Using "wild" chalk instead of Garden Lime

[timethatthetaleweretold]

Hello,
Living in the south east, the countryside is covered in lumps of chalk.
Yesterday I picked up about 1 Kg worth for my new brassica bed.

I bashed them with a hammer and spread it, in the hope of improving my success with brassicas this year, on acid soil.

Having never limed before, garden lime is a bit mysterious to me and I preferred the idea of using free, local ingredients.

Is there anyone else who uses foraged/gathered chalk as lime?
Does it sound ok in terms of chemistry etc?

thanks!

(this site often provides interesting and helpful discussions on topics that i bung into search engines. But nothing has come up in any searches about using gathered chalk, on any site.)

[Alison]

I don't know if it will work OK or not but is it OK to harvest it in this way? (I'm querying as I genuinely don't know, not trying to have a go ). I know that you can't pick up cobbles etc from the beach, think it's because if everybody did it then they'd be none left so wondered if this was the same.

[Nicos]

As far as applying it to the soil- then I'd have thought it'd be fine if you crush it up.
No idea about collecting it- but if it's on the roadside or common land then I'd have thought that the rules would be similar to collecting wood

here's a bit about different types of lime....

Liming Your Lawn

NB- I'm in NO way a chemist...so it'll be interesting to see what other peeps say!

[dave_norm_smith]

I'd be careful collecting it as you can get into bother taking slate in Wales and the stone around Yorkshire so I think they could argue that you were removing the fabric of the countryside. I certainly don't think it would be worth finding out for something as cheap as Lime?

Dave

[timethatthetaleweretold]

I don't know if it will work OK or not but is it OK to harvest it in this way? (I'm querying as I genuinely don't know, not trying to have a go ). I know that you can't pick up cobbles etc from the beach, think it's because if everybody did it then they'd be none left so wondered if this was the same.

Yes. Fair enough to question the ethics of helping yourself to rocks in the countryside.

(thanks for not "having a go" although you'd probably have been justified.)

I did actually pick some pieces up off a public footpath and feel that it was wrong and I shouldn't have done it.

But for those who can find natural deposits of chalk in our back gardens, is it as good or better than commercial lime?

(Some gardens around here are on "chalk heath" which is acid soil on top of a layer of chalk.)

P.S.
thanks for the other replies!

[zazen999]

What is the original pH of your soil?

[Aberdeenplotter]

garden lime is just crushed limestone, i.e. what you have achieved by battering it to bits with your hammer. No comment as to the ethics of it. It just wouldn't give me two thoughts to do likewise.

[timethatthetaleweretold]

What is the original pH of your soil?

Just tested it this afternoon.

It's about neutral.

I had thought it was slightly acid.

But brassicas have always been poor here and my "research" on the internet suggested liming would help.



Dave Norm Smith,
a carton of lime at Wyevale is 5.99.
Perhaps it lasts for ages, but it doesn't strike me as cheap.
(and it lacks the thrill of the chase.)


Aberdeen, thanks for the info!

There must be places where you can pick up free chalk with a clear conscience.
I won't be heading up Kingley Vale (an SSSI) with a pick-axe. But maybe some of the disused chalk pits in the south downs could yield a few nuggets of white gold.

I'd certainly have less impact on the environment than these chaps:
buriton chalk pits | Dirt Jumping | UK | Extreme Sports Map : Skateparks, Skateboarding Spots, Surf Breaks, Dirt Jumps, Mountain Bike Trails and more
(dirt-biking in Buriton chalk pits.)

One of the reasons I'm interested in wild chalk rather than commercial lime, is the suspician that it might have some interesting trace elements or mysterious properties to enhance taste or yeild.

But anyway, I'm talking about using a very small amount on a back garden brassica patch.
Having added a little, I may add a little more unless someone seriously warns against it.

P.S.
THe path where i picked up my first bits of chalk was between some farmers' fields. The fields are full of rocks (up to the size of loaves of bread), mostly flinty with a bit of chalk. It looks really difficult to farm there. However, there is an amazing amount of worm activity - worm casts etc - and fields full of suedes now.

[Jeanied]

I think that garden lime is limestone that has been treated in a lime kiln and slaked. I'm sure they did that on the Edwardian Farm series.
Wilcos lime is a lot cheaper than that!!

[Strawberry delight]

sorry, I dont know about the chalk but here are some other alternatives to lime;
Alternatives to Limestone in Gardening | eHow.co.uk

[timethatthetaleweretold]

sorry, I dont know about the chalk but here are some other alternatives to lime;
Alternatives to Limestone in Gardening | eHow.co.uk

Nice link!
So, I'm finally getting it that "liming" is basically adding any form of calcium carbonate whether it's ground egg shells, limestone or chalk.

what caught my eye in your list was Oyster Shells.
I know some places where batches of old oyster shells have been dumped along the coast.
More hammer action.

[King Carrot]

I use Garden lime (calcium) and Dolomite lime (magnesium) as part of a complete organic fertilizer mix which I use with everything. – It’s the only time I apply lime and the only time I leave the limes out of the mix is for spuds.

Grows an absolutely great veg for me, everything grows better than it did before. I’ve especially seen a vast improvement in brassicas since I’ve been doing this. Among other things the lime helps to free up nutrients in the soil

I think I paid about £40 total for 25 kg bags of each (Garden lime & Dolomite lime) and they’ll last for a few more years at the rate I’m using them.

[Snadger]

I use Garden lime (calcium) and Dolomite lime (magnesium) as part of a complete organic fertilizer mix which I use with everything. – It’s the only time I apply lime and the only time I leave the limes out of the mix is for spuds.

Grows an absolutely great veg for me, everything grows better than it did before. I’ve especially seen a vast improvement in brassicas since I’ve been doing this. Among other things the lime helps to free up nutrients in the soil

I think I paid about £40 total for 25 kg bags of each (Garden lime & Dolomite lime) and they’ll last for a few more years at the rate I’m using them.

The allotment shop 'know it all' told me that the brown dolomite magnesium limestone doesn't have the same scabbing effect on spuds as the calcium derived version?
Having said that..............he was trying to flog me said stuff at the time!

[King Carrot]

The allotment shop 'know it all' told me that the brown dolomite magnesium limestone doesn't have the same scabbing effect on spuds as the calcium derived version?
Having said that..............he was trying to flog me said stuff at the time!

Dolomite has more magnesium than calcium - I suppose that's why.

One question I have is if the actual spuds are not in direct contact with the lime because it has been put underneath them in a trench will they still get scab? Is it direct contact with the lime or extra calcium in the plant that causes scab?

[Snadger]

Dolomite has more magnesium than calcium - I suppose that's why.

One question I have is if the actual spuds are not in direct contact with the lime because it has been put underneath them in a trench will they still get scab? Is it direct contact with the lime or extra calcium in the plant that causes scab?

I would hazzard a guess and say direct contact, or if tatties were below limed ground the infusion washed down upon them could do it. My auld Dad always used to put a couple of handfulls of peat around each seed tuber and this kept them from scabbing, even though the land they were in was alkaline.