what fertiliser

Tomjim

I have some land that received no fertiliser in the last few years, the soil samples are saying it needs 3 tons of lime and 3 bags of 18.6.12 per acre`, however there is no point putting on fertiliser I am told due to the need for lime to be spread first.

I am tight on money this year and carrying more stock than normal, what are my best options fertiliser wise for this land, it is old pasture

49801

Lime would be the the best value for money even if you only spread half the amount this year

bbam

If your short of grass, apply some of the lime and some fertiliser.
Lime it first, wait a week or two and then the fertiliser.

Remember though you'll get little result from the lime this season.

Unless you spread gran lime, but it's more expensive and results don't last as long.

Conflats

http://treecarecanada.blogspot.ie/2010/02/soil-ph-primer.html

Look at the diagram, the closer the ph to 7 the better for the nutrient availability, so basically the best value for money is the lime as the other way more expensive nutrients wont be used to the best value

Plus lime helps perennial rye grass to dominate a sward the closer the ph is to 7

bbam

I agree with the above.
But if OP is stuck for grass then fert will be needed too.

Tomjim

is 27% nitrogeon the best option for me pending me sorting out the lime

bbam

Tomjim wrote: »

is 27% nitrogeon the best option for me pending me sorting out the lime

Why get the soil sample done and then look to spread something else. ??

Sort out the lime. Either ground lime or granular lime.
Spread the 18-6-12

I'd guess there won't be the P & K in the soil for the 27% Can to work, resulting in more wasted money.

There's no magic solution, thats the purpose of the soil sample, so you have some science to guide you.

Tomjim

soil sample was done as part of AEOS

bbam

Tomjim wrote: »

soil sample was done as part of AEOS

That doesn't mean it isn't correct nor that it shouldn't be followed.

Following the results will yield best results and best value for money.
Every deviation from the recommendations will yield worse results and waste money.

At a guess I'd say your best route is follow the plan and if your short of grass feed some concentrates. That way the lime will be in full operation next year.

For shorter term results apply gran lime as the lime in the plan and you'll have grass this year, but the land will be short of lime next year gain. Bit this will cost near as much as ground lime and concentrates

Blue Holland

Tomjim wrote: »

I have some land that received no fertiliser in the last few years, the soil samples are saying it needs 3 tons of lime and 3 bags of 18.6.12 per acre`, however there is no point putting on fertiliser I am told due to the need for lime to be spread first.

I am tight on money this year and carrying more stock than normal, what are my best options fertiliser wise for this land, it is old pasture

What were the readings from the soil sample ph, P and K, P+K reading is in mg/l.

Farmer Pudsey

If money is tight 1-2 bags of granlime/acre to bring up PH fast ground limestone take about 3 months to bring it up. Then spread as much 18-6-12 as possible. You should be able to buy granlime in bulk for around 150/ton. I have heard that there is a phosphoras/lime out there that is very compeditive however I am not sure who supplies it it has 12 units phos/ton and I have heard figures of 20/ton

mauser77

How much is ground lime on average to buy an how contractor charge to spread

ABlur

mauser77 wrote: »

How much is ground lime on average to buy an how contractor charge to spread

McGraths charge €25 per tonne spread in West Clare, probably cheaper if youre near the quarry, I was 70 miles away. 2 tonnes to the acre no more is the recommended amount per year.

Conmaicne Mara

If it were me I would go with the soil sample recommendation.

Spread two ton of lime to the acre as soon as you possibly can, the sooner you have it spread, the sooner you'll see results. Spread the other 1 ton next year.

From what I have read gran lime is a short term fix, personally I wouldn't bother with it on that basis as ground lime seems better long term value.

I don't know if there's any particular waiting period in between spreading lime and 18.6.12 (I know it takes ground lime quite a while to work, have read between 12 and 18 months, that's not the period I'm talking about) but I'd go with the 18.6.12 as soon as I could, weather permitting, after I had the lime out. If there is any waiting period then I'd observe that.

Tomjim

it is my understanding from speaking to teagasc today that I will still get 85% useage out of fertiliser I will spread without applying lime

Farmer Pudsey

Tomjim wrote: »

it is my understanding from speaking to teagasc today that I will still get 85% useage out of fertiliser I will spread without applying lime

Gran lime is about 7/50kgs in bulk
I think that 18.6.12 is around 450/ton or 22.5/bag .

@85% efficiency you will need 3.5 bags/acre or 79 euro/acre.

The extra bag equates to 12.5 so you could afford to spread a bag of granlime.

The other think to think about will you be spreading any more fertilizer later in the year.