW since trucking is the main cost.


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## baycountyhunter (Apr 15, 2014)

Watch tractor supply they have sales on pelletized lime at times usually you get them $3 for 40lb bags.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

I used to load it on to a flatbed car hauler a ton at a time. Five gallon pail= 60 lbs. Then spread by shovel onto plots.


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## DanP (Mar 1, 2005)

We spread 26 ton last summer. Rented the spreader from the mill we got the lime from
using our tractor. You are going to want dusk mask - I do not think its going to hurt you to wait for fields to dry to get on them. The lime is a long term change - waiting a couple of months will not hurt your crop. We put everything down after brush hogging fields then disc in August for our fall plants. What was planting in early summer we left rows to run down with the spreader.


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## pgpn123 (May 9, 2016)

baycountyhunter said:


> Watch tractor supply they have sales on pelletized lime at times usually you get them $3 for 40lb bags.


Bought at this price from TSC last year, mgr said if I order a whole pallet she could give an even better price.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

There's a farmer on Houston Road south of Eaton Rapids that used to sell ag lime spread. Don't know if they still do it.


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## Hear fishy fishy (Feb 9, 2013)

I believe we did 52 ton a few years ago for under $600. We had a few guys working on spreading, but got most of it down in a weekend. We rented a spreader over the weekend and had that running off one tractor and had another guy bring his tractor with a loader to fill it. We had the piles spread out across the property which helped cut down on travel time, where most of the time was spent.


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## Wild Thing (Mar 19, 2010)

Hear fishy fishy said:


> I believe we did 52 ton a few years ago for under $600. We had a few guys working on spreading, but got most of it down in a weekend. We rented a spreader over the weekend and had that running off one tractor and had another guy bring his tractor with a loader to fill it. We had the piles spread out across the property which helped cut down on travel time, where most of the time was spent.


Yep - I borrowed my neighbors tractor with front end loader so I could load the lime without having to unhook the spreader from my tractor. The only way to go.


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